Full Answer
Safe temperature to flat iron hair. Safe temperatures to flat iron medium to coarse hair can be between 360 – 410 degrees (°F). Also, one important fact to know before pressing your hair with a flat iron or any heat styling tool, is that healthy hair begins to melt and burn at 451 degrees (°F).
Thick hair needs a robust, but gentle flat iron to help to keep heat damage to a minimum. Heat protection sprays and balms are also helpful to help protect the hair, however the quality of the device is key. With thick hair, the plate width will also play a role in how effective it is to gain the results that you want.
If your hair is thick, consider opting for a flat iron with smaller or narrower plates on the shorter side. The smaller size plates could help you get closer to your roots and be easier to handle while straightening your hair.
If you think that heat can damage the hair then you can use a heat protectant. The type of heat depends on the type of flat irons you use. This is in the form of lotion and sprays.
While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to what the best temperature for straightening hair is, the right temperature will be the lowest setting that allows you to achieve straight strands with a single pass of your flat iron. That means no going over your locks multiple times! Pretty simple, right? Of course, there are a few factors that can contribute to how hot your flat iron should be.
If there’s one thing that can ruin a perfectly straight head of hair in an instant, it’s humidity. Whether it’s the middle of summer or simply a muggy day, there are hair products you can use to keep humidity from taking a toll on your straight hair. After you’ve finished using your flat iron and allowed your hair to cool, mist on the L’Oréal Paris Advanced Hairstyle LOCK IT Weather Control Hairspray for a humidity-resistant, frizz-free style.
Factor #1: Hair type. As you probably already know, certain hair types are easier to straighten than others. Thick, curly hair tends to require a higher heat setting—and a bit more work—in order to be transformed into perfectly straight strands. On the other hand, those with fine or nearly straight hair can typically get away with much lower temperatures.
If you have fine curly hair, you want to stick with the heat-styling suggestions for the ‘fine or chemically treated hair’ section above. Ceramic or Tourmaline Ceramic irons will be the best option, as either provides even heating and helpful smoothing. Because you have more work to do than someone with mostly straight hair, it’s safe to put the dial above 300℉, but it’s always better to err on the side of caution.
Both Ceramic and Tourmaline Ceramic are more gentle on your hair and have great anti-frizz and smoothing capabilities. Either way, you have quite the undertaking ahead of you. For this reason, you can set your iron within the 350-410℉ range (but if your hair responds well to a lower setting, take advantage of that). You will know which temperature setting works best when you can achieve results in one or two passes maximum.
We recommend investing in high quality, NuMe flat irons to ensure you get the results you want without compromising the integrity of your hair. Test out different temperature settings until you find your ideal temperature. Start low and only gradually increase to a higher temperature until you get your desired results. If you are refreshing second day hair, use the lowest heat setting.
While the innovations can often seem overwhelming, you only need to consider four things to determine the perfect temperature setting for your heat-styling tools: Your hair type, hair condition, the plate materials, and the quality of the tool itself. Put these four factors together and you have a winning formula for gorgeous, healthy hair.
Curly-haired people should be especially cautious, as continuous straightening at high temperatures can cause your curls to deconstruct. It will take months to get your curls back to their original state.
In addition to the temperature, you need to pay attention to the type of heat you’re using. Believe it or not there is a difference - flat irons can either use conventional heat or infrared heat. Conventional heat heats the hair from the outside and slowly penetrates to the core, the prolonged heat exposure leads to dry, damaged and dull hair. Unlike conventional heat, infrared heat uses your hair’s natural oils, heating the hair from the inside out, maintaining the natural moisture and shine and giving you faster, longer lasting, healthy results.
However, even if you have completely natural hair, you should take into consideration the moisture level, or lack thereof, of your hair. Those with dry, dehydrated hair and split ends will need to be more cautious when heat styling.
This is our #1 rated best flat iron for thick coarse hair. The SinglePass X is a broader and more powerful straightening iron designed to alleviate unruly locks.
These flat irons can be closed by simply swiping the lock button , making it more portable and space-saving to take it everywhere. You also don't need a lot of experience, and the iron is effortless to use.
It heats up within 5 minutes, and the heat reaches up to 450 degrees F.
