Best Flat Iron for African American Hair Review [2020]
African American hair has a wide range of textures and lengths, and they are often challenging to manage. African hair is more prone to damage, and you have to be conscious of what type of products you are going to use for them. Also, styling or straightening them may take an eternity if your flat iron is not efficient enough. So here I am with the best list of best flat irons that can provide fast and damage-free styling for your African American hair. So, read out the list of the best flat iron for African American hair and choose the best flat iron that suits your hair.
List of Best Flat Iron for African American Hair
1.Ghd Platinum + African American hair Professional Styler Flat Iron
Classy look and ergonomic design: Ghd professional flat iron has a design that sparks innovation which makes it more elegant than a traditional flat iron. With its sleek body structure, the flat iron gives much less abrupt movements as compared to its rivals. With a luxurious and comfortable design, you can go for both curling and straightening.
Wishbone feature for aligned plates: Ghd platinum flat iron has a unique feature of having a wishbone hinge, which makes sure that plates are aligned correctly. The wishbone also makes the opening and closing of the flat iron a lot smoother, or you can say a little bouncier. If you are a new user, then you may feel the need to confirm whether the plates are open wide enough. And also, you don’t have to put much pressure on the flat iron as it glides smoothly through your hair without tugging, which is something I crave with my previous flat irons.
Floating plates: The flat iron consists of floating plates. These plates can move accordingly to your hair, and you can get a better grip on your styles. Floating plates can also get closer to your hair roots than stiff plates, thus giving you flawless styling.
Heat resistance: Plates of the flat iron are also heat resistant that works the same as floating plates and prevents the tresses and other overheating issues that you have been facing with your older flat iron. Now, you can retain the natural texture of your hair.
Twenty seconds heat-up time: With 20 seconds heat-up time, you do not need to do that annoying wait of letting your flat iron heat to the required temperature.
Ultra-zone technology: it is the most advanced technology in the flat iron industry, which cuts down the need for heat settings. This technology is predictive, and It predicts the need for the hair that is put under the plates and regulates temperature accordingly. The technology checks the temperature and provides homogenous heat across plate; thus, your hair is straight in a few strokes. It monitors the hair, so it gets to know when to reduce the temperature and when to increase.
Less damage: Ultra-zone technology promises less damage as compared to other flat irons. So, it promises 70 percent less breakage damage and also doubles the color protection, and keeps hair moisturized as they glow.
Two hundred fifty times per second temperature check: Ultra-zone technology checks the temperature 250 times every second. Thus it gives you the optimum temperature that is required by your hair.
Heat resistant plate guard: There is heat resistant guard to protect your hair from the damage caused by excessive heat.
Consistent 365-degree Fahrenheit temperature: It provides a consistent temperature of 365-degree Fahrenheit for both plates. Thus, it gives even styling. Your strands look healthier as heat has not crossed the optimum temperature.
Built-in Rounder barrels: Ghd pro nano titanium has rounded barrels. These barrels, in addition to straightening, also provide perfect curling. Well, this is the major aspect I like about this flat iron as compared to the one I owned in past. They only give the straightening, not the curling. The dual functionality of the iron makes it worthy and essential to buy.
9-foot-long swivel cord: The flat iron has an extra-long swivel cord. There is no slipping off with swivel cord, and with 9-foot-long cord, you can comfortably move across the room while styling.
Auto shut off: With a 30 minutes auto shut off, the flat iron will shut off after 30 minutes of inactivity. Preventing any mishap from happening.
Dual voltage: Ceramic plated platinum coated flat iron has a dual voltage that makes it feasible for use overseas. You can use it with power plugs that are different than traditional ones.
Warranty: Ghd platinum comes with three-years warranty, which is much more than competitors offer. It shows the trust of the manufacturers in their products.
Buyer's Guide for Ghd Platinum + Professional Performance Styler
As you know, African American black hair is more prone to damage, so wrong amount of heat can cause breakage, frizzy, or split ends. GHD platinum flat iron is a smart styler, and the company has eliminated heat settings that most of its rivals consume. Instead, they have developed an ultra zone technique that maintains optimum temperature and capability of predicting your moves and knows what your hair needs.
The smart styler is reliable, quick, and efficient. Although you would think that it is much more pricey than its rivals, these cheaper alternatives don’t provide same quality highly durable flat irons: first of all, I was a bit skeptical about the ceramic coating as it may come off, but it is ceramic plated instead that increases its durability. Also, the wishbone structure adds convenience and elegance to your styling.
