Welcome to our guide on the best flat irons for thick hair! Straightening thick, frizzy hair can be a real struggle because of its density and the way heat is distributed. You might have faced challenges like your hair being resistant to heat, which makes it hard to straighten. Plus, frizzy hair tends to act up in humid weather, going back to its wild state. And let’s not forget how much time and effort it takes to straighten thick hair compared to thinner hair types. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! In this guide, we’ll explore flat irons that are perfect for taming thick, frizzy hair, making your styling routine easier and more effective. Let’s find the perfect flat iron to help you achieve sleek, smooth hair in no time!
Top Picks
- Best for Bone-Straight Hair: BabylissPro Nano Titanium Vented Ionic Flat Iron
- Most Versatile: CHI Tourmaline Ceramic 3-in-1 Hairstyling Iron
- Most Affordable: Conair Double Ceramic Flat Iron
- Best Versatility: CHI Tourmaline Ceramic 3-in-1
- Best Budget: VANESSA PRO
4 Key Considerations for Thick Hair
1. Plate material:
Titanium is best suited for hard-to-manage, thick, and curly hair, especially for individuals with type 3B-3C and 4A curls. It provides quick, efficient styling and durability. Recommended for experienced stylists.
Ceramic flat irons can get just as hot as titanium irons but glide smoother on strands compared to titanium ones. This makes ceramic a better choice for coiled and extremely curly hair (type 4B-4C).
Tourmaline flat irons have the added benefit of controlling frizz compared to ceramic flat irons. They work well for dry hair, including color- or chemically-treated, and curly hair types that are prone to frizz and difficult to style.
You may also like: Titanium vs ceramic flat irons
2. Frizz control:
Look for ionic technology, if you’re prone to a lot of frizzing.
3. Plate size:
1 3/4″ – 2″ Large plates style faster. But they don’t grip hair well enough to elongate tight curls and get it silky straight. These are not the ideal sizes for type 3 and type 4 hair but works great on wavy or straight long hair (types 1, 2).
1 1/4″ – 1 1/2″ Ideal for thick, coarse, and long wavy or curly hair (types 1, 2 and 3). It provides faster styling.
1″ is suitable for all hair types except for those with very short hair at neck length or shorter. It provides a firmer grip and better control, which is crucial for effectively straightening thick and unruly hair. It offers versatile styling for both curly and straight looks.
3/4″ – 1/2″ works great on neck length or shorter hair. It is better for reaching the roots or edges of the hair, and it is also perfect for precise styling and bangs. Its compact size makes it ideal for travel.
1. Best Overall
Drybar The Tress Press
Price: $170
Available sizes: 1”, 1.25”
Material: titanium
Heat range: 280f to 450f
What we like: can tame thickest strands very fast and effectively, ergonomic design, durable material
What we don’t like: too harsh for fragile strands, costly
Thick hair needs a powerful flat iron to be tamed and when it comes to providing great power, Drybar The Tress Press has all the ingredients sorted.
Firstly, it has a very high maximum heat setting which is the first thing we look for thick strands. 450F is more than enough to tame even the unruliest hair types.
It also has titanium plates. This material is known to heat more and recover its heat very fast. It can tame stubborn strands very effectively, as fast as possible.
It has two plate width options and they’re both considered to be very versatile, fitting most hair lengths. The larger one which is 1.25”, while appealing to longer hair, also provides more heat for your thick hair.
Another great quality of this tool is ionic technology. This feature emits negative eons and help a lot eliminating frizz from strands. Since frizz is a very common issue amongst thick hair, this is a very beneficial feature.
Flat Irons can’t completely replace curling irons when it comes to creating curls. But as a tool with dual purpose, Drybar can provide smooth waves as well.
While we really like Drybar The Tress Press for thick hair, we don’t recommend it for fine strands. Its minimum heat setting is on the edge of being too harsh and combined with titanium plates, it’s not very safe from heat damage.
