12 best hair straighteners, tried and tested for every hair type and budget

Always at the forefront of styling innovation, ghd has impressed us once again with the new duet: a wet-to-dry hair straightener that replaces your hair dryer and straightener in one. The idea might not be new, but the tech certainly is. So, forget the frazzling failures you may have tried in the past – this new tool is a game-changer.

Using the brand’s new airflow tech, air grilles work together with four low-temperature plates at the head of the styler to simultaneously dry and straighten strands. You finish with the shine shot mode that turns the styler into a standard ghd straightener (working at the brand’s optimum 185C) to boost sleekness and shine further.

The brand promises 48 hours of unprecedented softness, with no damage to strands, which we can vouch for, as it made our strands smooth and super silky for two days. It’s such a shame it’s only for straightening and we couldn’t curl with it too.

The big question we hear you ask is, does it save time? It doesn’t if you’ve mastered professional straightening with a round brush and blow-dryer, but for those of us who struggle and have to meticulously go over our hair with irons, it certainly makes straightening not only faster, but easier too.

Read our full review of the ghd duet 2-in-1 hot air styler

These colourful irons from Drew Barrymore’s haircare range may be one of the cheapest in our review but they do far from lack in performance. The rounded edges are designed to make easy work of creating soft, beachy curls, while the 25mm tourmaline ceramic plates banish frizz and create a smooth and super-shiny finish when straightening.

There are four heat settings, ranging from 150C to 225C, so they’ll glide through both thicker manes and unmanageable strands easily. Another bonus is the brand has been generous with the swivel cord (budget brands are often a bit stingy in this area), which makes the straighteners easy to manoeuvre around the bedroom.

In fact, nothing screams budget apart from the price – there’s even that all-important automatic shut-off after an hour, for peace of mind.

Ghd popularised the use of hair straightening with its innovative irons in the Noughties – the brand even became a verb as we all “ghded” our hair. It’s no surprise it’s still at the top of its game with every styler in the collection a top choice but, if you really had to twist our arm, this high-tech model is at the top of the pile when it comes to easy everyday styling.

The ‘smart’ technology gives you a personalised touch, as the plates recognise the thickness of your hair and the styling speed, adjusting the heat accordingly – the heat is monitored constantly, so your hair is never compromised.

This model offers faultless performance, with a speedy heat-up time and a one-stroke straighten that will leave you with a sleek and shiny result. It’s equally as easy to curl with, thanks to the floating plates and well-thought-out design.

It’s available in black, white and now this limited-edition sunkissed taupe shade – our favourite yet.

Read our full review of the ghd platinum+ hair straighteners

The age-old question beauty editors now get asked is whether the Dyson hair tools are worth their hefty price tags. The answer is a big, fat yes when it comes to the corrale (seen here in the copper/nickel shade). The state-of-the-art design you expect from the brand makes waving, curling and straightening super quick and easy, thanks to the flexible copper plates that grip and gather every strand.

Plus, there’s no cord to get in the way (unless you want there to be, as you can also style it with the 360-degree charging cable that comes with it). Cord-free you get 30 minutes of run time on a 70-minute charge, but we found if you place the styler on the charging dock in-between glides it prolongs the battery life. It’s plenty of time even if you have a more difficult to style curly or coarse mane, and with three temperatures to choose from (165C, 185C and 210C) you’ll get smooth, flawless results no matter your hair type.

Read our full review of the Dyson corrale hair straighteners

If you struggle using conventional hair straighteners on more difficult to straighten strands, this will be the tool for you. It works differently, styling strands with high-pressure dry steam that comes out of tiny vents when you press the plates together. It’s particularly effective on more unmanageable manes, but it is suitable for all hair types.

The steam comes from an integrated mini water tank that the brand promises can be used to style 192m of hair. We gave up counting this, but can certainly verify that it lasts a long time, so don’t worry, you don’t have to keep filling it up to get results

This is the latest edition of the stream straightener, which sees improvements such as a new rounder design that makes it easier to create waves and more defined curls. However, it’s still on the bulky side.

The wider floating plates coated in aluminium make it easier to get to the roots and glide through strands speedily for a super sleek look. Whichever look you opt for, you can expect the finish to stay smooth and in place all day long.

