The best hair straighteners for thick hair that'll make styling easy
Our beauty editor reviews the best hair straighteners for thick hair that deliver on style and substance
Best hair straighteners for thick hair 2024: Jump Menu
1. Best overall: Cloud Nine The Wide Iron Pro
2. Best budget hair straighteners for thick hair: mdlondon STRAIT Hair Straightener
3. Best for minimising damage: KEEO Genius Smart-Glide Straightener
4. Best for dry, thick hair: L'Oréal Professionnel SteamPod 4 All-In-One Professional Styler
5. Best for long, thick hair: ghd Max Hair Straightener
6. Best for hair that's hard to style: Bio:Ionic OnePass Straightening Iron 1.5 Inch
7. Best for fast styling: Revamp Progloss Wide Ultra X Shine Ceramic Hair Straightener
8. Best for a sleek finish: Revlon Double Straight Copper Ceramic Dual Plate Straightener
9. Best for frizzy hair: Dyson Corrale Straightener
10. Best for breakage: Panasonic Nanoe EH-HS0E Hair Straightener
11. Best for short, thick hair: ghd Platinum+ Hair Straightener
Hair straighteners should be able to do so with ease. But the best hair straighteners for thick hair will make light work of dense locks, creating sleek results you don’t have to work too hard for.
The secret to straightening thick hair fast is in the plates and the best hair straighteners for the job tend to be wider or longer than your average straightener. “Using a wider plate straightener can make it easier to style thick hair as it’s faster to straighten large sections,” says Tyler Moore, Expert Stylist at Live True London. “While it’s possible to style with regular straighteners, beginners may find wider plates easier to use.”
The length of your hair has an impact too. “For long hair, wide plates are super effective as they capture more stands in one go and remove frizz fast,” says Belle Cannan, founder of Salon Sloane. If your hair is very short, or if you have a lot of breakage (which is common if you’re addicted to your irons) narrow straighteners are still best. In this case, you’ll need to rely on glossy coatings and variable heat temperatures to supercharge your styling. But don't fret, as you can still choose from the best cordless straighteners and the best straighteners for curly hair, even if it's exceptionally thick.
Straightening my thick hair can be as strenuous as a 45-minute gym class. Both have the potential to leave me a sweaty, melty mess, and only one of them is doing anything for my cardio fitness. My hair is very thick in that each strand could rival a piece of rope, and there are lots of them, so styling has always been a time-consuming task rather than a quick fix. It’s also not an exaggeration to say that if I left my hair to dry naturally it would take two to three working days (I can go to bed with sopping hair and wake up to it still wet), so I can never forgo blow drying. My hair is also naturally very curly, which makes straightening even harder. The secret to making the task of smoothing hair like mine easier? Having the right tools for the job (and no, I’m not talking about sweatbands and a water bottle).
Jess Beech is an experienced fashion and beauty editor with more than eight years of experience in the publishing industry. She has written for woman&home, GoodtoKnow, Now, Woman, Woman’s Weekly, Woman’s Own and Chat, and is a former Deputy Fashion & Beauty Editor at Future PLC.
Tyler Moore is an experienced hair stylist working for Live True salons in London.
Belle is a renowned hairstylist with more than 35 years of experience in the industry. She is also the founder of premium London-based salon, Salon Sloane.
The quick list
Best overall
The best hair straighteners for thick hair overall
We love the wide plates of these straighteners, which do wonders for our thick hair and allow a smooth style from root to tip. We also find that these straighteners tackle frizz and brittle textures well and, by choosing a temperature between 100°C and 200°C, you can still keep hair health at the forefront of your mind and styling.
Best budget
The best budget hair straighteners for thick hair
These affordable straighteners also look very chic, and while they're the narrowest option we tried, their thinner shape allowed us to tackle shorter curly hairs around our crown. Being very lightweight, these are also great at creating waves and curls, for when you don't want to create heatless curls.
Best for minimising damage
The best for thick hair that's damaged
With wiggly plates that creates an "air gap" to reduce unnecessary damage, we found these straighteners worked to minimise the look of split ends. They also allowed us to retain some of the volume that comes with thick hair, which is a plus if you're looking for that bouncy, 90s blowout hair look
Best for dry, thick hair
The best hair straighteners for dry, thick hair
While not the cheapest option on our list, these straighteners use steam to replace any lost moisture during the straightening process. Our usual frizz was nowhere to be seen and the plates get right up to the roots, meaning we were able to create an all-over sleek and straight look with ease.