If you like your flat iron to have the best material quality in the market and you don’t mind paying the price for it, Drybar is a great option to consider. But we’re aware of the fact that it’s an investment which doesn’t appeal to all budgets.
Read more: Drybar The Tress Press Straightening Iron review
2. Least Damaging
Dyson Corrale Hair Styler Straightener
Price: $500
Available sizes: n/a
Material: copper manganese alloy
Heat range: 330f to 410f
What we like: cordless, flexing plates for fast and gentle styling,
What we don’t like: expensive, heavy
How it stands out: the most luxurious flat iron in the market with highest technology available, providing very healthy and effective styling
Dyson Corrale is a unique creature and it’s not easy to compare it with other flat irons. While it has many qualities that stand out, it caught our attention for thick strands with its technology that provides a very gentle session. This tool has flexing plates, which shape themselves according your hair, and provide even heat and pressure to your strands. As a result, you style your hair with much less passes and less heat. Dyson also comes with plates material, which is copper and manganese alloy. Combination of these two can tame strands in lower temperatures. We know that thick hair needs high levels of heat to tame, and this heat has consequences on the strands. But with this tool, you can have a very effective straightening, without the harshness of high heat. It comes with three temperature options, and in our opinion, even the lowest temperature of 330F is effective enough to tame most hair types.
One great quality of this tool is that it’s cordless. This means that once you charge it, you can carry it around and use it anywhere you want, without worrying about a plug. Its battery life is 30 minutes and you need to either charge or plug it to its cord after that.
Dyson is a highly luxurious brand and their tools are always extraordinary. This tool has by far the highest material quality in the market and the latest technology available for the ultimate experience. But it’s seriously expensive. With a price tag of $500, it’s far from being budget friendly. We recommend it for the ones that don’t mind the investment and use their flat irons very often.
Read more: Dyson Corrale Hair Styler Straightener review
3. Best For Frizzy Hair
Bio Ionic Onepass Styling Iron
Price: $200
Available sizes: 1”, 1.5”
Material: ceramic
Heat range: 265f to 450f
What we like: styling in less passes with silicone speed strips, ion generator, memory function, lightweight
What we don’t like: doesn’t have dual voltage or floating plates
How it stands out: a tool with great quality material and the capacity to tame unruly and frizzy strands
Bioionic One Pass Styling Iron is a tool that can tame strands very fast yet very gently. It’s one of our favourites for thick strands this year with its very high maximum heat setting. With 450F, it can provide smooth results on even the most stubborn strands. But what really caught our attention is its capacity to provide frizz free results. It comes with a very high-quality ion generator that seals the moisture inside the hair cuticle and eliminate frizz. Another feature that stands out when it comes to frizz is its moisturising heat. With this technology, the strands don’t burn as quickly, and results are with less frizz.
This tool comes with ceramic plates, and it’s a much less harsh option than titanium. We recommend this material if you have fragile stands, as well as beginners since it heats slower. Another extraordinary feature in terms of gentle and efficient styling is its silicone speed strips. They can grip the hair gentler than usual and style the strands in less passes.
We appreciate this tool for creating curls, because it’s very round, and outsides of its plates get really got with 194F. This way, you can wrap your hair around the tool, if you want wavy results.
It’s memory function helps make the session easier, and its digital display is also very straight forward and beginner friendly.
It’s an ergonomically designed tool with a comfortable thumb rest. Yet it’s highly priced and for sure an investment. And as a luxury tool, we’re disappointed with its lack of dual voltage and floating plates technology. But it compensates it with its very durable material and 5-year warranty, which puts minds at ease.
Read more: Bio Ionic Onepass Styling Iron review
4. Best For Beginners
Ghd Gold Styler Flat Iron
Price: $240
Available sizes: n/a
Material: ceramic
Heat range: pre-set to 365f
What we like: ease of use, durable material, elegant design
What we don’t like: auto shut off is only 30 minutes, too harsh for fine hair
How it stands out: simple but solid flat iron with high quality material and long lasting results
GHD Gold Styler is a perfect flat iron if you are a beginner home stylist and have thick strands.
