12 Best Hair Straighteners and Flatirons in 2024, Beloved by Testers and Hairstylists

Table Of Content

• MOST INNOVATIVE HAIR STRAIGHTENER
• Do flat irons damage hair?
• Best Overall Hair Straightener HSI Professional Glider
• Our top picks for best hair straighteners
• Hair products containing formaldehyde may soon be banned. Baltimore hairstylists weigh in
• Rusk W8less Professional Ceramic and Tourmaline Str8 Iron
• Amika Confidante Moisture Maintenance Styler

Remington has digital controls and an LCD panel that displays the current heat setting. It’s all you’ll really need, but if you want something with a wider range, check out Kipozi Titanium Flat Iron. Mili Godio is an editor at Select who has written a variety of beauty and skin care stories, including stories on the best tinted moisturizers, dry shampoos and dark circles treatments. For this article, Godio spoke to seven hair care experts about what to look for when shopping for a flat iron and rounded up their favorite ones to shop.

MOST INNOVATIVE HAIR STRAIGHTENER

Consider nice-to-have features that will make styling your hair easier. Swivel cords and extra-long cords are a big perk to enhance ease of use as you work around your head. To gauge maneuverability, I measured factors such as weight, cord length and swivel. I considered heat-up time, temperature control variability, accuracy and whether the iron has temperature memory and automatic shut-off. The Chi Original Ceramic Hairstyling Iron has an under-30-second heat-up time and an extra-long ...

Do flat irons damage hair?

In testing, it only took 20 seconds for the iron to beep and indicate it was ready. To use this tool, you press the button on the inside of the smart styler, and it heats to 365 degrees. “This standard setting is the ‘sweet spot’ where the heat can break down the hair just enough to mold it into shape and fight frizz without burning it or causing damage,” says Henry. Most other models we tested, including our pick, get up to 450 degrees or higher. We decided on a flat iron that reaches higher temperatures because it’s compatible with more hair types.

Best Overall Hair Straightener HSI Professional Glider

Best Cordless Hair Straighteners: Our reviews - Cosmopolitan UK

Best Cordless Hair Straighteners: Our reviews.

Posted: Tue, 26 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

True to the Dyson name, this flat iron features some of the coolest technology we’ve ever seen in a straightener. It boasts unique flexing plates that conform to the shape of your hair to straighten it in less time and with less damage. It can be used cordlessly for up to 32 minutes (don’t worry—we tested it until the battery ran out), making it easier than ever to style your hair wherever you are. The downside is that the tool is pretty heavy; we would compare it to the weight of a Macbook Pro. It clocks in at 1.23 pounds, to be exact, and its large battery is to blame. We blame frizz and flyaways on bad weather and high humidity, but sometimes it starts with what tool we’re using — and Drybar just came to the rescue with their new innovation.

Our top picks for best hair straighteners

Chemical straighteners that are lye-free or alkaline sulfite-based are safer than other permanent hair straighteners. We don’t recommend using a hair straightener soon after a bleach or a dye job — give your hair at least two weeks to recover. Make sure you use a gentle, ceramic hair straightener once you get back to it — we recommend the HSI Professional Glider. These plates heat up your flat iron evenly and quickly, which results in better heat distribution.

The solution process will take from minutes depending on your hair type and condition. There are many types of permanent hair straightening options However, all use chemicals that cause damage to the hair. A silk press is similar to flat ironing, except the prep is more intense. "A silk press involves deep washes and cleanses to the scalp and hair followed by a blow-dry and straightening the hair," says Roque. It can take 30 minutes to a few hours, depending on the density and length of your hair.

Rusk W8less Professional Ceramic and Tourmaline Str8 Iron

Step 6 - Neutralizer (Second Solution)Once the hair has been straightened by the ironing process, next comes sectioning and applying the neutralizer to balance the pH of your hair and seal in the straight bond. The neutralizer will stay on your hair for minutes depending on the cuticle resistance of your hair. Also called chemical straightening, hair rebonding is a process that converts someone’s wavy hair to straight. There are several types of treatments that claim to make your hair straighter.

