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Curls are beautiful, but taking care of and styling them can be a long, frustrating, and often expensive task. Whether you have tight coils, waves, or Shirley Temple spirals, sometimes you just want to smooth them out and not be bothered for a few days. Having a good tool, be it a flat iron or a blow-dry brush, makes that process easier.
WIRED's Gear team has an array of curl types, needs, and hair-styling tricks, and we've all tried a lot of hair straighteners in our lifetimes. Some flat irons have left us with crispy ends and cramped hands, while others, like the ones listed here, gave us sleek hair. There's a dizzying number of options around, but hopefully our favorite hair straighteners can help narrow down your search.
Updated September 2023: We added GHD's Platinum Plus flat iron and Duet styler, Chi's Original Ceramic flat iron, and L'Oreal's Steampod. We also added a section for blow-dry brushes.
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It's all a bit confusing. A straightener can be a flat iron, and a flat iron is a straightener, but not all straighteners are flat irons. They come in other forms too, including brushes and combs. No matter which you go with, what you call it, or what your budget is, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
I vividly remember the first flat iron my curly-haired family ever owned. It was thick and left our hair looking fried, with clamp marks at the root. Basically, I looked like Witch Hazel from Looney Tunes. It wasn't until college that I discovered the Paul Mitchell flat iron and it proves that the right tool makes a difference. The one I got then still works now, and I've seen it work its magic on several different hair textures and curl patterns. It's worth every penny.
The plates on this Ion Style+ model are 1 inch, which is a pretty good size for straightening, as well as creating a natural-looking curl. I currently use the similar 1.25-inch Ion Smooth+ model ($131), which is also a good choice if you are used to maneuvering bigger tools. Go with the smaller Style+ if you're inexperienced or have shorter hair. Both have been updated with a digital interface since I first tried them.
I love the Paul Mitchell irons, but this cheap Conair is incredible. I doubted it could work well on my unmanageable hair, but it straightened it quickly without it looking fried or frizzy. It has extra long, thin plates that make the whole process easier but they also makes nice curls too. You can probably find this Conair (or similar models) at your local CVS, too.
★ Another Cheap Alternative: I've also tested and fallen in love with Remington's Shine Therapy flat iron ($25). It's another affordable device that outperforms hair straighteners that cost three times as much. It straightened my hair quickly, and I didn't have to go over a section more than once.
Chi is highly regarded, and this straightener in particular is an almost permanent feature at the top of Amazon’s bestsellers list. It comes with a lot of hype which, in my experience, it more than lives up to. Its ceramic plates heat up to 392 degrees Fahrenheit (202 Celsius) in seconds—it’s one of the fastest straighteners I’ve tried—and it creates sleek styles with minimal passes. Its curved edges make it great for creating soft curls and flicks, and it feels super lightweight.
There are a couple of sacrifices you make for this cheaper price. The hinge has a tendency to trap and pull on the hair, and the outer plastic gets hot while styling, making it uncomfortable to touch. It doesn’t burn the skin, it’s just hotter than other straighteners I’ve tried. Neither of these complaints are enough to outweigh just how good these straighteners are for the price. It’s just worth bearing them in mind. —Victoria Woollaston-Webber
The T3 Smooth ID hair straightener would be in our top spot if it wasn't so expensive. But it might be worthwhile if you're concerned about hair damage. Most hot hair tools claim to cause less damage than the competition, but the T3 actually delivers with a unique temperature-finding feature the company calls HeatID Technology. To set the right temperature, select your hair features via the touch controls on the iron's handle: texture (fine, medium, coarse), length (short, medium, long), and if your hair is color-treated. It will then suggest a heat level. I also love its Refresh Mode for touching up hair later at a lower temperature based on previous settings.
It can create gorgeous curls too. Once you perfect that flick of the wrist, your hair will look like you just came from the salon. If you'd rather have two dedicated hair tools, the company also has a curling iron ($249) with the same HeatID tech.
★ More Luxury From Dyson: We love the Dyson Corrale ($499) (8/10, WIRED Recommends), but it's extremely expensive. It makes you feel fancy, like all Dyson tools tend to do, and its flexing plates quickly get your hair straighter with less heat—they curve around the hair, avoiding the splaying-out effect and uneven heat distribution that plague other flat irons. Still, it has flaws for a $500 hair straightener. It can be used without a cord, but the battery life is too short to straighten my whole head of hair. The onboard battery also makes it quite heavy.
If you have super short hair or just need to tame your bangs like reviews associate editor Adrienne So, you don't have to spend a lot (or deal with a bulky tool). She uses the BabylissPro Nano, which is just 6 inches long. It won't take up precious bathroom space, and it's easy to travel with. We also like the full-size version of the Nano ($160) for straightening your full head.
GHD was a pioneer of the ceramic hot plate and is still considered a hair tool leader. It sells a range of straighteners to suit different budgets, and the best of the bunch is the Platinum+. Design-wise, it’s sleek and comfortable to hold, which makes it great for creating curls and flicks as well as straight styles. This is thanks to its curved edges and cool tip.
It straightens my hair in one pass, which reduces how much heat I expose my hair to and thus reduces the risk of damage. It also uses GHD’s “ultra-zone predictive technology,” which makes sure the heat is evenly distributed across its ceramic plates. Our biggest complaint is that GHD tools only offer one temperature setting—365 degrees Fahrenheit (185 Celsius). The brand claims that this is the optimal temperature for styling hair while minimizing damage. This is enough heat for my fine hair, but Medea has tried several of the brand's tools to little success. It might not cut it if you have thick or natural hair. —Victoria Woollaston-Webber
If you can look past its slightly odd shape, the Revlon Double Straight’s four-plate design makes a lot of sense. As you pass the Double Straight over your hair, the first two plates straighten, while the second two ‘reinforce’ the style. This effectively allows you to make two passes in one, which reduces both the time it takes to complete the style and the risk of heat damage. I found this to be largely true, although to get the full effect you need to pass it over your hair slightly slower than you would do normally, which cuts into the time-saving benefits a little.
