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Not just a pretty brush (although it definitely also is that), Shark’s Glossi is a well-designed styling tool that aims to streamline your routine. It combines wet-to-dry air styling for blow-drying freshly washed hair with a dry styling mode for smoothing and refreshing between wash days.
Hybrid wet-and-dry hot brushes have become increasingly popular in recent years: current competition includes Dyson’s super-premium Airwrap multi-styler, and the Glossi upgrades Shark’s own discontinued SmoothStyle brush.
All these dual-mode hot brushes promise faster, simpler styling at home, but can the Glossi really replace your hairdryer and straightening brush in one neat tool?
How I tested
The Glossi has two styling modes: one for wet hair and one for dry hair. For the former, I used the Glossi’s wet mode after washing my medium-length curly hair, using my usual heat-protection and styling products. I also styled from wet and then immediately followed with dry mode for a sleeker finished style. The dry mode was tested a day or two after washing. In all cases, I tested in the morning before work to see how the finished style would hold during a day of typical wear.
I compared the Glossi’s speed, ease of use and overall results with Shark’s previous SmoothStyle hot brush, as well as the other hot brushes I’ve tested for the Filter. Along the way, I assessed how long it took to create a finished style, how my hair looked and felt after styling, and how easy the brush made it to get my desired look.
What you need to know
The Glossi is Shark’s follow-up to its SmoothStyle dual-mode styling brush, and the core concept is the same: you can use it like a blow-dry brush on damp hair after washing or like a straightening brush on dry hair for a smoother finish. The Glossi has a distinctive teardrop shape, with blow-dry vents and bristles on the wider side, and heated ceramic fins on the narrow side. The heated fins operate only in dry mode.
In wet mode, the Glossi pushes air through the vents to dry and shape simultaneously. There are three independent heat and three airspeed settings in wet mode, giving nine combinations suitable for almost any hair type. The higher settings will be effective on thicker and coarser hair, while finer hair will prefer the gentler low settings.
Once you’ve blow-dried with wet mode, you have the option to switch to dry mode. This reduces the airflow and activates the heated ceramic plates on the narrow side of the brush. These work more like a straightening brush to smooth down frizz and give an overall sleeker finish. Once again, there’s a choice of three heat settings in dry mode, up to 210C for thicker hair.
As well as a smaller and lighter design (see below), Shark has upgraded the hardware too – the Glossi’s 1,250W motor is a step up from the SmoothStyle’s 900W, so there’s more power for faster styling, and the new brush uses smart heat sensors to keep the temperature consistent between passes of the brush. That means less chance of damaging the hair with overheating and more consistent styling, as the brush doesn’t cool down between passes.
It comes in four fun colours – I tried raspberry, a bold metallic hot pink, but there’s also lychee, juniper and liquid gold from which to choose.
Shark Glossi specifications
Power: 1,250W
Temperature settings: three (wet mode); three (dry mode) plus cool shot
Speed settings: three – independent of heat
Weight: 710g (including cable & plug adapter – main brush unit alone is 440g)
Cord length: 2.4m
What we love
The Glossi builds on the SmoothStyle’s promise of versatile wet-or-dry styling with a more powerful motor along with independently adjustable heat and airflow. The stronger airflow means you can choose one of the lower heat settings, and it will still dry your hair effectively, reducing the risk of dehydration and heat damage.
On my hair, I found that a fast airspeed and medium heat combo was good for rough-drying and starting the process of styling. I then finished with the medium airspeed and cooler heat setting. To switch between temperature and speed settings, simply press the button at the base of the handle – it’s easy to choose a gentler speed or temperature when styling shorter and more delicate sections of hair.
The Glossi is noticeably smaller and neater than the SmoothStyle, too. The new size is lighter than the SmoothStyle and feels nice and balanced to hold. It’s easy to manoeuvre it around the head and right up to the roots. This makes the Glossi effective on shorter hair, where styling around the roots is more noticeable.
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As with other round blow-dry brushes, using the Glossi in wet mode gives the hair quite a bouncy, voluminous finish, with lifted roots and movement at the ends. This was good for a simple daytime look, and the style lasted all day and into the evening when I styled my hair using wet mode (and my usual styling products). While this straight look didn’t stay completely intact overnight, my roots and lengths were still noticeably smoother than usual the next day.
The final look depends on how much you roll and hold the hair around the brush as you style – hold it taut for a straight finish, or let it fall into a loose ringlet to curl. Rolling the brush inwards towards the face will curl the ends softly under, and rolling the brush away from the face will give more of a Farrah-Fawcett-meets-Sabrina-Carpenter flicked look.
I then tried wet mode followed by dry for a sleeker look. To activate dry mode, simply slide the switch on the handle and wait a few seconds for the ceramic fins to heat up. You use the brush in the same way, rolling it through sections of hair, but with dry mode activated, the ceramic fins work like a straightener to smooth frizz and flyaways. Dry mode can be used straight after blow-drying on wet mode, but it’s also good for quick touch-ups to already-dry hair.
My hair felt soft and healthy after styling in either mode, and following wet mode with dry mode gave it a definite shine. It’s an attractive brush, too: the four bright colour options offer a fun alternative to all the typical white and silver styling tools out there.
What we don’t love
Dry mode alone wasn’t enough to completely straighten my locks – I needed to roughly blow-dry damp hair straight on wet mode first. If you have looser curls or waves than my type-3 hair, though, you may find you can straighten with dry mode alone. I found dry styling much more successful the day after I’d washed and blow-dried using wet mode – my hair stayed somewhat straight overnight, so it was easy to smooth it out completely.
At just under £160, the Glossi is more of an investment than rival models such as the BaByliss Air Power (£49.99 at the time of writing) and Revlon’s OneStep (£50) – although it’s also more budget-friendly than GHD’s Duet Blowdry (£379).
I’ve noted that the more compact Glossi brush is good for precision around the roots and is especially good for shorter hair. For related reasons, if you have very long or thick hair, you may prefer a larger brush, such as the BaByliss Air Power, to deal with lots of hair efficiently. And if you definitely want to style your hair straight rather than curled, you might find a hot brush with an oval or paddle shape suits your needs better.
Should I buy it?
Overall, Shark’s Glossi is a neat and simple-to-use hot brush that leaves hair feeling as good as it looks. I was impressed with the speed and quality of the styling in wet mode, and the glossy finish of my hair after using dry mode. The build quality of the brush is good – it feels well designed, with intuitive controls built into the handle. Because it can be used on wet or dry hair, the Glossi is more versatile than most hot brushes, too.
All of that said, if you’ve bought a blow-dry brush in the past couple of years and you’re happy with it, the Glossi might not be a significant enough improvement to warrant an upgrade. But if you don’t have a hot brush already – or your existing brush has seen better days – this is a great product at a not-too-hefty price.
If it’s time to upgrade any of your old electrical beauty tools, you can use Cloud Nine’s recycling scheme to recycle products from any brand, or check Recycle Your Electricals to find your nearest electrical equipment recycling centre.
For more hair styling tips and tricks from the Filter, read:
Dyson Airwrap Co-anda 2x review
The best hot brushes, tested
The best hair straighteners for foolproof styling
Lise Smith is a writer with more than 15 years of experience covering beauty, lifestyle, parenting and the performing arts. She loves any beauty tool or product that can guarantee an extra 10 minutes in bed