Your hair may vary from day-to-day; various things such as dye jobs or even going too long without a trim may call for a gentler heat setting. T3 is a quality hair tool brand, according to Tina Malhotra, hairstylist and owner of Hair By Tina M. This highly rated option has nine heat settings that you can adjust using the built-in digital display. The flat iron also includes a smart microchip that monitors heat fluctuations and maintains a consistent temperature while you use it, according to the brand. 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.

We tested the straighteners on three friends’ hair to see how they worked on different hair textures. We can’t promise that you’ll never damage your hair again; it’s a risk you take whenever you use any heat styling tool. But by using a quality device and using it correctly, you can reduce your chances of heat damage and keep your hair looking healthy (and as straight as you prefer). Its design is innovative, which can sometimes have a tricky learning curve, but testers rated the manual as most easy to understand. The plates are nice and wide, at 1.5 inches, which can make styling long hair a lot faster (although those with shorter hair may find the extra-wide plates unwieldy). A good straightening iron is essential for giving hair that silky smooth, glass-like shine — but you'll need to opt for one that fits your budget and hair type without totally frying your hair in the process.

It uses chemicals, like sodium hydroxide, to permanently break those disulfide bonds in the hair and keep it straight. The solution is applied to dry hair, processed, and then washed with a neutralizing shampoo to lock the straightness in place. In general, it’s probably best not to go with the absolute cheapest option unless you have no choice.

At Beauty Mag, all of our writers are passionate about skincare, makeup, haircare, and beauty. From lipstick experts to those who know everything about Korean face masks or how to tame frizzy locks, we’re here for all your beauty and style needs. No matter what your style is, we’ve got the tips, tricks, reviews, and tutorials to help you shine. Whether you want to straighten your hair every single day or just occasionally, you’ve got to play it smart. They’re not as strong as titanium, so if your hair is really curly, you’re not going to love the result.

The 1-inch plates on this iron make it versatile enough to work well for short or medium-length hair, or on bangs or fine baby hair around the face. “A 1-inch plate allows for a grip tight to the root regardless of hair length,” says Nicole Henry, senior colorist at Warren Tricomi Salon. However, the Chi may be slightly more time-consuming to use on longer hair between the single set temperature and the face that the plates cover less surface area. The lower-cost Conair InfinitiPro Tourmaline Ceramic Flat Iron is very lightweight—0.51 pound—and clamping the plates together doesn’t require a lot of muscle. We tested the 1-inch-wide model with a purple casing, but Conair makes this flat iron in three sizes and seven colors, so it’s easy to find one that suits your needs. We noted the time it took to straighten or style hair with each straightener and if any snagged pieces of hair.

Most importantly, it has gloriously smooth ceramic plates with beveled edges that make it a nimble tool for creating everything from pin-straight styles to polished curves at the ends of hair. 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. You can also scroll down to learn more about the other flat irons I tested. All of the irons we tested weighed less than a pound, and the difference between the lightest and heaviest straighteners was minimal (1 to 2 ounces). The GVP weighs 0.56 pound—it was one of the heaviest straighteners we tested, but it weighed only 0.12 pound more than the lightest straightener we tested.

If you don’t want to have multiple devices for different hairstyles, it’s good to combine them all in one. You can straighten your hair, curl it, give yourself salon-worthy waves, and more — all of this without damaging your locks. You won’t straighten your hair as you would with a flat iron, but a natural wave is entirely possible.

Some hair straighteners even come with a twin variety of hair styling as you can also twist and curl them easily. What’s better, most of these are quite easy to use at home, outdoors, on a vacation, and are easily compatible with any electrical plugs. Ceramic flat irons, which have ceramic-coated plates, are the most affordable option out of the three types of hair straighteners, says Bertin. They don’t get as hot as titanium and tourmaline, which makes them “ideal for those with dry, damaged or fine hair,” he says. However, ceramic-coated plates often need to be routinely checked since the coating can wear and chip away — in fact, when the metal beneath (usually aluminum) is exposed, it can cause damage to your hair, says Bertin. This cordless Dyson Corrale makes styling your hair faster and effortless, says Kyle DeToure, a Washington-based hairstylist and colorist.