This is one of the most effective hair straighteners I’ve ever used when it’s at its maximum heat. In fact, it would have easily taken top billing if not for three things: There’s no way to know when it has reached the selected temp (no light, no sound), there’s no auto-shutoff feature, and the outside of the plates gets super hot. Given the latter and the fact that the max heat is 465 degrees Fahrenheit, this is not a tool for beginners. I use hair straighteners for a living, and even I managed to burn myself a couple of times. But this dual-voltage workhorse is a one-stop shop for even the toughest hair (so long as you don’t mind high heat) and a must if you also like to work curls and waves into your look.

Because the outside is also heated, it’s a cinch to wrap sections of hair around the barrel just like a curling iron, and the curls lasted even longer than when I use a “real” curling iron. Keep in mind that this is currently flagged on Amazon as a frequently returned item, but most of the negative reviews seem to center on purchasers receiving a used product rather than complaints about the straightener itself.

While not the most effective straightener if you’re looking to get especially coarse and curly hair glass-smooth, GHD’s Chronos Max takes the potential for damage out of a user’s hands by having only one heat setting: 365 degrees Fahrenheit. GHD says that, through research, it has found this to be the most effective temperature for straightening all hair types, and that all Chronos irons keep their floating plates at 365 degrees Fahrenheit at all times thanks to GHD’s proprietary “motion-responsive” technology that keeps the heat steady no matter what. If you have fine or fragile hair you’re worried about damaging with high heat, this is the iron for you.

Not having control over the option of higher temperatures may be a deal breaker for some, especially given the price (note that the regular Chronos, with 1-inch plates, is usually $20 cheaper), but the Chronos has many other useful features, including a chime to tell you when it’s turning on, turning off, or is done preheating; and 1.75-inch-wide plates that curve to the edge of the clamps, making for easy curls and waves.

Just looking at this compact, elegant flat iron from Chi’s Lava line—whose claim to fame is ceramic plates infused with lava rock for even heat distribution—has me fantasizing about taking it on a cruise or trip to some glamorous European hotel. While I couldn’t discern a difference between the lava plates and standard ceramic plates, I appreciate that this iron is dual voltage for international travel, has three heat settings (340, 380, and 410 degrees Fahrenheit), and at 6.5 inches long is small enough to fit in a larger toiletry bag.

Be forewarned that the plates, while 1.5 inches wide, are only 3 inches long, and the maximum temperature is on the lower side at 410 degrees Fahrenheit. With both of these situations together, it would be too tedious to straighten long or super-curly hair “from scratch”—I tried, and had to give up after one section. However, I have now taken it on multiple trips and am always perfectly happy with how it performs on touch-ups, smoothing rough sections about as well as a larger Chi iron like the one below.

Former WIRED reviewer and fellow 3a curly girl Medea Giordano thought this straightening iron flattened her hair as well as irons three times the price, and after trying it myself, I agree. I had no problems straightening my hair “from scratch” with this iron, which is purportedly infused with keratin and argan oil. It also resulted in noticeable shine, although the effect didn’t last more than a few hours on a humid day, and my hair didn’t stay straight as long as with pricier irons.

Most budget irons take well over a minute to heat up, but the Remington’s 1-inch plates take just 34 seconds, plus it makes a little beep once it’s reached temperature—a feature I rarely see on irons below $100. The look and build quality are a little nicer than our previous budget pick, the Conair InfinitiPro below.

★ Alternative: A Target exclusive, the Remington Gloss ($30) has tourmaline-infused plates and performs pretty much the same as the Shine Therapy, but comes in a sleeker package (in WGSN’s 2025 color of the year, Future Dusk, a dark bluish purple). Like many inexpensive heat tools, the heat is less than it says on the digital display and isn’t very even across the plates, but it still did a fine job on my 3a hair.

One of the most expensive hair straighteners you can buy, Dyson’s Airstrait has inspired many a dupe (including Shark’s Glam and Chi’s AirGlide, below), but Dyson is still No. 1 in the space for a reason. In the same way a Ferrari and a Nissan will both get you from point A to point B, the basic mechanism of the Dyson versus other wet-dry stylers is the same, but the difference in effectiveness and overall quality is more noticeable than I would have expected.

If you haven’t used a wet-dry straightener before, the tool has the same form factor as a standard flat iron, but instead of hot plates, it uses airflow to dry and straighten your hair simultaneously. Using one focused jet of air that moves downward, it dries your hair with a smooth finish. You’ll also have the option between two main styling modes (wet and dry) and three temperature settings for each. That said, there’s definitely a learning curve. For instance, to dry the hair at your roots, you’ll need to clamp the plates together and turn them sideways, treating the whole unit as an ersatz hair dryer. But I did find the Dyson to be more intuitive than other brands’ wet-dry stylers.

