Conair XL Onyx Ceramic Flat Iron has the best record for thick hair, with 19 of 21 shoppers saying it straightened their hair in a pass or two, and CHI Original Ceramic Hairstyling Iron follows at 22 of 25. We could not confirm the exact Amazon listing for either, so the best pick sold on Amazon is Drybar Tress Press Straightening Iron, which ranks third at 18 of 21. Each record counts just shoppers who said they have thick hair.
Updated . How we count
Share of reviewers who stated an outcome for straightening thick hair. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.
Best pick on Amazon Drybar Tress Press Straightening Iron 18 of 21 say it straightened their thick hair in a pass or two See price & reviews on Amazon Praise and complaints are the points reviewers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.
Conair
Shoppers call it smooth and shiny in 24% of its 25 reviews and good value in 16%, and no complaint shows up in more than one review.
No repeated complaints yet.
CHI
Of its 30 reviews, 13% credit it with a smooth, shiny finish and 13% with less frizz, while its 3 misses said it didn't get hot enough or took too long on their thick hair.
No repeated complaints yet.
Drybar
Durability complaints show up here, with 17% of its 24 reviews saying it stopped working. Shoppers also credit fast heat-up (12%) and a smooth, shiny finish (12%).
BaBylissPRO
Best for ease of use
Ease of use comes up in 18% of its 22 reviews, and 14% mention shiny hair.
No repeated complaints yet.
BaBylissPRO
Best for a smooth, shiny finish
Its finish draws praise, with 30% of its 20 reviews calling it smooth and shiny. Others say it heats fast (20%), though 15% call it too expensive.
BaBylissPRO
This iron has the weakest record here at 12 of 16, and its 4 misses said it struggled with their thick hair, needing several passes or not straightening it at all. Reviews first posted on BaBylissPRO's own site were more positive, at 8 of 8, and we show them but don't count them.
No repeated complaints yet.
The 6 products ranked here carry 4,518 reviews at Ulta. We searched them for straightening thick hair and read the newest matching reviews, up to 40 per product and store, posted between Dec 2012 and Aug 2026.
A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.
Ulta also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. They run much more positive than store reviews of the same products (across 19 products with both, 76% of brand-site reviewers said the product solved the problem, against 55% of Ulta shoppers), so we show them on product cards but never count them.
Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.
Skin type, skin tone and age splits use what reviewers chose on Sephora's review form (and age on Ulta's when given). We only show a split when enough reviewers fall on each side.
Amazon buttons appear only on products that most reviewers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.
An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.
Conair XL Onyx Ceramic Flat Iron has the best record (19 of 21), followed by CHI Original Ceramic Hairstyling Iron (22 of 25), Drybar Tress Press Straightening Iron (18 of 21) and BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Prima Styling Iron (12 of 14). BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Ultra Thin Flat Iron (14 of 18) and BaBylissPRO Porcelain Ceramic Straightening Iron (12 of 16) come after them. Drybar Tress Press Straightening Iron and BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Prima Styling Iron both stand at 86%. Drybar Tress Press Straightening Iron ranks higher because more shoppers stated a result for it, 21 against 14.
Mostly yes: 22 of 25 shoppers with thick hair said it straightened their hair in a pass or two. More shoppers stated a result for it than for any other iron here, and it ranks second.
Follow the heat settings and instructions that come with the iron. Use a heat protectant if you already use one. We count what shoppers said about results, not safety, so the maker's directions are the place to check how to use it.
Drybar Tress Press Straightening Iron and BaBylissPRO Porcelain Ceramic Straightening Iron are sold on Amazon by the brand or Amazon itself, and Drybar Tress Press Straightening Iron is the best pick sold on Amazon. For Conair XL Onyx Ceramic Flat Iron, CHI Original Ceramic Hairstyling Iron, BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Prima Styling Iron and BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Ultra Thin Flat Iron, we could not confirm the exact Amazon listing, so their buttons search Amazon for them.
HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.