Whether you're looking to quickly refresh your strands or style your locks whilst on the go, the best cordless straighteners are set to make a worthy addition to anyone's hair tools arsenal. Not only do these compact stylers offer stellar salon-worthy results, but they also don't require a wall socket...
You can finally wave goodbye to the tangled cable of your best straighteners, all thanks to the invention of wireless technology. From easy-to-manoeuvre devices to tools that achieve sleek results in a matter of minutes, it’s never been easier to give your hairstyle a refresh while out and about.
Whether you have limited wall sockets near your dressing table or for those hwo have been caught out by the winter rain, our beauty editors have curated an in-depth tried and tested guide to the best cordless straighteners for a sleek and straight finish - no matter where you are or what hair type you have. After reviewing almost all of the tools available on the market, here are their reviews of the very buys that are actually worth adding to your basket...
Best cordless straighteners deals
The quick list: the best cordless straighteners at a glance
The ghd Unplugged is ideal for those who are always on the go and may feel the need for a mid-afternoon styling refresh. It's super portable and lightweight – and can even be charged from a laptop.
Unlike most cordless straighteners, the Revamp compact gives you multiple temperature options instead of being limited to one or two heat settings. It's also lightweight and super portable. This cordless straightener is a great affordable replacement option if the ghd unplugged is a little out of your hair budget.
Cordless straighteners often cost between £200 and £400, and although this Babyliss straightener is only £20 away from £200, it's one of the more affordable picks without sacrificing quality results. It boasts a super lightweight design, and although it can take a few passes to straighten curly hair, it left us with the straightness and sleekness we expect from this brand.
One of the downsides to cordless straighteners is waiting for them to charge before you can use them. Fortunately, this Cloud Nine straightener has a charging time of only 90 minutes, which is pretty good compared to some other models that take hours. It also has a "revive" mode for healthier styling.
With unique styling plates that smoothen and straighten your hair to perfection, the Dyson Corrale is nothing short of impressive. With flexible copper plates and multiple heat settings, this is the perfect option if hair health is your top priority. Plus, you can continue straightening your hair while it's plugged in and charging.
With a 10-minute longer battery life than standard – plus a spare one so you have a back-up – the Revamp iGEN Progloss is a 10 in the battery department. The plates are also infused with keratin, argan and coconut oils, leaving your hair with added shine and smoothness. It's the perfect cordless straightener for those with thick and/or curly hair who may need a little more styling time than cordless straighteners usually offer.
The best cordless straighteners, reviewed by our beauty experts
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The best cordless straightener for on-the-go
If you’re on the hunt for a compact styler, at just 22cm long and fitted inside a slim coordinating colour case, the ghd Unplugged is the most portable of the best ghd straighteners portfolio. The accompanying charger is pretty small, too, so you won’t have to sacrifice much space in your hand luggage to take it on your travels. Its compactness does, however, make the plates on the smaller side, which meant we couldn't straighten particularly big sections of hair at once. However, it only took our tester a few passes through a section to get it completely straight.
As well as being chargeable from mains power, this model also features USB-C connectivity, meaning it can even plus into to some laptops. It's truly a straightening iron that's been designed for on-the-go use. You’ll never be left wondering how much battery you have left, thanks to the handy light display on the handle – perfect for keeping an eye on while styling. However, a full charge only lasted us around 20 minutes, a definite downside as this is slightly less than average for cordless straighteners. So, unless you know you can easily style all of your hair within that time, or if yours isn’t very long or curly, these straighteners are probably best for quick touch-ups or refreshes rather than a full styling session. But when it comes to portability, they're a winning choice.
Read our ghd Unplugged review for a more detailed guide to this styler
The best affordable cordless straightener
Revamp doesn’t have just one cordless option in its tool portfolio, so if you don't need a long battery life, the Progloss Liberate Cordless Compact Straightener is much smaller than the iGen – barely over 20cm, to be precise. It's also nice and light, weighing less than 250g. Though the charging time is noted as three hours, when we unboxed this styler and plugged it in, it already had a half-full battery.
Many straighteners style at one temperature, but we were pleased that this model is equipped with three options (160°C, 180°C and 210°C) to enable a more customisable styling experience. Like ghd’s, its plates are quite small, but there’s another common cordless straightener issue at play; as with other styles in this list, 30 minutes of battery power is more than some other models and fairly standard, but not enough time to style a head of thick, long hair. All this makes the Progloss Liberate better for on-the-go touch-ups (Revamp's other model is best for those who need theirs to last for a full styling session).
Despite this, our tester was left with soft-feeling hair after using this model, which we imagine is in part down to its moisturising, oil-infused plates. It's easy to use and the handy sparkly travel case can be slipped into a bag without adding much extra weight.
