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Hair straighteners that'll take the struggle out of styling thick, frizzy hair

Wide plates for the win

By Delaney Loane

Digital Beauty Editor / February 19 2024

You know how baking one batch of brownies seems simple? But if you were to add triple the ingredients into the equation, it suddenly seems like a giant job because there's just so much? Well, that’s how we thick-haired gals feel about straightening.

It also definitely doesn’t help that thick hair is prone to frizziness – there’s a lot of it okay; how do you expect it all to behave? Basically, it’s a catch-22 that the hair type that lends itself to needing taming most is the trickiest to tame.

Blessedly, though, there are tools designed specifically to help with our plentiful manes – you’ve just got to know what to look for. But don’t worry; we’ve found the very best of them. Here are the best hair straighteners for frizzy hair…

ghd Max Wide Plate Styler

Makes sense, right? Larger amount of hair, larger straightening plates. Well, rest assured that it’s no gimmick - the logic checks out in most cases. Not only does this smoothing styling tool heat up in just 30 seconds (like the slimmer-plated ghd you’ve no doubt known and almost loved but wished were faster) but it’s fitted with 70 per cent larger plates to grab and smooth bigger sections per glide. And when we say glide, we mean it; this thing is smooth.

$370 at ghd

Mermade Hair Straightener

Okay, this guy might not have the chunkier plates to offer, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in frizz-sealing technology. And hey, some people just prefer a sleeker tool, okay? Wide plates are grand, but sometimes you still need something slimmer to allow access to a curl-prone hairline. The soft rounded edges and 28mm floating plates make it the hair straightener to suit all hair types, lengths and textures without snagging, tugging, or causing any unnecessary damage.

$109 at Sephora

Cloud Nine The Wide Iron

Specially created to make the lives of anyone with long, thick or textured hair easier, this styler has very ‘trusted brand, reliable styler, only bigger’ energy, and we’re here for it. It does give you more power over your heat application, however, with a temperature control panel that allows for low, medium and high options. And with wider plates making things speedier and smoother anyway, why not lower the temp a touch?

$339 at Cloud Nine

VS Sassoon Frizz Defense Salon Straightener

Again, this straightener doesn't have huge plates, but its nifty tech actually allows it to release 60 per cent more ions while passing over hair, too, which basically equals less static, enhanced shine and gloriously frizz-free smoothness; a thick-haired gal’s three favourite things.

$89.95 at Myer

Muk Style Stick 230-IR Wide Plate

Searching for something that legitimately smoothes and straightens each section in a single pass? Well, on top of having wide plates (which, yes, are the game-changer you’d guess they are), this straightener also features a strip of powerful infrared lights within its ceramic plates, which infuses a gentle (but effective) heat deep inside the hair shaft. Sounds complex, sure, but all you really need to know is this: it speeds things up significantly.

$279.95 at Adore Beauty

Silver Bullet Keratin 230 Wide Plate Straightener

Sick of sectioning your hair into a zillion different segments before you can even start straightening? Here’s another wide plate winner to add to your wishlist. This one was actually created to make keratin smoothing treatments quicker and smoother (literally and figuratively), so take solace in the fact that it’ll have no problem taming unruly tresses, especially if you’ve got a good smoothing product loaded in.

$254.95 at Adore Beauty