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If you’re a fan of hair style tools, you probably know that not every tool works well on every type of hair. Flat irons, in particular, can be finicky things. Sometimes a specific flat iron can work great on thin or fine hair, sometimes it won’t work at all. Sometimes it can handle thick hair, other times it doesn’t have enough heating ability for such a hair type. To make things even more complicated, the color of your hair is also a factor to consider when getting the right flat iron.
Obviously, the best flat iron for black hair is still up for debate. With so many brands to choose from, it’s not easy to find the right flat iron for your black hair. You’ve probably tried one or two in the past and noticed that most flat irons don’t give you the ideal temperature and options that make styling your hair easier.
At this point, you might be a little overwhelmed when looking for the best professional flat irons for black hair. However, we’re here to help your search much less stressful. No matter what your hair type is or if your hair is natural, dyed, relaxed, or cropped short, we’ll help you find the hair straightener of your dreams!
We’ve compiled this brief but comprehensive list of possible choices as well as our reviews on every one of them. We all know how important it is to find the perfect hair styling so we’ve also included each product’s pros and cons.
Let’s get styling, ladies!
The Ultimate Guide for Every Hair Type
Like its name suggests, the Xtava Professional Infrared Hair Straightener is a professional grade flat iron that’s ideal for all hair types, especially black hair. You can use this beauty to straighten, flip, or curl your hair with ease.
This flat iron uses infrared heat so you reduce hair damage and frizz as you glide the iron plates down your hair. Moreover, your hair will be smoother and shinier with each go.
The extra wide plates make for more convenient straightening as well. You don’t have to waste your morning just styling your hair with this flat iron. Because the heating plates are wider than other flat irons, it takes you less time to finish smoothing your hair each morning.
Additionally, the Xtava Professional has a sleek and stylish design that makes it easy to grip and style your hair.
To top it all off, this flat iron is ridiculously affordable for its high quality. It’s practically a major steal!
Pros
- The Xtava Professional has over ten temperature settings that are catered specifically for different types of hair. If you’ve got a course or thick hair, you can choose to set the temperature to 380 degrees Fahrenheit to 445 degrees Fahrenheit. For thin and fine hair, you can set it as low as 265 degrees Fahrenheit to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cons
- Some users have noticed that this flat iron doesn’t work the best for those with really thick hair. It’s not as powerful as other flat irons in the market but if you’ve got thin to medium hair, this won’t be too much of a problem.
Another major bargain of a flat iron, the Remington S5500 Digital Anti-Static is the stuff of dreams. It’s an impeccable heat styling tool that has high heat settings you can customize yourself, digital controls that are incredibly intuitive, as well as a bright colored coating that’s a major bonus for those looking for an eye-catching design.
As its name suggests, this flat iron is very much anti-static which means that you can count on it for reducing your hair’s frizz and flyaways.
The Remington S5500 can reach up to 410 degrees Fahrenheit, giving it the optimum temperature for hair straightening.
This also has a titanium protection coating that lets it heat up extremely fast so you can get to styling your hair almost instantly after turning it on.
Pros
- This flat iron is really budget-friendly so it makes for the perfect first flat iron. You can enjoy a good quality product without worrying about the price tag.
Cons
- Some users might find the plates a bit smaller than they’re used to but its slimness does means that it is extremely versatile when it comes to styling your hair.
We have here the HSI Professional Ceramic Tourmaline, a flat iron for all occasions! The plates are tourmaline-infused ceramic which makes it so much healthier to use on your hair.
The technology used for the HSI Professional allows the plates to evenly distribute heat so your hair is consistently smoothed as you use it.
It’s also a great travel buddy with its compact design and extra long swivel cord.
Pros
- This salon grade flat iron is durable and extremely effective. It reduces static and frizz as well as keep your hair looking beautiful and shiny all day.
Cons
- The HSI Professional heats up really high and really quick so you’ll want to have a care at the temperature you set it before you start using the flat iron on your hair.
If you’ve got natural black hair, look no further than the BaBylissPro Nano Titanium 1-1/4” Titanium-Plated Straightening Iron. Ladies with this particular hair type know that getting their locks tamed is no easy matter. With this flat iron though, you won’t believe how effortless styling your hair can be. It’s like gliding air over your hair. Moreover, you have a lot of options with the BaBylissPro Nano and you can control the temperature of the flat iron.=
Whether you’re straightening your hair, giving it a curl or two at the tips, or just adding gorgeous yet casual waves, this flat iron is definitely worth serious consideration.
For frequent users, you don’t have to worry about causing late hair damage because the BaBylissPro Nano uses digital ionic technology which means the iron emits natural ions that not only reduce frizz but are also generally safer to use on your hair.
The BaBylissPro Nano uses titanium plates which not only looks sleek and stylish but also conducts heat faster. They also resist corrosion longer than most flat irons.
Pros
- This flat iron can reach up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit which means that you can get optimal heating for your specific hair type. And if you don’t need your flat iron to be too hot, you can always turn it down a notch. It’s easy to adjust too with the LED temperature settings.
Cons
- Needless to say, this flat iron’s price tag might be a concern for many of us especially those that are quite budget-conscious. However, the BaByliss Pro Nano is a wise investment to make since it’s high quality and incredibly effective.
Using a flat iron on long hair is a wholly different experience from using a flat iron on short hair, especially if you’ve got African-American hair. Oftentimes, regular flat irons are too awkward to use on short and curly hair which can be really frustrating. Fortunately, the Infinity Pro by Conair 1-Inch Tourmaline Ceramic Flat Iron is a godsend for ladies with short black hair. No more struggling to make the flat iron work with your short hair. The Infinity Pro glides through your short locks so smoothly that you’ll never want to trade it in for something else ever again.