Former WIRED reviewer Brenda Stolyar, who has wavy hair, used the Airstrait on wet mode to dry her wet hair, and then switched to dry mode to flatten any puffiness. Both former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano and I used it on wet mode and then had to finish our style with a traditional straightening iron, which brings me to the biggest downside: If you have truly curly hair, like 3a or above, this is probably not going to be a one-stop shop for you. I struggled to smooth areas near my roots, and even after using the dry mode, I was still left with puffiness and bumps. However, regardless of your hair type, it will cut your overall time by a significant amount—I was able to dry my mid-back-length 3a hair in about 15 minutes, and touching up with the straightening iron took five minutes instead of the usual 15 to 20.

As anyone with type 3 or 4 hair is probably aware, wet-to-dry stylers aren’t really made for curly hair—the best ones will get you most of the way there, but you’ll still need a traditional flat iron afterward to smooth the inevitable poofiness. At least, that was the case until now. Chi’s new Lava AirGlide does it all—blow-dries, wet-to-dry styles, and serves as a good old-fashioned flat iron. Like many multi-tools, it’s perhaps not the best at these things individually, but it’s perfectly serviceable, and if you’re tired of using two or more tools to achieve your look, this could be the answer.

There are different heat settings for Fine, Medium, and Coarse (minimum 320 degrees Fahrenheit and maxing out at 410 for the “dry style” setting), and a built-in ion generator (see below). Because the wet-to-dry function can’t be used until hair is “75 percent dry,” one must first lock the paddles and turn the AirGlide on its side, to be used as a hair dryer. This was admittedly pretty laborious for long hair, as the air only comes out of a tiny 1-by-3.5-inch opening with a wind speed of 1,400 ft/m measured on my anemometer (for comparison, the Shark glam’s 2-inch-diameter hair-dryer base blows 2,400 ft/m). The “wet style” portion worked much like the Dyson Airstrait. It turns up the strength/volume when in use and kicks back down to a quiet hum when not.

For the grand finale, select “dry style,” and four ceramic Chi Lava strips heat up to serve as a flat iron. Because of the air vents in the center of each plate, the strips are only half an inch wide—two on each paddle—so you won’t get as much oomph as a typical straightener, but it’s close. The chunky shape also made it hard to reach my roots, but it still got the job done with a minimum of frizz.

The original Chi flat iron was the world’s first salon-quality straightening iron when it was released in the mid-aughts. After decades of flimsy, ineffective irons from the drugstore, Chi achieved what had until then been the impossible: “real” salon-straight hair at home. Invented by Palestinian cosmetologist Farouk Shami, the Chi was the first flat iron to use ceramic plates, inspired by the ceramic inside Italian pizza ovens Shami saw on a trip to Italy. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a Chi in 2006, and I can say it definitely delivered on its promise. I happily used my Chi for over a decade until it stopped working. It’s still a perpetual favorite today—former WIRED contributor Victoria Woollaston-Webber said it’s one of the fastest hair straighteners she’s tried.

In 2015, Chi released an update: The G2, with new bells and whistles over the no-frills original. There’s now dual voltage, a digital display that changes color with the temperature range, and titanium-infused ceramic plates for even more straightening power. I also love that it heats up in under a minute and remembers your last temperature setting. Like the original, however, the sides are kind of chunky, which makes it hard to get at roots and flyaways, and I felt like I had to go over sections multiple times. There are more effective irons if you have very curly hair, but if you already know you love the original Chi and wish it had more features, this is the straightener for you.

★ If you prefer the original: The original Chi is still kicking ($45), just with fewer features than the G2. The price keeps dropping, raising suspicion that it’s being discontinued, so if you loved this iron, this is the time to buy one.

★ If you want similar performance for less: The ice-blue, Ulta-exclusive Chi Keratin-Infused 1-inch Flat Iron ($100) worked almost as well as the G2 (the results weren’t quite as long-lasting, and max heat is only 390 degrees Fahrenheit), but with a smaller MSRP. It is worth noting that I could feel a smoothness in the glide, but didn’t see an increase in shine.