Final Verdict
Ghd platinum professional performance flat iron with ultra zone technology, wishbone structure, and 20-second heat-up may not be the cheapest flat iron that you want with maximum features. Still Well, one fantastic thing that I like about it is that it does not have heat settings buttons. Instead, it predicts temperature that your hair needs with 250 times per second check, thus provides even and perfect styling. This can prove to be the best choice for your African American hair, although it suits all hair types.
- Ultra zone technology predicts the need for your hair.
- Platinum coated and ceramic plated that provides maximum and even heat conduction.
- Twenty seconds of heat-up time is a time-saving feature.
- There is a consistent temperature of 360-degree Fahrenheit provides even styling.
- Floating plates and swivel cord prevents the slipping of the iron.
- No heat setting system instead sets the temperature as per your hair demand.
- Auto shut off feature to prevent any mishap.
- Three years limited warranty to show the trust of the manufacturers
- It is way more pricey
- You may have to face intermittent issues after long hours of use.
2. HSI Professional Glider Flat iron
Eight heat balance Microsensors for damage protection: ceramic plates have eight micro-sensors instilled in them. These microsensors perform task of damage protection. A heat balance microprocessors regulate heat of the flat iron. It also evenly distributes heat all across the plate. Thus you get silky straight hair in just few passes.
1 inch plates: experts highly recommend the1 inch-wide plates for all hair types. The plates are all good enough for the bangs.
Floating ceramic and tourmaline plates: the plates of the flat iron are floating that provides you with the extra grip to style your hair. Ceramic plates provide even heat distribution to your hair and fast heat production. And tourmaline locks in the moisture in the hair. Ceramic tourmaline plates also emit negative ions that seal the cuticle, giving your hair a healthy and moisturized look. This technology heals hair even at very high temperatures.
Heat settings: A professional styling flat iron has heat settings that range from 140 degrees Fahrenheit to 450 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures. It gives you flexibility to expose your hair to the precise amount of heat that is favorable to them. Varied heat settings also make it suitable for all hair types and textures.
Dual voltage: now you can travel anywhere you want with the HSI professional flat iron as it has a dual voltage of 110/ 120 volts. This feature also saves you from an extra expense of buying a voltage adapter along with you while traveling.
Auto shut off: if you are habitual of forgetting to turn off your flat iron while leaving, then you are vulnerable to any mishap. HSI professional has an auto shut off feature that provides you with extra safety as the flat iron will be automatically turned off after 60 minutes of inactivity.
Extra-long swivel cord: HSI professional flat iron also boosts the feature of swivel cord that adds flexibility to your styling. Also, an extra-long cord enhances mobility, and you can move across the room while straightening your hair.
Package includes:
- Heat resistant gloves: Protect your hand from any burns
- HSI style: This guide is here to include extra tips to manage and style your hair.
- Travel size argan oil hair treatment: The oil helps remove the tresses and smoothen the hair.
- Silk Case: An attractive silk case is also included in the package with the drawstring closure. It is for easy transporting of all items while traveling.
- Warranty: The flat iron comes with a 1-year limited warranty.
HSI Professional Glider flat iron - Review
HSI professional glider is undoubtedly the most commonly used flat iron in the market today. HSI glider has a smart and sleek design that sparks elegance. This flat iron features high-quality ceramic plates that are floating, thus provides a good grip and ease in styling. The ceramic plates are composed of heat-sensitive microprocessors. These microprocessors regulate temperature of plates and also play a vital role in even heat distribution all across the platform, so that you can get uniform styling.
Due to its compact body, you can take this flat iron along while traveling. It will just fit in your hand dual voltage saves the extra expenditure of buying a voltage adapter. Manufacturers have also packed in high-quality heat-protective gloves these gloves prevents your hand from burning, and you can have a safe and elegant styling
HSI professional with eight heat-sensitive microprocessors and ceramic tourmaline plates provides damage-free styling to your African American hair. Although ceramic technology is not the most advanced one but it’s the best you can get at this price.
- 8 Heat-sensitive Microprocessors that provides even heat distribution.
- Floating plates that give a better grip.
- The plates are of 1 inch that is good for both long and short hair.
- The ceramic tourmaline technology provides uniform heating as well as seals cuticle.
- You can get damage-free styling.
- Varied heat settings to add versatility to your styling.
- Maximum temperatures of 450 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal for African American hair.
