Got Long or Thick Hair? This Hair Tool Saves Me SO MUCH TIME
Amy Clark is Adore Beauty's former Senior Editor and co-host of Skincare School the podcast (and self-appointed beauty road-tester!). Amy's worked as a journalist, beauty editor and podcaster for several years, previously writing and talking about all things beauty at Mamamia and You Beauty. When she's not writing honest, no BS product reviews and taking selfies 'for work', you'll find Amy eating halloumi in a hair towel turban and... taking more selfies.
Apologies for the aggressive capital letters in the headline, but if you have long, thick or coarse hair, you’re going to wish I’d yelled at you sooner.
Why? Because we need to talk about the life-changing magic of wide hair straighteners.
I first started using a wide hair straightener on my very long, naturally frizzy hair around five years ago and honestly, I don't think I've touched a 'traditional' thin hair straightener since.
But what's a wide hair straightener, you ask? Great question. Below, you'll find everything you need to know about the benefits of using a wide hair straightener, and the new one that's saving me a good 10-15 minutes every morning.
Should I Buy a Thin or Wide Hair Straightener?
The answer to this question is... it depends.
Whether you go for a wide plate hair straightener or a traditional thin iron will come down to your hair type and how you use your straightener.
You can find out more about the pros and cons of different types of hair straighteners in our YouTube video below.
But while you're here, this is the quick breakdown of which straightener might be best for you.
Choose a wide hair straightener if:
- You have long, thick, curly, frizzy and/or coarse hair.
- It usually takes you FOREVER to straighten your hair - I'm talking longer than 30 minutes.
- You mostly use an iron for straightening.
- Each section of hair has to be straightened multiple times to get a smooth, sleek result.
- When you do use your straightener to curl your hair, you prefer larger round-brush blowout style curls.
- You want to cut your hair straightening time in half.
Use a traditional thin hair straightener if:
- You have shorter, fine or naturally straight hair.
- If you find it doesn't take too long to straighten your hair.
- You like creating beach waves or smaller curls using your hair straightener.
The Best Wide Hair Straightener...
Most popular hair tool brands nowadays make wider plate variations of their traditional stylers.
I've used a few different ones, but today, let's talk about the new ghd max hair straightener.
What is it: GHD Max Wide-Plate Hair Straightener - A wide-plate ceramic hair straightener ideal for very long or coarse hair.
Main features:
- Wide 4.2cmx9cm ceramic plates that can straighten larger or coarser sections of hair, faster.
- 70 per cent larger plates than the original ghd for styling twice as fast.
- Heats up to ideal styling temperature of 185 degrees in 30 seconds, with dual-zone technology to guarantee even heat distribution.
- Adds gloss and shine, and minimises frizz.
- Can be used to straighten hair or create loose round-brush blowout waves.
- Floating plates and rounded edges make creating waves easy.
- Light and easy to manoeuvre with a 2.7m swivel chord.
- Sleep mode means it switches off automatically after 30 minutes of inactivity.
My ghd Max Wide Hair Straightener Review.
As I mentioned, I haven't straightened my hair with a slim iron for years, simply because it takes me half the time to get the same smooth, shiny finish with a wide iron.
For me, it'd be like painstakingly applying my foundation with an eyeliner brush when I could blend it in with my fingers in less than 30 seconds.
Here's a video of me straightening my hair using the GHD Max Wide-Plate Hair Straightener in real time so you can see just how quick and easy it is to use. There's also a cameo from Adore's Brand & Content Manager Hannah Furst, who tried it on her coarse 'Hagrid hair'.
Because I only really wear my hair straight, using a wide straightener is a no-brainer.
I can straighten my hair in larger sections while still getting a fully straight, smooth result, and I don't typically have to go over each section more than once. I'll also usually get a good two or three days out of the style, adding dry shampoo to create texture and mop up my greasy roots by day three.
Oh, and the shine I get from using the ghd Max is also kind of incredible. I haven't had my hair cut in months, but it still looks healthy and smooth. Pro tip: It'll look even sleeker if you use a heat protectant like the GHD Straight On - Straigh & Smooth Heat Protect Spray 120mL before going in with your tool, which I... forgot to do in my video above.
Even though you can use this tool to create waves, I prefer waving with a curling wand because I find them to be more unstuffupable. But it's good to know you could use this tool to do wavy styles if you're trying to decide between a wide or thin hair straightener for straightening and curling.
If you have short hair, this tool probably isn't for you. In fact, you might find wide straighteners harder to use because you don't need that extra surface area.
But for all the owners of coarse, long, thick or curly hair out there, trust me. Once you go wide, it'll change your life.
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