While you might still be recovering this morning, we hope you popped the champagne, filled out your ballot sheets and turned up the volume on your televisions last night to celebrate the 2025 Oscars. Throughout the three-hour-long show, Hollywood’s biggest stars gathered at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre to laugh, cry, win, lose, and, of course, hold space for the lyrics of “Defying Gravity.”
As beauty editors, though, our focus was all on the red carpet glam, like the under-$400 hair tool used to prep and polish Sydney Sweeney, Mikey Madison and Gabrielle Union for both the Oscars and the Vanity Fair after-party. Find out which device their hairstylists relied on to bring their Academy Award looks to life, ahead.
Shark FlexFusion Takes Over the Oscars Hair Circuit
For last night’s Oscars look, Anora star and Best Actress winner Mikey Madison went for an “elegant and timeless yet simple” look, as hairstylist Rena Calhoun put it. Using the Shark FlexFusion ($399), Calhoun created a structural yet sleek look, molding her updo into a ribbon-mimicking style, relying on the FlexFusion to snatch her strands. “With my Shark FlexFusion, I used the hair dryer mode to quickly rough dry throughout and remove the initial bit of moisture,” Calhoun explains. “Then, with the Wet or Dry Fusion Brush attachment on, I gave the hair a smooth blowout working in 2-inch x 2-inch sections. The Wet or Dry Fusion Brush makes blow drying the hair extremely easy because it eliminates having to use two tools (a round brush and a blow dryer) and simplifies it by combining the two.”
For Sydney Sweeney’s Shark-centered Vanity Fair After Party look, hairstylist Glen Coco used the FlexFusion device to rough dry Sweeney’s iconic cashmere blonde strands, before using the Wet or Dry attachment in wet mode for a smoothing effect. “I then switched back to the Styling Concentrator attachment with a round brush to blowdry the hair smooth with a slight bounce at the ends,” Glen Coco says. “Next, I used the Wet or Dry Fusion Air Straightener ($100) attachment to smooth the hair and round the ends.”
Another bun for the big night, Gabrielle Union’s Vanity Fair After Party look also relied on Shark’s FlexFusion styler, proving the device’s versatility both for shiny, relaxed blowouts and sleek, romantic up-dos. “The inspiration behind Gabrielle’s look was to create a soft, romantic, but sexy silhouette that shows off Gabrielle’s beautiful neckline & shoulders,” says hairstylist Larry Sims. “I started off by using Flawless By Gabrielle Union Leave In Conditioner & Heat Protectant Spray ($13) on her freshly shampooed hair. I then used Shark FlexFusion™ multi-styling air styler with the Styling Concentrator ($30) attachment along with a paddle brush to stretch the cuticle. I then went back in with the Wide-Tooth Comb ($30) attachment to establish a side part for the fringe and to give the hair a smooth finish.”