Heat-wise, this Revlon offers the most temperature settings of any straighteners I’ve tried. There are 10 to choose from, ranging from 285 degrees Fahrenheit (140 Celsius) up to 455 degrees Fahrenheit (235 Celsius), which makes this a great choice for every hair type. I expected the copper ceramic plates to pull on the hair, due to the fact there are four of them and they’re so far apart, but they glide over it easily. The plates are also smaller than I had imagined—each one is 1/2 an inch whereas standard plates measure 1 inch—but they still cover similar widths of hair as standard straighteners. The biggest downside to the design is that it’s much harder to use these straighteners for curls. Not impossible, but difficult. —Victoria Woollaston-Webber
★ A four-plate alternative: Hot Tools sells an almost identical straightener, the Black Gold Dual Plate Flat Iron ($130), with the same cut-out look, the same four-plate design, and the same performance. They even max out at the same top temperature of 455 degrees Fahrenheit (235 Celsius). Hot Tools bumps the number of heat settings to 30—three times the already impressive 10 on the Revlon model—but it’s also almost three times the price.
Nearly all flat irons can be used for curling once you get used to the proper hand movement. However, some people prefer separate curling irons. This Bio Ionic tool combines a flat iron, a curling iron (which has a clasp), and a curling wand (which has no clasp) in one. Multi-use tools often don't do all the things well—what we at WIRED call “the spork problem.” But this one is quite impressive.
On the bottom of the handle is a lock for the flat iron's plates. Push the button down to “Straight" and the plates separate so you can straighten as usual. Push it up to “Curl” to lock the plates together to either clasp or wrap your hair. This tool's best feature, though, has nothing to do with that multi-functionality. It's that there's a rubber tip at the top so you can hold it for stability or readjusting without burning your fingerprints off. My biggest gripe was that rogue hairs often got stuck and pulled while trying to style, which is a problem in the category.
You might think steam would be the enemy of straight hair, but it actually moisturizes it while the heat flattens it into shape. According to L’Oreal, this allows the Steampod to gently dry the outer shaft without drying the core. When you go outside, especially in humid conditions, the hair then doesn’t absorb any of the extra moisture and remains frizz-free.
First, fill up the built-in water tank. Once it reaches the desired temperature–it ranges from 356 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius) to 410 degrees Fahrenheit (210 Celsius)–it blasts a flow of high-pressure steam over your hair as the plates clamp around it. My hair was shinier and felt less dry when using the Steampod and, as promised, it didn’t become a frizzy mess after a workout. The Steampod doesn’t quite give the poker-straight style I’m used to from hot plates, and the curls I created didn’t hold as long as they usually do. It’s also a little fiddly to use: You have to always have the comb facing down. Yet it left my hair feeling healthy, soft, and less unwieldy, so I’ll make that sacrifice. There's also a Barbie version. —Victoria Woollaston-Webber
Hot combs have been around for decades and tend to work well on particularly coarse hair. Many women used to heat these up on a stove to smooth their curls—a friend of mine still uses this type—but these electrical ones don't get as hot, so they're a little safer. Still, it's easy to burn yourself with one, so be extra cautious. This Andis comb works great on coarse hair and is very affordable. My only gripe is the off button's placement; it's easy to accidentally turn it off while using the comb.
One advantage combs and brushes have is that they give you more of a naturally straight look, instead of the pin straight—and sometimes crispy ends—you get by clamping your hair between two plates.
I’d seen the Tymo Ring all over social media for years before trying it, and the wait was worth it. It's like a traditional hot comb and a straightening brush in one, but you can get closer to your roots without burning yourself than you can with a comb, because there's an outer shell covering the hot teeth. Straightening brushes aren't usually a one-stop-shop for my hair, and that was the case here. I did need to go over my hair with a flat iron to smooth out some of the poof left behind, but the Tymo Ring took the curl right out quickly—I didn't have to go over sections more than once or twice.
This bundle includes a hot tool glove, which worked well with the Tymo but burned when I used it with another curling iron that reached that same temperature. Be aware that it's not made for direct contact on a hot plate. There is a newer version of the Ring that we have not yet tried.
Straightening my hair used to be a two-day affair. I'd wash all the product out the night before, let it air-dry, then braid it before bed so that the next day, the curls were looser and easier to work through. Then, and only then, could I go in with a flat iron. With the RevAir, I can decide to straighten my hair at literally any time. It's a luxury I've never known before.
Super Hair Dryer If you can afford it, and find a cabinet it fits in, the RevAir is incredible. In goes wet, curly hair, and out comes straight dry hair without much effort on your part. I was obsessed with the first RevAir and even more impressed with the second iteration (9/10, WIRED Recommends). It's a bit smaller and lighter, but more expensive than the last one. I was terrified that its vacuum-like hose would rip my hair right out, but my follicles are still intact. It creates enough tension to remove the curl without actually pulling, and it works way faster than a blow-dry brush. For me, I still wanted to smooth out my hair with an iron, but those with smoother curls won't need to do that extra step—I tested it on a friend and she ended up with perfectly straight hair after.