First of all, this tool is very easy to figure out and use. It comes with only an on/off button and you don’t need to worry about changing any settings. The reason for that is it’s set to a pre-set heat setting which is 365F. They believe this number to be the optimal temperature with a perfect balance between gentleness and strength. This is true if you have thick hair. But this number is too hot for some very fragile hair types and we don’t recommend this tool for fine hair.
Another reason why this tool is great for beginners is its ceramic plates. Ceramic has a heating mechanism which is much slower and gentler than titanium. This way it leaves much more room for mistakes.
It comes with 1” plates, which is the most commonly found and the most versatile size in the market. Fitting most needs, you don’t need to worry about if this tool fits your hair length.
It has a very high-quality material and it will most likely last you for many years. It’s sturdy to hold, as well as being lightweight. As it’s also a small tool, easier to handle and manoeuvre.
GHD is a luxury brand and this tool is not the most affordable flat iron in the market. We recommend it for the ones that use their flat iron often, as it protects your strands and its results are long lasting.
It’s important to note that its auto shut off technology gets activated only after 30 minutes. In our opinion this is a bit too short, and may be frustrating if you need a longer time to tame your strands, to see that your tool is suddenly turned off.
Read more: Ghd Gold Styler Flat Iron review
5. Best For Professional Use
Babylisspro Prima3100 Ionic Straightener
Price: $190
Available sizes: 0.75”, 1”, 1.25”
Material: titanium
Heat range: 300f to 465f
What we like: floating plates for extra grip, very fast, durable, has ionic technology
What we don’t like: bulky, doesn’t have auto shut off
How it stands out: a very solid tool with durable material and very effective results
Babyliss is dedicated to satisfy professional stylists and their Babylisspro Prima3100 1” Ionic Straightener is one of our favourites this year. This tool can easily handle being used for longer periods of time with its very durable material.
With its titanium plates, it can tame your strands as fast as possible with great success. It heats up fast and recovers its temperature quite quickly as well.
It has a maximum temperature of 465F, which is the highest number on our list. With this level of heat, taming even the unruliest strands comes easy. Its minimum setting of 300F though, may be too high for very thin hair types and this tool is not the safest for fragile hair types.
It comes in three different sizes, and the largest size of 1.25” is best for thick strands as it can heat up more strongly. This tool has very long plates as well which adds to its speed and heating capacity.
Like most Babyliss tools, it doesn’t come with auto shut off, which appeals to professionals who need to keep their tool on for longer periods of time. But it’s a down side for home stylists as this feature keeps the tool safe from causing fire.
Its outer housing also heats up very well and you can create curls and waves with this tool.
As most Professional tools, it’s a bulky product with a weight for 10.6oz and a length of 12.5”. While this makes it sturdier, it also can cause arm fatigue more easily.
It’s a pricy product, but offers many great features such as ionic technology for frizz elimination and floating plates for a firmer grip. It also comes with an industrial strength swivel cord which can handle very high temperatures.
Read more: Babylisspro Prima3100 Ionic Straightener
6. Best For Keratin Tratment
BabylissPro Nano Titanium Vented Ionic Flat Iron
Price: $160
Available sizes: 0.5”, 1.25”, 1.5”, 1.75”
Material: titanium
Heat range: 300 °F to 450 °F
What we like: vented plates provide gentler styling, long plates for speed
What we don’t like: very heavy
How it stands out: vented plates help the tool provide a gentler session which is also perfect for keratin treatment
With its vented plates, Babyliss this time aims to provide a session free from heat damage without compromising from its strength. And it successfully makes a difference, especially when it comes to applying keratin treatment to your strands. Vented plates seal the treatment very efficiently while eliminating the heat through its vents at the same time. Since the aim with keratin application is to smooth frizzy and damaged hair, this tool is a great option to pair it with. It also comes with ionic technology which helps your frizz issues even more.