- Heat protectant gloves to prevent the burning of hands.
- Get extra tips to manage your hairstyles with the Styling guide.
- An extra-long cord to provide greater mobility.
- Ceramic plates are not much durable
- The plates will acquire scratches if you don't handle them carefully.
- Not comparable to high-end models
3. Babyliss pro nano titanium ultra-thin straightening iron
Compact size and elegant design: Babyliss pro nano titanium has an elegant and sleek design. BaByliss is the thinnest flat iron I have used so far. With the compact design, it easily fits in my bag and can comfortably carry it along during travel.
Ultra-smooth titanium plates: titanium plates are ultra-smooth, they glide through your hair without tugging. Even with African Americans’ hair. Hence, this flat iron provides smooth styling.
Plate dimensions: Babyliss pro nano titanium flat iron has an extra-long 5-inch plate that enhances styling speed. With a longer plate dimension, you can take more significant section of hair in one pass. The flat iron comes in three different widths experts recommend choosing a width of 1 inch that is best for African Americans as well as all short or long hair. But if your hair is exceptionally long or short, then you can go for higher or lower options, respectively.
Ultra-lightweight: as African American hair may take a longer time to straighten, Hence, this 1 pound ultra-lightweight flat iron can easily straighten your hair without giving you cramps or fatigued hands.
9-foot long swivel cord: Babyliss features an extra-long cord with 9-foot long cord you can comfortably move around the room while straightening your hair. The wire is 360-degree swivel, so you can easily swap the strands, and this feature also prevents tingling of your cord.
Ryton housing: Babyliss pro nano titanium has a Ryton housing all over its body. The Ryton covering keeps the outer covering cool even after a long time use. Thus it is also recommended for professional use and use on afro hair as they take much larger time to be styled. With Ryton covering, you can also straighten your hair close to the scalp without burning scalp skin.
Repairs damaged hair: Babyliss pro nano titanium works wonders on the damaged hair and deals with your split ends. With this flat iron, you can get smooth, shiny, and flawless air.
Fifty spin dial heat settings: one fantastic thing about this Babyliss pro nano titanium flat iron is that it has up to 50 heat settings. Now you can heat your hair to exact amount of heat you want to expose them with. Experts recommend that if you have fine or fragile hair, you can opt for the temperature ranges from 140 degrees Fahrenheit to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. And for Coarse hairs or African American hair, you can go all the way up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Speed dial with an LCD display: Babyliss has a spin dial setting that is much easier to use as compared to the button pressing settings. With an LCD display, you can now check the temperature of the plates.
Forty settings heat time: Babyliss pro nano titanium has a heat-up time of mere 40 seconds. The plates will instantly reach the highest temperature; thus, it saves much of your precious time.
No burning smell: with my previous flat iron, I had to face the issue that at high temperatures that give the burning smell to my hair, and much of the hairs are also damaged. But with Babyliss pro nano titanium flat iron, even at high temperature and long-time use, I didn’t face such issues.
Highly durable and anti-corrosion plates: titanium present in the plates makes them highly durable and also prevents corrosion of the plates.
4-year warranty: well with most of the products, you can get maximum guarantee of 2 to 3 years, similarly, Babyliss pro nano titanium flat iron gives you a limited warranty of 4 years. This shows the trust of manufacturers in their products.
Babyliss pro nano titanium ultra-thin straightening Iron- Buyer Review
Babyliss is a trusted brand as it introduces innovative and efficient products, and this Babyliss pro nano titanium is no exception. Babyliss pro nano titanium flat iron is equipped with nano titanium technology. This technology is the most advanced one to be introduced in the modern era. Titanium is an exceptional conductor of heat, so this flat iron provides even heat with a heat-up time of a mere 40 seconds. The plates have an extraordinary length of 5 inches, and with this length, you can take large strands of your African American hair in just a single pass to speed up your styling.
Babyliss pro nano titanium is ultra-thin, or I can say the thinnest one I have used so far, and this compact body also makes it feasible for travel use. You don’t have to worry about the distance of the mirror from socket in the hotel room. And last but not least, Ryton housing keeps the outer covering cool even after hours of use, and it also enables you to style your hair close to roots
The Babyliss pro nano titanium flat iron can straighten your African American hair, as well as with the nano titanium technology it repairs them. The flat iron has all the features that a highly advanced flat iron should have, but remember to turn off the flat iron before moving because it doesn’t have an auto shut off an element.