This one is the most unique of all the hair straighteners I’ve used, because it comes with vibrating technology. According to Drybar, the feature creates “the perfect amount of tension to avoid harsh pulls.” I was skeptical until I saw it work. I tested whether the vibration makes a difference by straightening the left side of my head with the feature turned off and the right side of my head with it on (there’s a dedicated button to turn it on and off). I can confirm—it does. The left side took me about two to three passes on my coarse, thick strands, while the right side took only one pass. The latter was also noticeably shinier. It was easy to curl my hair with too. My curls held a lot longer throughout the day with the additional tension—even without hairspray. It barely snagged my hair, either. I only saw a few strands in the sink after I was done, but that’s normal for me.

It’s only available in a 1-inch ceramic plate size, but it still worked well for my longer hair (which reaches a few inches past my shoulders). You’ll also have the choice between five heat settings: 250 degrees, 300 degrees, 350 degrees, 400 degrees, and 450 degrees Fahrenheit. The company recommends the highest heat setting for thick/coarse hair, but I was able to successfully straighten my hair at 400 degrees in only 10 minutes. My straight, shiny locks also lasted for multiple days before I had to touch up my hair again. It makes me wonder why all flat irons don’t incorporate similar vibrations. —Brenda Stolyar

Former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano loved the Dyson Corrale for her 3a curls (and for adding waves and flips), and I do too, albeit with some caveats. Like the Airstrait above, the Corrale comes with a learning curve. The manganese copper alloy plates are unusual not just in material but in construction: They comprise 15 segments that actually flex to fit around the section of hair you’re straightening, increasing surface area contact and negating the need for high heat.

Because of the segments, the plates make something of a crunching sound that seems as if you’re pulling or ripping your hair. Pressing down less hard seemed to mitigate some of the sound, but it’s still off-putting. The plates’ edges are also a little jagged and did indeed snag my hair at times. But still, I find myself reaching for the Corrale more than any other straightening iron in my arsenal.

Part of this is because it’s able to sit on my counter on its charging stand without taking up too much space (only a 3-by-6-inch footprint), and the cordless feature is more convenient than I was even expecting it to be. I wasn’t tied to my bathroom counter, and not having to worry about outlets while traveling is a game changer—there’s even a nifty insert you can switch that disables the battery for airplane trips. Some online reviewers complain about battery life, but Dyson says it can run up to 30 minutes in cordless mode, and I found this to be more or less accurate. If you use a wet-to-dry styler or blow-dry brush, straightening your hair (even if it’s long) will probably take less than 30 minutes, and the cord does attach via a magnet if you need it.

The Corrale also sports sensors that regulate plate temperature 100 times a second, resulting in less damage to hair, though I feel the pulling it does makes this feature something of a wash. The Corrale isn’t perfect, but if you need a cordless straightener, this is one that really works—even at lower heat, it worked as well as any titanium straightener on my curly hair, which is no small feat.

Shark’s first multi-styler for hair types up to 4c, this souped-up version of last year’s FlexFusion straightener multi-tool comes in two sets, for either curly styles (with diffuser and wide-tooth comb attachments) or straight (with a FrizzFighter Coanda attachment and concentrator). Both sets come standard with two Coanda auto-wrap curlers (left and right), a round brush attachment, a concentrator, and an air straightener attachment.

Like the FlexFusion, the Glam uses ceramic for heat, and it runs a bit hotter—after using both tools, I suspected as much and brought out my temperature gun on the air-dry straightener attachments. I got 230 degrees Fahrenheit coming from the Glam versus 180 degrees Fahrenheit from the FlexFusion, which is not an insignificant difference, and it showed. While my hair was still poofy afterward and I struggled with flyaways on the top of my head, as is usually the case with multi-tools, it was less poofy than the FlexFusion in my head-to-head test using just the straightener attachment. The Glam’s straightener attachment is also slightly smaller. The motor on the air tool is quieter as well—75 dB on my decibel meter compared with 82 dB from the FlexFusion. It also does the Dyson Airstrait-esque powering down when not being used. Overall, if you have 3a hair or above, I think it’s well worth the extra fifty bucks or so for the Glam over the FlexFusion. The additional power is nice, and the Coanda FrizzFighter finishing tool smooths frizz like magic and costs an extra ($40) with the FlexFusion.

★ Shark’s FlexFusion ($400) is basically a less-expensive, louder, lower-powered version of the Glam with fewer attachments (four instead of five, and you’re going to want that Coanda FrizzFighter). The straightener attachment won’t work miracles on super-curly hair, but I happily used its blow-dry brush attachment for a year before finishing with a flat iron. However, given that the Glam is only $50 more, it doesn’t make sense to buy the Fusion unless it’s on mega sale.