Those with long, thick and curlier hair types will cut their styling time down with wider and longer plates, such as those featured on this model (38mm x 125mm). If you need it, the variable temperature control means you can turn up the heat to 235C, too. Equally, if you have hair that’s fine or fragile you can dial it down to 80C.

What we really like about this model is that, for such a reasonably priced tool, it performs up there with the premium brands going the extra beauty mile. It’s effortless at creating super smooth styles, as well as carefree curls, thanks to the contoured edges. It also features ionic technology, a real frizz buster – keeping it at bay even in April showers.

Another highlight is the amazing glossy finish you’re left with after use – the plates are infused with keratin, coconut and argan oil for shine. Quick to use, great value and a finish that oozes health – what’s not to love?

Turn to this Panasonic iron if a light and easy-to-manoeuvre hair straightener is what you’re looking for. A smooth snag-free pass that adds shine to strands awaits, thanks to its nanoe tech, and with five temperature settings (150C to 230C) you can personalise your heat preferences to always get the best finish for your hair type.

Its compact design makes it a great option for those with shorter or mid-length styles. Another stand-out for us is its slim-headed design that makes getting to the roots easy. And don’t think its price compromises on performances. It heats up in 20 seconds and is as speedy to use as its premium-priced competitors.

Reliable and reasonably priced, Remington is another favourite brand when it comes to at-home hair styling. This latest tool is a little pricier than its usual purse-friendly irons, but we found the price tag is well justified, as the Remington proluxe you is a little more on the luxe side and much techier than its predecessors.

Taking a more personalised approach to styling, these plates adapt to your hair type with clever built-in sensors that “read” your hair while you style to find the optimum temperature for the best results. And they do this very well – we were very impressed with how long-lasting our curls were, as well as how poker-straight our strands stayed. If you prefer to stay in control, simply switch to one of the nine temperatures available, from 150C to 230C.

With its black glossy finish and rose-gold touches, you’ll find these have a sleeker design from the popular hair tool brand, compared with its predecessors. But its real selling point is it takes just seconds to heat up, with three settings to choose from (160C, 180C and 200C). You’ll then have 30 minutes of styling time on a three-hour charge, which for us was enough to straighten our hair three times before having to recharge.

Straightforward to use, this is a one-button operation. Press to turn on and click to adjust the temperature, which is guided by three LED lights – it couldn’t be simpler. The floating ceramic plates with even heat-distribution tech make snag-free curling as easy as straightening.

It’s also ideal for holiday packing, as it already comes with a two-pin interchangeable charging adaptor for Europe, as well as a compact travel case.

With such a successful back catalogue of high-performing hair stylers, we couldn’t help but have lofty expectations before we even got our hands on ghd’s first cordless tool, but it did far from disappoint. Tech-wise, it uses the same dual-zone technology that keeps the plates at 185C, which the brand says is the optimum styling temperature without compromising the health of the hair. You can, therefore, expect the same snag-free, sleek results you get from the rest of the line-up, even though the plates are slightly smaller in size.

It’s the convenience of the cable-free design you’re paying extra for, but for those constantly on the go trying to fit in a gym session, meeting and night-out all in one day, these will be a godsend. A two-hour charge will give you 20 minutes of styling time, which was enough for us to straighten our strands twice. What we really appreciated, though, is that you can charge them in your car or laptop with a USB-C socket. Lightweight and compact, they’re our new handbag hero.

Turn to this collaboration with the ex-Love Islander-turned-social-media-star if you’re looking for a wide range of adjustable heat settings. This tool is perfect for those with fine or fragile locks, for which turning down the heat is a must, as the straighteners go as low as 80C. They also go as high as 220C if you’re at the other end of the hair scale, with thicker strands.

The slim ceramic plates with infrared make it easier to get from root to tip for that super-straight, sleek and shiny look often spotted on Molly-Mae. We were impressed with how our locks stayed looking so fresh throughout the day, too.

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From the hot brush to the curling wand, this isn’t the first sunshine-yellow hair tool we’ve been super impressed with from the cult US brand Drybar, which is now available in the UK. Master of the blow-dry stateside, the brand also has this speedy-to-use iron in its electrical collection.

Made with 1in titanium plates that go up to 232C, which typically make straightening much easier for thicker or harder to straighten strands, we were really impressed with its quick results and its smooth and shiny zero-frizz finish. And our locks stayed that way, even in humidity. Plus, the rounded edges on the tress press design make it an easy-to-use tool for creating soft waves, too.