The 14 Best Hair Straighteners of 2024, Tested

Table Of Content

• Best Affordable Shampoo & Conditioner for Color-Treated Hair: OGX Vibrant Color Vibes Shampoo & Conditioner
• Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream
• Best Affordable Dry Shampoo: Kim Kimble Camera Ready Dry Shampoo
• Best Hybrid Hair Straightener
• #1 L’oreal Paris Advanced Smooth Intense Xtreme Straight Creme
• Crimped Hair: 3 Easy Ways to Get The Look
• Best Overall Heat Protectant

A flat iron is probably involved, too, especially if your natural texture is thick or curly. When we compared the side of our hair with heat protectant to the side without, we noticed the protected side was noticeably smoother, shinier, and silkier. When we used hot tools, we didn’t notice any burning, sizzling, hissing, or smell of heat.

Best Affordable Shampoo & Conditioner for Color-Treated Hair: OGX Vibrant Color Vibes Shampoo & Conditioner

"This [heat protectant] shields strands and also smells incredible," Underwood says of the product. "You won't even know that you're doing something good for your hair—it's that luxurious." You don’t need to ball out to get a hair-straightening product that actually works. Just spritz this straightening spray from John Freida on damp hair, and let the silicones smooth out your flyaways. Plus, it's got a little hydrolyzed keratin to help strengthen your hair and make it look extra healthy. If you have oily hair, consider this triangular-shaped bar, which uses ingredients like charcoal to detoxify the scalp, reduce excess oil, strengthen hair and maintain scalp health, according to Superzero.

F.D.A. Plans to Ban Hair Straighteners With Formaldehyde - The New York Times

F.D.A. Plans to Ban Hair Straighteners With Formaldehyde.

Posted: Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream

Furthermore, it provides nonstop coverage over your hair to make its texture smoother. It penetrates deep down the hair shafts to protect your hair cuticles and boost the cell components’ potency responsible for upholding the hair structure. Also, it’s highly capable of uplifting the color of your hair when used regularly. Consequently, you’ll not be able to achieve the same results as our top three products.

Best Affordable Dry Shampoo: Kim Kimble Camera Ready Dry Shampoo

There’s a lot of misinformation on the internet, hair oiling can help "protect your hair from damage, improve the look of split ends, and prevent breakage," she says. "It’s especially useful if your hair has been stripped by washing and styling products." If you have a collection of shampoo bottles lining your shower walls, or are simply looking for a more sustainable alternative, you might want to consider a shampoo bar. It has one of the quickest dry-times on our list, as it is absorbed almost immediately.

R+Co Mood Swing Straightening Spray

If you have fine hair, keeping oil on your scalp and ends for an extended period of time can possibly weigh your hair down (more on this below, though). Hatcher says anyone who blow-dries or heat styles their hair will benefit from heat protectant spray. “Aside from a good shampoo and conditioner, thermal protections are at the top of the list for keeping healthy hair,” she explains.

Best Hybrid Hair Straightener

It took around a minute to reach 94% of its claimed temperature, but our pros were disappointed that there was no audible tone to indicate when it reaches temperature. Its design is innovative, which can sometimes have a tricky learning curve, but testers rated the manual as most easy to understand. The plates are nice and wide, at 1.5 inches, which can make styling long hair a lot faster (although those with shorter hair may find the extra-wide plates unwieldy).

The road to thick, full hair actually starts in the shower – specifically, with a specialist shampoo for fine hair. If you don’t have the patience to leave it overnight—or your scalp tends to be oil-prone—try hair oiling as a pre-shampoo treatment. Simply leave your hair oil on for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour, before shampooing and conditioning your hair as usual.

Crimped Hair: 3 Easy Ways to Get The Look

Those with unusually frizzy, curly, or generally more unmanageable hair can benefit from these more serious formulations which, with the help of a flat iron, helps lock in straight styles for up to 48 hours. One of the greatest common denominators with most, if not all, hair straightening products is that they coat the strand and protect it against frizz-causing humidity. The silicones seal down the cuticle, encapsulating the moisture within the strand. At the same time, these ingredients also help shield hair from the damaging and dulling effects of applied heat, making them effective thermal protectants as well.

Best Overall Heat Protectant

We straightened, styled, and even curled our hair to find the best of the best. Heat protectants are a must before you apply any form of heat to your hair. Taylor recommends this option as it "nourishes, softens, and hydrates" while providing both UV and heat protection. Most of these products work like an inexpensive, at-home hair treatment by helping to keep frizz and flyaways at bay. For example, in the Lab, we take temperature readings of each iron's plate surface at its hottest setting, to measure how quickly it heats up and maintains its temperature. We also measure the outer surfaces of each iron to ensure that it doesn't get too hot to the touch.

Plus, they’re not great for people with curly or textured hair, who need to focus on small sections of hair at a time, or people with short hair. Likewise, we aimed for straighteners with plates on the long side, but not so long the straightener wouldn’t be maneuverable. The plates on the Conair Infiniti Pro flat iron grip and style hair just as well as the high-end straighteners, plus you’ll have a very wide range of temperature settings, but it has a short cord. And those who regularly flat iron their hair will find no better efficient and hassle-free alternative than a hair straightening cream. It should only concern a few people since most hair straightening creams do not require significant amounts of heat application.

For people with fine hair, we recommend spraying this product from mid-lengths to ends to avoid greasy roots. We’re huge fans of this lightweight yet hydrating formula from Living Proof. It gave our hair a bouncy and shiny finish without a greasy appearance, and it didn’t transfer when during and after styling. The oil-free product absorbed fully in under two minutes, and it left our hair feeling stronger and firmer. You should incorporate an oil, serum, or other targeted hair treatment into your routine. We get it — sometimes you just can't be bothered with heat-styling your hair or even using the best air-dry creams, especially during the hot summer months.

Addie Morton is a contributing writer for Southern Living who specializes in beauty, home, and lifestyle content. To compile this list, we tested 34 heat protectants in our testing lab and at home over a two-week period. We evaluated them on ease of application, absorption, efficacy, hair feel, and scent. Morton spent several hours sifting through the results of our testing and researching products that made the cut. She also spoke with Krista Hatcher, a master stylist, curl specialist, and Kérastase Care Coach at Style House Salon in Nashville, for expert advice. Though it’s common for hair to smell burnt while heat styling, we felt this product protected us from that.