This flat iron by RUSK creates silky, shiny, frizz-free hair. The tourmaline and ceramic plates give instant and definite heat while distributing natural ions and far-infrared heat for optimal straightening results. This iron is intended for heavy-use by salon professionals.
With its unique combination of heat and gentle vibration, the Vibrastrait Oscillating flat iron allows hair to glide effortlessly between the tourmaline ceramic plates for smoother, straighter styling with no tugging or pulling.
The iron plates vibrate at 7,500 vibrations per minute, which 'shuffles' hair through the plates, touching more strands with each pass. That means fewer passes and minor damage for faster, healthier results.
Begin at the skull of the head and separate a 1-inch section of hair.
If you want to achieve a perfect result with your flat iron in making your thick hair, then you must first learn how to use the iron. All the flat irons are not the same. If you want to handle the ceramic counterpart, you must be very cautious and because of that, you learn how to use it.
BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium-Plated Flat Ir on. A good option for those with thick curly hair, this flat iron comes with Titanium plated plates. This type of plates is good for all types of hair as well as thick hair. What you will find is that they will heat up very fast! And hold the heat well.
These plates are much gentler and distribute heat evenly across the hair. With thick hair, this is what will help to speed up the hair straightening process.
If your hair is thick, consider opting for a flat iron with smaller or narrower plates on the shorter side. The smaller size plates could help you get closer to your roots and be easier to handle while straightening your hair.
Only two to three swipes along your hair will be needed with the flat iron. The overall quality of this product is high. It is worth the money if this is within your budget. The flat iron is also available in a range of sizes which is a good option.
With a wider flat iron plate, the heat will be more evenly distributed through hair that is more on the thick side; this will also reduce heat damage.
This Professional flat iron has one-inch tourmaline ceramic plates. The cord can rotate fully to 360 degrees, increasing safety while using and rotating the flat iron through the hair. An excellent feature of this flat iron is the worldwide voltage allowance, which means it can be used in Europe and outside the EU.
Why we like it: It gets the job done on thick hair in less than 10 minutes, often with only two passes. That is quite impressive for a flat iron in this price range. It also has a 60-minute auto shut off feature
Let’s go over the basics of flat irons: The ideal temperature range for thick hair is between 375 and 450 degrees Fahrenheit. (the best flat irons have at least 2 settings between these two temperatures) The recommended plate type is either titanium, or tourmaline-covered ceramic.
The BaByliss Pro Nano Titanium Straightening Iron has a maximum temperature of 450° F , which is the recommended starting temperature for thick hair. You will need to try out different temperature settings (as they are not pre-set like the CHI G2) to find the fitting temperature for your hair. You can either keep it at 450 degrees for the whole session, but in order to prevent damaging your hair, we encourage you to decrease the temperature throughout. Some larger flat irons are good at maintaining the heat even at 370 degrees, but because the BaByliss Nano is a bit smaller, it needs to be kept at 400 degrees to maintain the heat.
If you want to go for something similar to the Xtava Infrared in terms of build and price range, an excellent choice would be the Kipozi Professional Titanium Straightener. The wideness of the plates is beneficial for thick hair in terms of speed. Design-wise, it comes in a standard black and gold color combination. The handle is a bit longer, so it is easier to hold the flat iron while doing your hair.
The Xtava Infrared measures 11.6 x 2.1 x 1.5 inches and weighs 2 pounds. Albeit a bit wider and heavier than other flat irons on the market, it comes with a 360 degree 8-foot swivel cord that makes it very easy to operate.
Why we like it: We recommend this flat iron for the same reason professionals recommend it: the advanced heat recovery technology allows the plates to maintain temperature from root to ends.
The Xtava Infrared has 10 temperature settings which range from 265 to 445 degrees Fahrenheit. The chosen temperature setting is displayed on an easy to read LCD digital display. It also has built-in ceramic heaters which enable the flat iron to reach a maximum temperature within seconds. This turns thick frizzy hair straight in just minutes.
Also, one important fact to know before pressing your hair with a flat iron or any heat styling tool, is that healthy hair begins to melt and burn at 451 degrees ( °F).
Also, the quality of the flat iron can make a difference in your results. It is important to find the best flat iron for your hair. References: