When hair straighteners first became mainstream in the early noughties, poker straight hair that was glossy and sleek AF suddenly went from being a total faff to being an easy, achievable day-to-day look. And we all went in hard, every day. Arguably too much so, when looking back on pictures where everyone's hair hung like curtains either side of their face a la Christina Aguilera during her Dirrty period..
While those halycon days were fun and all, they did lead to an awful lot of damage and the advent of those frazzled, parched ends that required multiple trips to the hairdresser for trims and awful periods where straighteners had to be abandoned and hair left in a frizzy ball as it recovered.
Over fifteen years later, and things have thankfully moved on. First, technology has advanced so that straighteners now don't heat to anywhere near as high a temperature as they used to, and the best brands will further their efforts to reduce strain and damage to strands, while still offering smooth locks.
The other thing that's changed is the way we style our hair. More of us than ever will use straighteners intermittently or just on some sections of hair, eeking out the period between styling with dry shampoo, or leaving hair to dry naturally more often, using straighteners as a way to speedily do hair or to add a style rather than as a means to straighten daily.
If you fall into the camp of using them often, you're fortunate that there's now a wealth of information on how to offset damage around, with everyone being a bit more hair health savvy, and advice on keeping hair happy by using hair masks and sleeping on silk pillows being mainstream.
But which one to buy? Here are the best...
Cloud Nine Original Iron
Cloud Nine Original Iron
The mineral-plated ceramic plates on this straightener glide over hair smoothly, while the temperature control allows for minimal damage while straightening.
Available at John Lewis | £139
T3 Singlepass Straightening Irons
T3 Singlepass Straightening Irons
We've heard of more than a few A-list hairdressers who swear that these straighteners are brilliant if you want ultra glossy locks but really can't bear any further damage thanks to their 'single pass' design.
Available at Selfridges | £125
Hershesons Titanium Ionic Professional Straighteners
Hershesons Titanium Ionic Professional Straighteners
With a rotating cord and damage-minimising ionic plates, it's little wonder hairdresser to the A-list Luke Hersheson carries these EVERYWHERE with him.
Available at Hershesons | £98
Remington S7412 Air Plates Straightener, £59.99
Remington S7412 Air Plates Straightener
Offering five heat settings and a speedy 15 second heat up time, these are the ones to go for if you want max control.
Available at John Lewis | £59.99
GHD Gold Styler, £139
GHD Gold Styler, £139
With heat sensors that promise to never let these overheat, a heat time of only 25 seconds, and floating plates that mean they'll glide through your hair without risk of clamping, this newbie by GHD is set to become a cult classic.
Available at Feel Unique | £139