- Ultra-thin and sleek design for easy storage and carry.
- Nano titanium technology for glorious and frizz-free hair.
- Exceptionally long 5 inch plates for fast styling.
- Ultra-smooth plates glide through your hair without tugging.
- 9-foot extra long cord for greater mobility.
- Suitable for all hair types and textures
- Ryton housing that keeps the outer body.
- The Babyliss pro nano titanium doesn't have an auto shut off feature
- This flat iron is not highly affordable.
- The outer surface may get too hot and burn your hands.
Things you need to know before buying a flat iron for your African American hair
Choosing the best flat iron is a tiresome task. The whole market is full of advanced and innovative flat iron with maximum features. You are confused about what are the features that are important and which are not. So don’t boggle your mind in new thinking as here I am with the complete guide to all the things you need to have in a flat iron for your African American hair.
Heat options:
Temperature setting is one of the most crucial things you need to consider before buying a flat iron. African American hair can be curly, coarse, or thick, so you need to be sure that the flat iron should have higher temperature settings.
- Experts recommend using the temperature of 400 to 450-degree Fahrenheit to this hair.
- If you have delicate or damaged hair, then you have to settle for lower options.
- Choose a flat iron with more varied heat options as with the higher heat settings. You can find the precise temperature that suits your hair.
Dimensions of the plate
Well, for different hair types, you need different plate dimensions.
- If you have thick and long hair, then you should opt for a flat iron whose plates are longer for dynamic styling.
- For shorter hair, experts recommend a plate width of ½ inches or 1 inch.
- If you are buying a flat iron for professional use than a 1-inch plate width will do well as it is suitable for all hair lengths.
Plate material:
The plate material determines the functionality of the flat iron. The plates of flat iron can be ceramic, tourmaline, titanium, or platinum.
- Ceramic rod is the most common and affordable feature in flat iron. Ceramic provides even heat distribution and faster heat conduction. These features conjointly cut down styling time.
- Tourmaline plates, in addition to heat conduction, also lock the moisture within the hair and thus retain their glow. Thus it prevents heat damage.
- Titanium plate is the most expensive one, and it is often found in highly innovative flat irons. Titanium is an exceptional conductor of heat; thus, it gives optimum styling in less time as compared to others.
Some flat irons feature titanium coated plates that provide optimum styling with minimum damage, and these flat irons are mostly less expensive.
Bifunctionality
If you are looking for a flat iron that can also curl your hair, choose the one with rounded edges. A bifunctional iron can be beneficial while traveling as you don’t have to carry separate irons for curling and straightening.
Floating plates:
If you have sensitive scalps and while straightening, you have to face scalp pain issues. As the hair is tucked in flat iron. For this issue, I recommend using a flat iron having the floating plates instead of the traditional stuffed plates. The floating plates prevent the tugging of your hair; it also prevents the scalp pain. But if you are not prone to scalp pain, then a traditional stiff plate can work fine on your hair.
Negative ion technology
If you have curly hair and have to deal with flyaways even after straightening, then you should opt for the flat iron with the negative ion technology. The negative ion technology generates negative ions and removes static from hair, which causes frizziness. Thus negative ion technology provides you with frizz-free hair with fewer flyaways.
Heat-up time
Mornings are often rushy, and one thing you want is to do the task quickly. In this scenario, consider waiting for your flat iron to heat up may seem an eternity. If you want to save time, then opt for a flat iron that instantly reaches the required temperature. You can go for the irons having the minimum heat-up time of 40 seconds or lower.
Automatic shut off
Well, most of the time, you may forget to turn off the flat iron while leaving it can cause any mishap. If you want to save your house from any short circuit, which may result because of your negligence, then opt for the flat iron having an auto shut off. There Are flat irons in the market that provides 30 minutes to 40 minutes auto shut off the feature you can opt for them if you want extra safety.
Dual voltage
A flat iron is a must-have during traveling. Having a double voltage feature makes a flat iron feasible for travel. Most flat irons feature world-wide dual voltage for travel convenience. It also saves you from the extra expenditure of buying a voltage adapter along.
Casing
Having African American hair takes a lot of time to straighten. One thing you have to be sure about is that the flat iron has a case that should keep it cold even after a long time use. This will add comfort to your styling.
Extra-long swivel cord
If your flat iron has an extra-long cord, it provides greater mobility. The swivel cord can rotate at 360 degrees, which prevents the cord from tangling.
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