The best lightweight cordless straightener
This tool immediately got a big tick in our book for its more accessible price tag. Cordless stylers are often quite pricey, as you'll have seen in this guide. However, you can bag BaByliss’ tool for a more reasonable £180 – which is worth keeping an eye on as it's often discounted. Transporting them is also very easy, as these wire-free straighteners also come with a snazzy case.
When it came to using this styler, BaByliss’ heritage of hair tool know-how was obvious in its sleek results. It did require a few passes over curly hair to completely straighten it, but it did this well and left our hair with a straight finish. Rechargeable batteries in cordless straighteners tend to be heavy, but that isn’t the case here; the 9000 doesn’t feel awkward or difficult to use. A ring at the base of the styler is lit up continuously in one of four colours, indicating how much battery life is left, which we appreciated while styling. Again, there are only up to 30 minutes of power in a full charge here, but this tool allows you to enjoy wire-free styling for a bit less money than other models.
See our full BaByliss 9000 Cordless Hair Straightener review for a more in-depth guide to this tool
The best cordless straightener for fast charging
Much like its wired counterpart, Cloud Nine’s Original Cordless Iron impressed us, boasting a fairly lightweight design, three heat settings and the brand’s famous “Revive Mode” for reduced friction and gentler styling. As we’d expect from makers of some of the best straighteners for curly hair, the sleek and shiny results of this tool went down well with our tester, even if it required a few passes through curly hair.
Setting it apart from some of its competitors in our guide, this styler promises a fast charging time of just 90 minutes, so we didn't have to wait anywhere near as long as some other models to be powered up and ready to go. This pleasantly surprised us when we were waiting to test them.
There are some improvements we think would make the tool’s styling experience as seamless as its results. The straighteners show a green battery right up until you get the low battery warning, meaning you’re completely in the dark over how much power you have left until you near its end. The styler does alert you to the low battery by playing a short sound, which happened around 20 minutes into our tester styling with both the middle and highest temperatures, but a continuous guide would be helpful. Battery quibbles aside, though, this cordless styler gets lovely results.
The best cordless straightener for quick styling
Equipped with impressive technology, Dyson's hair tools are some of the most expensive consumer styling devices on the market. Throughout the review, we found the Corrale effect – which gives this styler its name – a little unusual, but very clever. Although the straightener is gliding smoothly over your hair, the process feels a little like you’re running it over tangled hair or as though it’s snagging (don’t panic, it isn’t). This feeling is simply the plates gathering and aligning your hair for the perfect flyaway-free finish in no time at all. Its innovative technology created straight strands in as little as one or two passes, meaning it boasted a fast styling experience with results that stayed put.
On a full charge, the Corrale’s battery lasts 30 minutes, which – as is a running theme in this guide – isn’t enough time to take hair that’s very curly, thick, long or all of the above, to poker straight. On the other hand, unlike many other straighteners that have ditched their wires, this one can be used while plugged in. Another drawback of the Corrale is that it’s rather heavy and no smaller than standard, so there aren’t any space-saving or weight-saving benefits to take advantage of in your luggage. Its cordlessness, therefore, lends itself better to distance from power rather than travel.
The Corrale is also the most expensive cordless model in this guide by quite some way, with a price tag that's just shy of £400. Needless to say, this is more than most pairs of straighteners cost generally, not just cordless models. If you have the budget, only you can decide if you're prepared to spend that much, but if you want cool technology and the cost isn’t prohibitive, this is a good pair of straighteners with cordless capabilities.
See our full Dyson Corrale review for a detailed look at this cordless model
The best cordless straightener for battery life
Revamp's newer cordless model, the iGen Progloss Cordless Ceramic Straightener, actually left our tester with time to spare when straightening her naturally curly hair. In terms of battery life, this tool's up to 40-minute battery life already puts it ahead of the others in our edit. But it also comes with a second, additional battery – so when the first one runs out, you have another full charge ready to go while you’re on the move. In total, this can give you as long as 80 minutes of styling time, during which you’re much more likely to be able to style a full head of thick, long and/or curly hair. This went down very well with our testers, who are used to seeing no more than 30 minutes of power, max.
This extended battery life does come at a price, however. Much like the Dyson Corrale, these straighteners do feel quite heavy once the battery is attached, and especially so if you’re lugging your second battery around. This is something to consider if you often travel light and don't want your travel tool to weigh things down. But if you want to completely style your hair with your wire-free tool, rather than simply touching it up on the go, these offer the longest amount of cord-free styling time by quite some way.
How we tested the best cordless straighteners
A selection of cordless straighteners one tester tried for this feature from (L-R) Revamp, Dyson, ghd, BaByliss, and Cloud Nine
When it came to researching the tools for this feature, we tested most of the cordless straighteners from leading haircare brands that are currently available on the UK market. In order to thoroughly review and assess each pair of cordless straighteners, we fully charged them and then styled our hair from its natural texture in order to see how well they straightened and for how long. While testing each tool, we made our judgments based on the following factors.