Best for long, thick hair
The best hair straighteners for long, thick hair
The ghd Max Straighteners almost need no introduction. The glossy plates glide over strands without snagging, and they'll also shut off after 30 minutes of inactivity, which is ideal if you spend your life worrying about whether or not you switched your straighteners off before leaving the house.
Best for quick styling
The best for thick hair that's hard to style
With silicone strips within the plates, the hair is gently gripped by these straighteners, which gives the tool its 'one-pass' name. This actually speeds up the straightening time, as each section will be styled beautifully without having to go over each section again and again.
The best straighteners for thick hair, chosen by our beauty team
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The best hair straighteners for thick hair overall
1. Cloud Nine The Wide Iron Pro
Our expert review:
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Cloud Nine’s The Wide Iron Pro completely converted me to wide-plated straighteners a couple of years ago. Before then, my only previous experiences with wide plates had been at the hairdressers, where I always left with tell-tale signs of my natural curl type at the hairline and at the roots as the stylist, I assume, had been too worried about burning my scalp to get too close. I thought (wrongly) that wide plate irons would only work on long hair that just required taming on the mid-lengths to ends.
Although the plates on Cloud Nine’s The Wide Iron Pro are wider than average, they’re set very close to the edge – making it easy to create a convincingly sleek look from root to tip. The reason I really love this styler, though, is that it has completely changed the health of my hair. Full disclosure: I use heat on my hair almost every day because, for me, the answer to how to straighten hair without heat is that I can't. But since using these, my split ends are fewer and further between and my hair grows faster, too. In fact, I really noticed a change to the texture of my hair – it’s been drier and frizzier – since putting my Cloud Nines on hold to test other contenders for best hair straighteners for thick hair for this guide.
The other need-to-knows are that the plates are infused with minerals for improved shine, the floating plates minimise drag and friction, and the heat settings range from 100-200°C; I tend to use 180°C when my hair is particularly stubborn or I’ve blow-dried it lazily, and a cooler 150°C between washes.
The best affordable hair straighteners for thick hair
2. mdlondon STRAIT Hair Straightener
Our expert review:
Specifications
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My first pair of ghd straighteners cost £100 and I remember thinking at the time that was a jaw-dropping amount of money for a hair tool. Now, it’s not uncommon for the best hair straighteners for thick hair to cost three times that – or more – and even the more affordable options are nearing the £200 mark. It’s fair to say I was thrilled, then, to see that the mdlondon STRAIT Hair Straightener is a much more democratically priced £109.
First impressions count and this tool continued on a positive footing when I got it out of the box. It's probably the narrowest straightener on this list, but this is countered by the fact that they’re very long, so you can still style a decent section of thick hair at a time. I have a halo of shorter hairs around my hairline that love to twist themselves into ringlets, and this styler's thin shape made it easy to tame those without feeling at risk of singeing my forehead. It makes a slight crackling sound as it heats up, which is a little off-putting but not a deal-breaker. I also like that the screen shows them heating up degree-by-degree. I’m always keen to use as little heat as possible on my hair and, even at 90 degrees, these smoothed really well; my strands felt cool as they came out the other side instead of guiltily hot to the touch.
If you did want to ramp up the heat, these straighteners go as high as 230°C, but 210°C was as hot as I went and that was more than sufficient to style my hair. The final thing to note is that these are very light, which naturally made me gentler with my styling, as opposed to tugging down on my hair with the irons. This will also be a pro for anyone who finds straightening their thick hair exhausting, or who wants to experiment with creating waves and curls without a full bicep workout.
The best straighteners for thick hair to minimise damage
3. KEEO Genius Smart-Glide Straightener
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
To a degree, once you’ve seen one pair of straighteners, you’ve seen them all, so I’m always interested to see brands that are doing things a little differently. Instead of flat plates, the KEEO Genius Smart-Glide Straightener has wiggly ones that slot together like a jigsaw when you clamp them shut. The rationale is that this leaves an "air gap" between the plates, meaning you don’t cause unnecessary damage by pulling them too forcefully through to the hair (something that I’m definitely guilty of when I’m in a hurry, which is 99.9% of the time).
I was a bit dubious at first as I couldn’t see how I’d get a super straight finish or avoid feeling like my hair was being snagged as I passed it through the ridged plates. But it didn’t take long for me to be proven wrong. You do have to style more slowly than with other straighteners, so straightening takes longer, but the point is to reduce damage to your hair – and I think leisurely straightening is a fair trade for fewer split ends. But the finish won’t be for everyone; my hair did retain some volume rather than looking completely dead straight. Whether or not that puts you off will depend on if (like me) you’re trying to disguise the fact you have very thick hair or if you want to embrace it.
It’s also worth mentioning that if you clamp these straighteners on to your hair, for example, when adding a wave or curl, then they do leave a slightly crimped effect. This is easily straightened out, but it's something to keep in mind if you like to use the best hair straighteners for thick hair to style yours in different way.
The best hair straighteners for thick dry hair
4. L’Orėal Professionel Steampod 4
Our expert review:
Specifications
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If you were to divide all the hair straighteners on this list into neat little subcategories, the Steampod would have to sit all on its own. Thanks to L’Oreal’s patented steam technology, it works in a completely different way from others on the market. When you use a normal straightening iron, moisture is lost from the hair. This is why you sometimes notice steam escaping as you style and hair can feel dry and a bit crispy after straightening. The difference with the Steampod is that it uses steam to replace that lost moisture, so hair is less likely to break and snap.
I was initially sceptical about this. I only need to look at the rain out the window and my hair starts to frizz. I never knowingly leave home without an umbrella, I wear a shower cap when I’m cooking and a spa steam room is my idea of hell. Surely the steam would just make my hair frizzier? Impressively, it didn’t. Probably as the steam is dry, not wet. I did find that my hair felt a bit tackier after using the Steampod than it does with other stylers (I do tend to use quite a lot of hair products so that could be part of it) but it was nice and smooth to the touch, and there was no fluffy halo to contend with.
The results do come with a caveat, as although the Steampod 4 is the most improved version yet, it’s still not seamless to use. The tank needs to be filled with demineralised water (tap won’t do), it needs to be used a certain way up for the comb attachment to pass through the hair (I learned this the hard way) and it makes a loud humming noise when using. That being said it is lighter than its predecessors, reaches closer to the roots, and has the benefit of curved, heated outer plates to lock curls in place.
The best hair straighteners for long thick hair
5. ghd Max Hair Straightener
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The ghd Max Hair Straightener was one of, if not the first, pairs of wide-plated irons on the market. It has evolved over the years, though, with additional features and functionality. Within the ghd family, the Max is more closely related to the ghd Gold than the Platinum+ (the brand’s most premium styler), so it does lack some of the higher-tech features of other straighteners on this list. For example, the heat settings aren’t adjustable and it’ll only style at 185ºC – but, there are plenty of pros.
Where ghd excels is giving options for how to use your styler – and with its curved edges, this is the perfect tool for learning how to curl hair with straighteners. You can create big, bouncy curls on long hair or a subtle wave on shoulder-length hair (like mine). I personally like using a wider styler for curls and waves, as narrower ones not only make this a time-consuming endeavour, they can make my hair look twice as thick as it actually is.
The plates feel satisfyingly hot when you use them – controversial I know, but I do like feeling like my straighteners are working – and the styler automatically shuts off after 30 minutes of not being used. The plates are glossy and ceramic, with floating functionality that allows them to adjust to your hair's thickness and avoid snagging. It's worth adding this brand also makes one of the best curling irons for thick hair, too, should you be in the market for one.
The best hair straighteners for thick hair that's hard to style
6. Bio:Ionic OnePass Straightening Iron 1.5 Inch
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
I’m almost always in a hurry, which means I tend to move straighteners through my hair at a speed that probably doesn’t do it any good. Enter Bio:Ionic's OnePass Straightening Iron 1.5 Inch. Where a straightener would normally slide down my hair like silk, this doesn’t. It sort of drags as if there is something holding it back (without pulling) and forces you to slow down. On closer inspection (and a look at the description), I realised that this was due to the silicone strips in the centre of the plates. They gently grip the hair, instead of clamping it together in the plates, to let you smooth and straighten without snagging.
This sensation took a bit of getting used to, but it is clearly how the straightener gets its "one pass" name; if you’re moving slowly and deliberately through the hair, you’re going to smooth much better than you would with one speedy pass. The temperature is adjustable from 130°C to 230°C, with a little gauge on the screen that goes up Celsius by Celsius so you can see its progress, and it beeps when it’s ready. I used the styler at 180°C, which is plenty hot enough to efficiently straighten my hair. My only gripe with this styler is that it is a bit clunky and chunky, which meant I couldn’t get too close to my roots.
The best hair straighteners for thick hair for fast styling
7. Revamp Progloss Wide Ultra X Shine Ceramic Hair Straightener
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
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Revamp might not be as much of a household name in hair styling as others in this guide, but these straighteners are a perfect fit for long, thick hair. What I like most about them is that the plates are extra long (more than a quarter longer than your average styler), which means you can work through your hair faster and more efficiently.
The temperature options are the broadest I’ve seen, ranging from 80ºC right up to 235ºC. Personally, I’m not convinced that anyone with thick hair is going to see much of a difference when styling at at 80ºC, but if your hair is super fragile from bleaching (maybe you've used a home highlights kit), this tool is a great entry point. On the subject of damage, the Revamp Progloss Wide Ultra X Shine Ceramic Hair Straightener uses ionic technology, which cancels out the positive ions that can form when hair is over-heated, over-colored, or over-processed and replaces them with negative ones that reseal the cuticle. These negative ions are what give hair shine and a silky texture – and, even better, the plates are also infused with hair-loving keratin, argan oil, and coconut oil.
I did find that the longer plates took a bit of getting used to, a bit like driving a 4x4 when you’re used to a smaller vehicle, but once I mastered it they definitely helped to speed up styling time. My only other criticism would be that, even at 170ºC, my hair felt very hot, which makes me inclined not to trust the temperature settings implicitly.
The best hair straighteners for thick hair for a sleek finish
8. Revlon Double Straight Copper Ceramic Dual Plate Straightener
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The Revlon Double Straight Copper Ceramic Dual Plate Straightener is a funny-looking thing. Instead of the standard two plates, it has four narrow ones that are joined together by a bridge at the top of the styler. The idea is that the first plate passes through and straightens the hair, followed by the second to reinforce its results. The sceptic in me initially thought this was a bit of a gimmick and that some of my thick hair would surely escape through the gap in the middle when styling, leading to snagging – but actually, it works really well.
The styler passes seamlessly through the hair and, even though the plates themselves are narrow, can actually cover quite a large surface. I managed to straighten chunky sections at once and I’d say, overall, it knocked a good five minutes off my average styling time. The temperature options span from 140°C to 235°C, which is nice and broad, though 170°C was enough for me, so I think most people with thick hair wouldn’t need to climb too much higher. What really impressed me, though, was how soft and shiny my hair felt after using this tool. It was seriously glossy and stayed that way until my next wash.
The best hair straighteners for thick hair prone to frizz
9. Dyson Corrale Straightener
Our expert review:
Specifications
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A lot of technology sits in the Dyson Corrale. The first and most impressive thing is that it’s cordless and, unlike other cordless stylers, doesn’t need a huge amount of charge before you go wire-free. 70 minutes of charging time yields 30 minutes of cordless use and, if you've forgotten to top up the battery in advance, you can use it with the wire, too (many cordless straighteners can't be used while charging).
The second thing that’s different here is the plates. They’re flexible, which means they move with your hair to hold it tightly where needed and loosen up where it isn’t. They do make a slightly disconcerting crunching noise as you style, but you soon get used to it. The benefits for the hair are huge, allowing you to reduce the heat (and breakage as a result), but there are also heat control sensors to continuously ensure optimum temperature across the plates, as well as a flight-ready feature for travel.
For all those reasons, the Corrale is a brilliant tool and certainly one of the best cordless straighteners on the market. But for me, I didn’t love everything about the results. It certainly smoothed my hair and knocked out curls and kinks, but it didn’t leave it as poker-straight as I’m used to. It still had a fair amount of body and looked more like I’d blow-dried it smooth rather than straightened it. However, while this was a downside for me, I know it will be a plus for many. If you love having thick hair and its "oomph", you’ll be pleased to know that the Dyson certainly isn’t going to leave your locks looking flat and lifeless.
The best hair straighteners for thick hair prone to breakage
10. Panasonic Nanoe EH-HS0E Enrich + Advanced Care Hair Straightener
Our expert review:
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I always feel a little bit guilty when I’m using my straighteners. I know it’s the only way to get my hair under control (trust me, I’ve tried everything), but it does obviously come with a damage risk. As a result, I’m always interested in any tool that claims to minimise this.