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While vents are helpful with heat, this tool still reaches to very high temperatures, even on its lowest setting. Its maximum temperature of 450F, is one of the reasons why we choose this tool for thick strands as it can tame them very fast. Titanium plates are also ideal for stubborn hair types since this material gets very hot and recover its heat quickly. Titanium also is a more durable option than ceramic, which is also why professionals prefer it.
It comes with 1.5” plates and it’s perfect for shoulder length or longer hair types. But it gets less convenient if you have shorter hair as it can’t get as close to the roots. It also has very long plates which are almost 5” which also is the reason why this tool can get so hot.
It’s a quite heavy tool with a weight of 11.7oz, which makes it sturdier, but it also makes it harder to handle and manoeuvre. Frankly, it’s not the best option for beginners, combined with its heat levels.
It doesn’t come with auto shut off, which Babyliss leaves this out on purpose to appeal to professionals who need to keep their tool on for long, but it’s a great feature to miss out on.
Read more: BabylissPro Nano Titanium Vented Ionic Flat Iron Review
7. Best for Curling
CHI Tourmaline Ceramic 3-in-1 Hairstyling Iron
Price: $110
Available sizes: 0.75”
Material: tourmaline ceramic
Heat range: 360f to 425f
What we like: silicone strips for better grip, versatile, good for daily use
What we don’t like: short cord, too hot for damaged and thin hair
How it stands out: a luxury flat iron that also doubles as a curling iron for the most versatile results
Chi, this time, offers a flat iron that also is a very efficient curling iron, in one tool. This tool, while being a classic flat iron on the inside, also comes with a barrel which heats up on the outside. This way it can also successfully curl your strands. There are three settings to choose from. You can choose to activate only the inner plates and straighten your strands, only the outer plates for spiral curls, or both plates to create more textured styles.
It comes with tourmaline ceramic plates. While ceramic provides a gentler session to your strands, tourmaline emits negative ions and helps to eliminate frizz. This material is great for daily use. It has silicone strips to provide a better grip while damaging the hair less. But we still don’t recommend this tool to fine hair types. 360F minimum temperature is too high to be safe from heat damage and this tool is meant to be for thicker hair. 425F maximum heat very effectively tames stubborn strands.
Its inner plates are 0.75”, which is thinner than usual. This size is not the fastest when it comes to taming very long hair. Its barrel is 1”, and is very versatile in terms of the styles that it can create, be it tighter curls o looser waves.
Chi is a luxury brand and with their CHI Tourmaline Ceramic 3-in-1 hair styling iron, they offer a tool with high quality material with a relatively affordable price. It is quite bulky tool though, with 10.1oz weight and 11.5” length, which are both more than average. It also has a short cord with only 6.5ft. But these are not very big compromises fort this tool’s value.
Read more: CHI Tourmaline Ceramic 3-in-1 Hairstyling Iron Review
8. Best Compact
T3 Singlepass Compact
Price: $90
Available sizes: n/a
Material: ceramic
Heat range: preset to 410f
What we like: great for bangs and touch ups, lightweight, affordable
What we don’t like: doesn’t have variable heat settings,
How it stands out: a very compact flat iron which can get very hot and doesn’t compramise from material quality
T3 has many different flat irons for different needs and their Singlepass Compact appeals to the ones that want to move with their tool. This is a very lightweight flat iron and great for travellers and on-the-go stylists. With a weight of only 6oz, which is almost half of the average number in the market. It’s shorter than usual as well and is very easy to carry around. It also is very comfortable to handle and manoeuvre, which is why we love it for quick touch ups.
It comes with a pre-set temperature which is 410F. This heat is perfect for thick strands and don’t be fooled by it size. This tool can tame unruly hair types very effectively. The problem with it is that this temperature is way too high for fine hair. It does come with ceramic plates, which help with the gentleness of your session. But it still may be too harsh for some fragile hair types.
