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Hair straighteners are basically just two irons you can clamp together, so we don't blame you for looking up some affordable options. Just because you're saving money doesn't mean you need to deprioritise your hair health.
We compared Kmart hair straighteners, and other cheap options to find which ones are the best for your hair and your wallet.
Hair dryer | Hair dryer | Price range | Key specs | Rating | Retailers | |
| Anko LCD Hair Straightener |  |
$25
|
Temperature range: 130°C - 230°C Hot within: 3 mins | 
| Find it at Kmart | Find it at Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anko Wide Plate Hair Straightener |  |
$25
|
Temperature range: 150°C - 230°C Hot within: 3 mins | 
| Find it at Kmart | Find it at Target |
| Anko Black Hair Straightener |  |
$19
|
Temperature range: 200°C only Hot within: 4 mins | 
| Find it at Kmart | Find it at Target |
| Remington Super Glide Hair Straightener |  |
$39.99
|
Temperature range: 150°C - 230°C Hot within: 15 secs | 
| Find it on Amazon | Find it at Catch |
| Remington Shea Soft Hair Straightener |  |
$49
|
Temperature range: 150°C - 230°C Hot within: 15 secs | 
| Find it on Amazon | Find it at Big W |
| Remington Ceramic Straight 215 Slim Hair Straightener |  |
$25
|
Temperature range: 150°C - 230°C Hot within: 15 secs |
| Find it on Amazon | Find it at Betta |
| VS Sassoon Smooth Ceramic Straightener |  |
$32.95
|
Temperature range: 205°C only Hot within: Unknown | 
| Find it at Priceline |
If you're on this page then price is clearly a big consideration for you, and it is for us too. We look at what the cost of a hair straightener actually buys you. The lower the price, the higher the features are scaled on our rating system compared to more expensive models.
We rate hair straighteners with proven, even heating technology higher than those without. Even heating not only helps to style the hair consistently, but can also prevent damage. Smart features like auto-off, and fast heating also contribute to our scores.
All hair is different, so we know there isn't a one size fits all approach to hair health and styling. We look for a broad temperature range on hair straighteners that will accomodate more hair types. FYI: hair can start to melt at 220°C, so be mindful of extreme heat.
Styling your hair takes time, so we always factor in design elements like weight and ergonomics. Ideally we want to see light hair straighteners, with a long, swivel cord.
It feels like Remington hair products have been around forever, always sitting in that affordable sweet spot. I only recently upgraded my $50 Remington to a Cloud Nine, but that budget hair straightener lasted me years. Based on experience with the brand, and the features, we are confident that Remington's Super Glide Hair Straightener is the best cheap hair straightener you can get.
It shares similar features with high-end straighteners like auto-off (so you don't have to freak out about leaving your hair straightener on), but in some cases outdoes the likes of GHD. With a temperature range of 150°C - 230°C the device should suit pretty much every hair type while causing minimal damage - provided you pick the right temperature that is. Comparatively GHD straighteners only heat up to 180°C, which is a very one-size fits some approach.
The super fast heat up time of 15 seconds is quicker than some salon-quality stylers as well. Plus with floating ceramic plates the iron should slide through your hair without adding any unneccessary crimps.
It is quite heavy at over 600g, and doesn't have any specialised heat distribution tech that we were able to uncover. But, for less than $40, the Super Glide is a heroic deal.
Unsurprisingly, our top pick makes another appearance here in the best performance category. When we talk about performance in hair straighteners we look at things like the temperature range, whether it has floating plates, its heat up time, and any other fun features like auto-off.
Although these are already mentioned above, the Super Glide Straightener from Remington deems mentioning again. A 15 second heat up time is crazy fast, it is equipped with floating ceramic plates, and we're big fans of the auto-off function.
You may notice that the performance score is quite low however. Without evidence of even heating tech the Glide does get scored down, and the 80°C temperature range is better than most but not the best we have seen. These combined bring that score down to 3.7, but that is still higher than every Kmart hair straightener.
Anko's LCD Hair Straightener is a surprising winner for hair health due to its wide temperature range. With temperatures starting as low as 130°C, more hair types will be able to use this hair straightener while minimising damage.
Equipped with features like auto-off after one hour, this Kmart styler has some higher end flare to it with a tiny pricetag.
It, and every other Kmart/Target hair straightener's warm up time is significantly higher than name brands, sitting at 3 minutes. Quite the distance from Remington's 15 seconds. Plus it doesn't have any details about the technology used to heat the plates, and how evenly it distributes that.
If your wallet would feel better with a $25 spend, then this affordable straightener is going to be your best bet.
Maybe you're just looking for the cheapest possible option to get you by, and if that is the case then Anko's Black Hair Straightener will do the trick. Be warned however that this device scored the worst across the cheap hair straighteners we assessed, on everything except for price.
Only heating up to 200°C, the device has no temperature moderation - save for the 15°C variance either side that Kmart notes. Meaning that when you click it on you could be getting anywhere between 185°C - 215°C. It also has no auto-off function, and takes a whole 4 minutes to get up to whatever temperature it has decided on for the day.
If you're really strapped for cash, and your hair can handle high heat then this may be an option, but otherwise we would recommend splurging the extra $6 to get the Anko LED straightener instead.
Kmart hair straighteners, also now known as Target hair straightners, are like everything else in Anko's catalogue - cheap, but with trade offs.
For the most part, these hair straighteners have less temperature variation, and take a long time to heat up. For healthy, thick, unbleached hair they will lkely do a good enough job to save you some money. Especially if you use a good heat protectant.
However for people with damaged, or thin hair the lowest temperature settings may still be too high for your hair to handle.
If you are in the market for a cheap hair straighteners (which you probably are, hence why you're on this page), then there are a handful of choices in the under $50 range that we recommend over most Kmart hair straighteners. The Anko LED Straightener is the clear exception - if you skipped past that section, then scroll back up to Best for Hair Health, to see why.
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