Panasonic has taken a number of different routes to help support hair health in the Nanoe EH-HS0E Enrich + Advanced Care Hair Straightener. Firstly, it's designed balance moisture in the hair, which I’m inclined to say it does pretty effectively as my hair didn’t feel stripped or crispy to the touch after using it. There’s also the option to adjust the temperature from 150ºC to 230ºC. I stuck to 170ºC and even really large sections of hair came out sleek and smooth. At all temperatures, this straightener is working hard behind the scenes, with intelligent thermal sensors continuously measuring and maintaining the plates' temperature, so there’s no risk of damaging hot spots.
I was fiddling with the floating plates before I used the tool (and before heating it up, obviously) and noticed they seem to have much more bounce and move side-to-side more than others I’ve tried. This pays off when using the iron, allowing it to hold onto hair firmly even if strands are darting off in all directions. As the grip is increased, the styler does a better job of styling hair without resorting to scorching temperatures.
The best hair straighteners for short thick hair
11. ghd Platinum+ Hair Straightener
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Not keen on wide plates? I get it. Even if your hair is thick, it may not be long enough to justify the extra width. Lucky for you, the ghd Platinum+ works wonders on styling short hairstyles for thick hair. It quickly heats up to 185ºC (the temperature ghd recommends for optimum hair health) and is good to go in seconds.
What I love is how effortlessly the Platinum+ smooths, as I find that it turns my coarse, frizzy hair into something resembling silk without much thought or precision on my part. It works fast and the results last, so I don’t have to keep tracing the same section over and over again either. This is thanks to the ultra-zone predictive technology, which recognises the thickness of the hair and section being styled, as well as the speed you are doing so, and adjusts accordingly for personalised results. If you’re keen to go beyond styling straight hair to resemble a poker, the rounded sides and 360º swivel end on the cord make it easy for even complete styling novices to create curls and waves without tying themselves in knots in the process.
If you’re anything like me and have the potential to spend a lot of your working day worrying about whether or not you turned your straightening irons off, the Platinum+ has you covered there, too, as they automatically switch off if not used for 30 minutes.
Save on your next purchase with woman&home's latest ghd discount codes.
How we tested the best straighteners for thick hair
To make sure the straighteners in this guide were truly the best on the market, each tool was tested on my exceptionally thick, curly hair. My hair is dense in two different senses. Not only is there a lot of it, but the individual strands are so thick that they wouldn’t be entirely out of place in a horse's tail. I used the same shampoo and conditioner for my hair type throughout the testing process and blow-dried my hair in the same way, with my best hairdryer, to ensure each one underwent a fair test. When assessing each pair of best hair straighteners for thick hair, I took the following factors into account.
- Price
- Number of heat settings
- Size of the plates
- What the plates were made from
- Cable length
- Option to go cordless
- How well they glided through the hair
- Additional technology e.g. floating plates
How to choose the best hair straighteners for thick hair
Choosing the best hair straighteners for thick hair requires some research to find the right one for your needs. Here are a few things to consider before choosing a pair.
- Plate size and width: The best hair straighteners for thick hair are wider and longer than average straighteners, especially if you have longer hair. However, if you have a shorter style you'll need narrower plates, as wide plates won't be able to reach your roots.
- Accessories: If you travel regularly with your straighteners, then extras like a heat mat or travel case could come in useful.
- Price: Consider how often you use your straighteners before investing in an expensive pair. Most of the best straighteners for thick hair are admittedly a little more expensive than their narrow-plated counterparts, but if you're on a budget, we recommend the Revlon Double Straight Copper Ceramic Dual Plate straighteners.
- Temperature and heat-up time: When styling thick hair, you need a pair of straighteners that can heat up to a good temperature – and fast. Depending on the styling temperature you usually find works best for your hair, you might also be best going for a model that allows you to adjust this.
I hope you’re now feeling clearer about the kinds of things it's worth looking out for when shopping for the best hair straighteners for thick hair. If you need a recap, these include wide plates, extended length, adjustable heat settings and glossy coatings. Trust me when I say I have tested a lot of straighteners over the years and the ones on this list are the real cream of the crop.
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Jess Beech is an experienced fashion and beauty editor, with more than eight years experience in the publishing industry. She has written for woman&home, GoodtoKnow, Now, Woman, Woman’s Weekly, Woman’s Own and Chat, and is a former Deputy Fashion & Beauty Editor at Future PLC. A beauty obsessive, Jess has tried everything from cryotherapy to chemical peels (minus the Samantha in Sex and The City-worthy redness) and interviewed experts including Jo Malone and Trinny Woodall.
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