Its 0.8” plate width, and 3.07” length, it definitely is smaller than the usual flat irons. This is why it’s great for styling your bangs, as it can get very close to the roots. But these numbers don’t make this tool too small and it’s still a versatile tool and fits most needs.
As a tool that appeals to travellers, it comes with a heat resistant cap. This is perfect for the ones who want to go to gym with their tool and don’t want to wait until it cools off.
We appreciate how this tool doesn’t compromise from T3’s usual material quality. It’s very sturdy to hold and ergonomically designed. What it compromises on is mostly its variable heat settings.
Read more: T3 Singlepass Compact Review
9. Best for Short Hair
Remington Anti-Static Flat Iron
Price: $25
Available sizes: 0.5”, 1”, 1.75”
Material: ceramic and titanium
Heat range: 310f to 450f
What we like: easily glides through hair, very lightweight, sleek design
What we don’t like: back of its plats get really hot, short cable, doesn’t have dual voltage
How it stands out: a simple yet very effective flat iron that appeals to different hair length with its size options
Remington Anti-Static Flat Iron is not only one of our favorites for thick hair, but also for short strands this year.
This tool comes with three size options, and the smallest one which is 0.5” is perfect for short hair. With its narrow plates, it can come very close to your roots and create sleek results, even if you have a pixie cut. It’s very easy to handle and manoeuvre as well with its lightweight design. The tool itself is still average sized though, and not very small.
We love how much it can heat up and provide very fast results. With a maximum temperature of 450F, it can tame even the most stubborn hair types, and it does it very fast with its titanium plates. But we don’t recommend it for fine hair as its minimum heat option is not gentle enough to be safe from heat damage.
It has a feature called Anti-Static Technology. This is very similar to ionic technology. It reduces the negative particles from your strands and creates frizz free results and eliminates flyaways as well.
This is the most affordable flat iron on our list and its sacrifice is on its material quality. With only $24, it provides an outstanding performance which is as fast as it gets. But it’s not very durable, not very sturdy either. It doesn’t have some of the regular features such as dual voltage. And it doesn’t have a light on its led display which makes it difficult to read. But it has great value for its price in terms of performance.
Read more: Remington Anti-Static Flat Iron
10. Best Budget
Hot Tools Purple Ceramic Digital Flat Iron
Price: $50
Available sizes: 1”, 1.5”
Material: 3 layers of baked ceramic
Heat range: 280f to 450f
What we like: great value, versatile, eleagnt design
What we don’t like: buttons are not well placed, not very sturdy
How it stands out: an affordable yet soli̇d flat iron which is versatile not only in terms of styling needs, but also hair type
Hot Tools Purple Ceramic Digital Flat Iron, is our favourite this year in terms of price vs performance this year, especially if you have thick strands. Hot Tools offers a fairly durable flat iron for its price, and tops it up with its 5 year warranty to put minds at ease.
This tool is great if you have thick hair, firstly thanks to its maximum temperature. Reaching till 450F, it efficiently tames stubborn strands. While providing high levels of heat if needed, it also appeals to fragile strands with its lower temperature options. Considering the fact that it has ceramic plates. It also can provide a very gentle styling session.
It comes with two plate width options. The 1” one is the most commonly found one in the market and the safest option to choose if you’re not sure which size is best for you. But the 1.5” option may be better than thick strands which are longer than shoulder length, because of its higher heating capacity.
As much as having an ergonomic design, it has an issue regarding its buttons. They’re placed poorly and it’s too easy to accidentally touch them and change settings. It also is less sturdy to hold than other tools from Hot Tools. It may not have the highest quality material when you compare it with its luxury alternatives, but for what it offers, we think it has great value.
Read more: Hot Tools Purple Ceramic Digital Flat Iron review
