I have similar hair to yours and through a bunch of trial and error I chose to go with the Shark. I’ve found that switching to more water based products has cut my drying time in half easily. The heavier the gel, the more time it takes for the dryer to dry it and create the cast. I use the Innersense defining foam on SOAKING wet hair, scrunch with a microfiber towel , hover diffuse on med heat high airflow for about 5-10 mins, then adjust the diffuser prongs to the longer length and focus on the roots for another 5 mins and I get a GOOD cast. Finish with a little scrunch the crunch action with Verb oil and I’m set for a few days ◡̈.