Investing in a pair of the best hair straighteners or flat irons will help you turn any bad hair day into a good one. As one of the most versatile hair tools around, straighteners give you the freedom to create a wide variety of hairstyles with a bit of practice - from super-sleek, frizz-free locks to beautiful waves and bouncy curls - while also allowing you to tame fringes and flyaways in seconds.
Just like the best hairdryers and best hair curlers, hair straighteners have come a long way from the heavy, chunky designs of yesteryear that had the potential to fry your hair and leave you with arm ache for days. And one super lightweight model providing amazing adjustability and usability is the new mdlondon STRAIT hair straightener.
The man behind the award-winning STRAIT is celebrity hairdresser Michael Douglas, and its design is a culmination of his 35 years’ experience styling the tresses of supermodels and TV personalities. As such, it has everything he wants (and doesn’t want) in a hair straightener. So, if it’s good enough for Kate Moss and Davina McCall, is it good enough for us? Read on to find out.
MDLONDON STRAIT REVIEW: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
The mdlondon STRAIT Hair Straightener is now available to buy in the UK and ROI in three colours – Casual Blue, Olive Green, and Blush – for a recommended retail price of £109 from mdlondon and selected third party retailers including Harvey Nichols.
MDLONDON STRAIT REVIEW: UNBOXING AND SET-UP
The mdlondon STRAIT Hair Straightener is stylishly packaged and delivered in a bigger box that, once opened, reveals a welcome message from Douglas, a QR code printed on the inside of the lid, and a smaller box containing the STRAIT.
This might seem unnecessary, but every bit of packaging is fully recyclable, and the welcome message and QR code – which takes you to an instructional video demo of how to use the STRAIT – all adds to the impression that Douglas really wants you to get the most out of your purchase.
Inside the smaller box, you’ll find the STRAIT itself, along with an instruction manual and heat mat that cleverly doubles as a protective wrap to keep the STRAIT safe. To get going, just scan the QR code, watch the introductory video, and plug it in.
MDLONDON STRAIT REVIEW: REVIEW: DESIGN
One of the initial attractions of the mdlondon STRAIT is its aesthetically pleasing design with matching hair tools available, including the mdlondon BLOW hair dryer. Available in three Farrow & Ball-inspired shades of Olive Green, Casual Blue, and Blush (which we’re testing here), the STRAIT is so much more bedroom- and handbag-worthy compared to the standard basic black colourways you get with most straighteners on the market.
Considering the STRAIT’s reasonable price point – it’s a whole £130 cheaper than the ghd Platinum+ and £290.99 cheaper than the Dyson Corrale – these straighteners have a high quality feel with a matt, silicone finish, muted gold accents, and thicker, ridged ends for increased fingertip protection as you guide the STRAIT through your hair.
The STRAIT is considerably slimmer and lighter than the above models, weighing just under 220g minus the cord and plug, which makes it incredibly comfortable to hold. Although the specifications aren’t revealed, my tape measure estimates it to be 29.5cm in length and just under 3cm wide from all angles, and the long, thin ceramic plates mirror this narrow design at 11cm x 2.3cm.
The on/off button and up/down temperature buttons are nicely placed in a small recess on the side of the tool so you’re less likely to hit them by accident, and they make a nice clicking sound when you use them. Your current temperature is clearly shown on an easy-to-read LED display, and the swivel-set power cord is nice and long at 3m.
MDLONDON STRAIT REVIEW: FEATURES
The standout feature of the mdlondon STRAIT is its fully adjustable temperature control which lets you select the perfect heat to style your individual hair type while limiting damage to your tresses.
In all, there are eleven heat settings to choose from, and it goes up to a maximum temperature of 230°C, which is hotter than most straightening irons and ideal for the strongest, thickest hair types. For those with fine, fragile hair, the temperature goes all the way down to a much gentler 130°C (by way of comparison, the Dyson Corrale provides just three temperature settings – 165°C, 185°C and 210°C – while the gjd Platinum+ maintains one consistent heat of 185°C).
When you turn the STRAIT on, it automatically heats up to a starting temperature of 180°C in a very speedy 35 seconds. From there, you can press the plus or minus buttons to adjust the temperature up or down in 10-degree increments. The good news is they also automatically switch off after 30 minutes, so you don’t have to worry about burning the house down if you forget to turn them off.
MDLONDON STRAIT REVIEW: PERFORMANCE
I really enjoyed using the mdlondon STRAIT hair straighteners. Firstly, they might just be the lightest straighteners I’ve ever used, so they were very easy to maneuver around my head when straightening and curling my hair.
Secondly, the incredibly slim design makes them really comfy to hold. But the narrowness of the STRAIT’s floating plates brings other benefits too: namely that you can get really close to your roots when styling without leaving any kinks or indentations in your hair, which makes them ideal for shorter hair styles, and for taming fringes and flyaways.
I was a bit concerned that the slimness of the plates would make it harder for me to straighten my long, thick hair in one pass, but these concerns were quickly dismissed once I found my ideal styling temperature of 210°C. In fact, the STRAIT made quick work of straightening my hair thanks to the longer length of the plates, which meant I could style more hair in one go.
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I really appreciated being in control of my ideal straightening temperature, and it gave me extra styling flexibility. The end results I achieved were long lasting, but if I wanted a little top up of sleekness on the second or third day, I could go in at a much lower temperature to reduce the risk of excessive heat damage.
I also found curling my hair with straighteners really easy for a change, and I think that’s due to the lightweight, non-bulky design. It was just so much easier to twist the STRAIT around and control the direction of the movement while keeping the straightener moving smoothly. I generally tend to get kinks in my hair when I curl my hair with straighteners because I can get them a bit stuck in places, but I ended up with kink-free, bouncy curls that lasted all day.
I never knew it was possible to get hyped up about a heat mat, but I got very excited about the mat that comes as standard with the STRAIT. Its flexible corner loop lets you turn it into a protective heat wrap which keeps the tool compact for storage and allows to your put the tool in your drawer or handbag or suitcase if you don’t have time wait for it to cool down. Genius!
MDLONDON STRAIT REVIEW: VERDICT
The mdlondon STRAIT hair straightener is much lighter and slimmer than most other flat irons on the market, making it very easy and comfortable to use. The floating plates are extra-long so you can straighten more hair in one go, but they’re also narrow, meaning you can get closer to the root without leaving kinks.
Great for styling short and long hair, they offer the ultimate in adjustable temperature control with eleven heat settings ranging from 130°C up to a maximum of 230°C, so they’re great for both fragile and stronger hair types alike. Considering the reasonable price - and the clever heat mat that doubles as a protective wrap - you get a lot of bang for your buck.