- Price: Taking into consideration how much each tool will set you back and whether its results live up to its price tag.
- Design: Each cordless straightener boasts different technological features, so consider whether you want a lightweight model to avoid the dreaded arm ache, or a high-tech device that is kinder to your strands.
- How long they take to charge fully: Timing exactly how long it took us to reach a full battery.
- Battery life claims: We observed the longevity of battery life each tool claimed.
- Portability and weight: Is the tool light and portable enough to carry with you on-the-go, whether that's in your work handbag or your cabin luggage.
- Ease of use: With different features and designs, some tools will be easier than others to use. If you tend to struggle with tech or want to opt for the tool that is specifically suited towards your hair type, weigh up what device would be best for you.
- How well they styled hair: Does the tool effortlessly glide through the hair, how many passes does it take to straighten strands, did it help minimise frizz and boost shine?
- How results looked and lasted: We analysed whether the tool offer salon-worthy results and if they actually stand the test of time throughout a full day's wear.
- How long the battery actually lasted: We made note of whether the tool's battery life actually lived up to its promises, comparing each device to find the one that offers the longest performance time.
- Inclusion of a carry case: With cordless straighteners, carry cases are a necessity to make for easy styling on-the-go. That said, we considered whether the tools arrived with a case, and if so, how travel-friendly they are.
How to choose the best cordless straighteners for your hair
There are a few different factors to consider when selecting a pair of the best cordless straighteners.
- Battery life: If you have thick hair or a lot of it (or perhaps both) consider whether you need the longest battery possible for your styling needs. 30 minutes tends to be the standard, which won't give you enough to straighten a whole head of naturally coily or curly hair from scratch but can work for refreshing already-styled hair.
- Temperature settings: If you are somebody who styles their hair at a higher temperature, compare the styling temperature to your existing wired straighteners before you buy. Some cordless options have multiple temperature settings to choose from, catering to different hair thicknesses and textures.
- Weight: Because of their rechargeable batteries, cordless straighteners can be heavy, which is something to bear in mind if you'll be carrying them around all day (or if you're prone to the dreaded hair styling arm ache).
Our expert panel
Lucy Abbersteen is a freelance beauty editor who has written for titles including Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and OK!, as well as regularly contributing to woman&home. She has many years of experience testing hair tools, including dryers.
As woman&home's Beauty Channel Editor, Fiona McKim has tried more beauty products than she’s had hot dinners. Fiona joined the team as Assistant Beauty Editor in 2013, working under industry legend Jo GB, who taught her everything she needed to know. She has since covered every corner of the industry, from interviewing dermatologists and celebrities to reporting backstage at Fashion Week and judging the woman&home Beauty Awards.
Syd Hayes is a renowned session hair stylist and the owner of the Q Cut salon in Kew Gardens, London. He is also an ambassador for BaByliss and has worked on countless photo shoots and fashion week shows during his career.
Aleesha Badkar is woman&home's Acting Digital Beauty Editor, covering all things beauty on the site, from the best techniques and sharpest tools to the newest products. Previously, she was Deputy Editor and Beauty & Fashion Editor for My Imperfect Life, where she headed up the beauty, fashion and eCommerce pages.
Your cordless straightener FAQs, answered by experts
What are the benefits of cordless straighteners?
As for the benefits of cordless straighteners, we sought the opinion of a leading hairdresser. "Straighteners always have been and always will be such a versatile tool – they can be used in many ways and not just for sleek hair," session hair stylist and BaByliss ambassador Syd Hayes tells us. "I am using [the BaByliss 9000 straightener] all the time backstage when we have no electrical sockets; a complete game changer to the backstage world.
He continues: "The cordless tech gives me the freedom to provide amazing hair anywhere; on any beach, backstage at Fashion Week for final hair touch-ups, or in the back of a van on the way to a shoot location. It can be so versatile and, for me, provides such freedom with my styling."
Are cordless straighteners right for you?
If you travel often or you frequently find yourself pressed for time and still need to style your hair, cordless straighteners make a great investment. But according to woman&home's beauty editor Aleesha Badkar, who owns the Dyson Corrale, there are some pros and cons to take into account before buying these useful portable stylers. One being its short battery life.
"For me, I have no choice but to use the Corrale corded – and with a magnetic attachment, this can be annoying, as it easily falls out. And then comes the actual battery power," Badkar says. "Even corded, the battery lasts no more than a few minutes before it conks out, and I have to restart it and try again. And after a couple of attempts, it will die, not to be resuscitated again until its juices are topped up to 100."
On the other hand, a lot of cordless straighteners perform just as well as corded ones, minus the fuss of the tangled wire. "The results from the Corrale are second to none. High heat settings and wide but intelligent plates mean my long, thick, frizzy hair is easily tamed in just 10 minutes and left with a glossy shine," Badkar says.
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