Wednesday, May 1, 2024

The Best Hair Straightener Reviews by Wirecutter

hair flat iron

There’s a flatiron option for everyone, from folks with the tightest of curls to fine, straight hair. In a time when heatless curls and moisturizing hair masks are all over TikTok, your old straightener from high school may be gathering dust. But while you may cringe at the core memory of your hair literally smoking as you used the hair straightener, the classic hair tool is far from a relic of the past. In fact, the best flat irons today have innovative features and use high-quality materials to better protect your hair from heat damage while giving you that sleek, frizz-free polish.

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We also left the straighteners on for an extended period of time to test automatic shutoff features and to see if any of the models started smoking or acting irregularly when plugged in and turned on for a long time (none of them did). For example, in the Lab, we take temperature readings of each iron's plate surface at its hottest setting, to measure how quickly it heats up and maintains its temperature. We also measure the outer surfaces of each iron to ensure that it doesn't get too hot to the touch.

Plate size and shape

The Chi Original Ceramic Hairstyling Iron is my top value pick because of its no-nonsense performance, versatility and ability to create sleek, silky hair with fewer passes. (Read my in-depth review of the Chi straightener here.) Below are the best hair straightener winners from my long-term testing. Anyone can use a flat iron, but how well a particular iron will work on your hair—how straight your hair will get, how long it will stay that way, and how much damage it will endure from the heat—depends on a variety of factors. The curlier or more textured your hair, the more heat, time, or styling products you may need to invest to get the style you want; the finer your hair, the more easily it may be damaged by high temperatures.

Best for Fine Hair: T3 Lucea Straightening & Styling Iron

When you reach the face-framing pieces, curl toward your face to mimic a voluminous curl pattern. For your bangs, style it with a traditional barrel curl toward your face, and then you'll want to go in with a fine-toothed comb, lift the hair at the root, and spray it with hairspray. After distributing the products, bend forward and flip your hair over to blow-dry your hair.

A Luxe Flat Iron For Impossibly Smooth, Frizz-Free Hair

It has a well-functioning swivel cord, and it comes with a nice silicone sleeve to keep the iron closed before use, for easy transport and to protect fingers during cool down. Jessica (she/her) is a deputy editor at the Good Housekeeping Institute and a longtime product tester, reviewer, writer and editor of beauty and lifestyle content. You can usually find her sorting through piles of beauty products — and testing the best ones on camera. Some flat irons claim to prevent damage, and others claim to be made with the best material for a healthy shine, but as a shopper, it can be confusing to tell which is best.

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It’s equipped with nano titanium coating and comes with nine temperature settings (and the ability to adjust to your hair’s unique texture and length). Unfortunately, the curling capabilities are virtually non-existent, but if you’re looking for a tried-and-true flat iron, this is a great budget pick. It performed consistently across the four different hair types we tested on and makes for an excellent addition to any styling tool collection, regardless of your skill level. Ceramic flat irons, which have ceramic-coated plates, are the most affordable option out of the three types of hair straighteners, says Bertin.

This mini is the straightener you want to stash in your bag for long weekends, trips abroad or just to use at the gym. It heats up in just over 60 seconds to a single heat setting of 380 degrees, which is hot enough to shape hair into super straight strands or perfectly imperfect flatiron waves. This gadget worked like a pro; it has a super smooth glide with zero snag, and the slightly longer plate allowed me to include a bit more hair in the iron per pass without compromising the effectiveness, which ultimately saved me time. The floating plates are more versatile than the standard, static plates on many other irons—they compress just the right amount of hair to create smooth and straight styles or a subtle curve at my ends.

MOST POPULAR HAIR STRAIGHTENER ON AMAZON

Ironically, it’s tough on frizz and helps achieve that sleek, super-straight finish we’re all after. This Paul Mitchell model is a straightening powerhouse for those with long, thick or coarse hair, and its ceramic construction and temperature variability make it a good fit for fine hair as well. While most flat irons are best when used on 1-inch sections of hair, I found that this iron’s broad plates offered extended surface area to cover bigger sections of hair. This allowed me to work faster to smooth my shoulder blade-length strands and tame frizz from roots to ends.

hair flat iron

He adds that if your hair is on the thicker, or coarser side, a hair straightener with titanium plates is ideal because they "can handle higher heat and manage frizz more effectively." Admittedly, it is a bit bulkier than standard flat irons, but it’s because this one features two iron plates on both sides. Despite the size, it’s not heavy by any means and is actually very easy to hoist above your head for minutes at a time. As for functionality, once you turn it on, you’re able to understand what every single button does (for example, plus and minus buttons indicate higher and lower temperatures), which isn’t usually the case with hot tools.

hair flat iron

In the video, which has racked up over 250,000 likes, Rachel OCool uses a hair dryer, a flat iron, and a substantial amount of hairspray to recreate the soft glam waves. This hairstyle edges toward full-bodied curls, but it's flexible, so you can adjust the steps to create looser curls for a beachy S-wave look or tighter waves to resemble classic barrel curls. I tested dozens of hair straighteners and found the top models to be from Chi and GHD. One challenge I had with this straightener is that it was difficult to use on short hair around my face—especially baby hairs that have the tendency to curl up. The firm hinge also required slightly more wrist strength than some other hair straighteners. After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the "best" for people over 50 if the only testers we’ve solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30?

It was heavy, and our editor with Type 3B/3C hair had to take a break to give her arms a rest mid-way through using. We also imagine the thicker cord will make it hard to store this in space-constrained areas. Despite having a shorter than normal cord, we really loved this Hot Tools iron, especially for fine hair. It glides through hair with ease (shoutout, charcoal ceramic plates!) and doesn’t tug or pull at individual strands. What really set this one apart from other irons is that it uses less heat to straighten hair; in fact, it relies on steam and the brand’s signature plates to smooth hair in less time. As much as we love the technology, we appreciate that the iron gives you the option of styling without it, too.

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