This flat iron can reach up to 455 degrees Fahrenheit in mere seconds. More importantly, there are no hot spots to keep track of because the plates are evenly heated.
What makes this brand stand out from the crowd is their use of tourmaline ceramic technology which eliminates frizz and static from your hair as well as avoid causing too much stress on your hair fibers.
Additionally, you can enjoy this incredible flat iron without spending too much. The Infinity Pro’s affordable price makes it a pretty good choice for a first flat iron too.
Pros
- The Infinity Pro is ideal for short hair because its surfaces are so much smoother than other flat irons. And because the plates are smoother, it makes it a breeze to use with short hair.
Cons
- Users of this flat iron have noticed that this model isn’t as durable as other flat irons. You’ll want to be careful in handling this tool if you want to keep it for a long time.
When you’ve gotten your hair relaxed, it can be a bit tricky to find the right hair products and styling tools since you don’t want to damage your hair. The flat iron that you’ll need in this case is one that isn’t too strong or too hot – otherwise, you might accidentally singe your relaxed hair – but you still want the iron to smooth your hair. A flat iron like that might seem impossible to find but, lucky for you, there’s the CHI Pro Air 1-Inch Ceramic Flat Iron. Whether you want to your hair silky smooth or with a bit of curl and waves just for fun, this flat iron has got you covered.
After some time, relaxed hair can lose a little bit of vibrancy but after using this flat iron, you’ll notice immediately that your hair is shinier than before. This is because of the iron’s extremely high amount of negative ions as well as the Flat Infrared that eliminates static electricity from your hair.
Pros
- The first thing you’ll notice with this heating tool is that it heats up almost instantly after turning it on. You can literally start styling your hair seconds after turning it on.
- The CHI Pro Air is also extremely lightweight which makes it super easy to use on your relaxed hair. Moreover, this flat iron’s weight and compactness make it the perfect travel companion for when you want to give your hair that extra flair while you’re far from home.
Cons
- This flat iron’s price tag is a bit higher than others but it is a quality flat iron that you can use to straighten, curl, spiral, wave, flip, or smoothen your hair however you want.
- Some users have noticed that the plates are considerably smaller than other flat irons. While the size of the plates works perfectly well on most people, if you find that a longer flat iron is more ideal for you, the CHI Pro Air might not be your best bet.
Straightening your hair is already tricky enough but a weave is a different matter altogether. You need even more skill and technique when you flat iron a weave. Fortunately, there are now professional flat irons for black hair that work especially well with weaves. Now, choosing the right flat iron is more important than ever when you embark to straighten your weaves. The wrong straightener can cause a lot of problems that could spell disaster for your look.
One of the best hair tools for working with weaves is the Keratin Complex Stealth IV Straightening Iron. This flat iron can do wonders for your hair and your weave. It works fast and with little effort on your part. You’ll get salon quality results with this flat iron for sure!
Pros
- The titanium plates glide on your hair so easily that you’re essentially cutting your straightening time in half. Moreover, the less time your weave is subjected to the high heat of your flat iron, the better.
- The Keratin Complex Stealth IV Straightening Iron can make your hair smooth and shiny in no time. No frizz, no static, and no flyaways – this flat iron is serious when it comes to hair straightening.
Cons
- The only downside to this flat iron is that it’s not the most budget-friendly product in the market. It’s got a pretty hefty price tag but when you think about the damage a less expensive but ultimately inferior product could do to your weave, the Keratin Complex Stealth IV Straightening Iron is a worthwhile investment indeed.
How to Straighten a Weave
When it comes to straightening hair pieces like a weave, this can be quite a challenge, especially for beginners. And since good quality weaves aren’t exactly cheap, you’ll want to take as much care of it as possible. If you’ve never straightened a hairpiece before, here are some basic instructions that will help you transform your look in mere minutes using a hair straightener for black hair and weaves.
These instructions are also a good starting point for those who’ve never learned how to flat iron black hair at all. Read through these steps carefully and understand them before whipping out that flat iron.
But before anything else, take note that your weave needs to be made from human hair. Weaves made from synthetic hair might be cheaper but they aren’t the best quality and they melt under intense levels of heat so you can’t straighten them yourself.
- Begin by washing your hair thoroughly and drying it. You can choose either to air dry your hair or blow dry it if you don’t have time.
- Once that’s done, you can start removing any tangles from your hair. Do this gently so as to not put unnecessary stress on your hair. Start at the bottom of your hair and work your way up.
- When you’re sure that your hair is tangle-free, apply a coat of heat protectant product to your hair. Make sure that the product is distributed evenly all over your hair.
- Next, you can start separating your hair into small sections. Because you’ll be starting from the bottom section, clip the top sections of your hair on your head.
- Now you can turn on your flat iron to get to work. It’s best to start at the lowest heat setting and work your way up in order to avoid burning your hair.
- It’s recommended that you work on sections of hair that are at most an inch wide so that the heat will be distributed evenly. Grip the plates of the flat iron as close to your scalp as possible and slowly glide it down the section of hair. Repeat the process if your hair isn’t as smooth as you’d like. You might want to increase the temperature as you see fit but make sure to never go above 350 degrees Fahrenheit when you’re straightening a weave.
- Then you just repeat the process until you’ve done it on all of the sections of your hair.
- And you’re done!
Naturally, it’s going to take a few tries to flat iron black hair with a weave perfectly. After all, you are straightening your hair plus a hair extension. Don’t get too frustrated if you find yourself having a tough time. Just keep at it until you get the hang of it. You’ll be a pro in no time!
