Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straighteners review

Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straighteners TL; DR: a versatile straightener with dual plates and customisable temperature controls for fast ‘one pass’ styling that reduces the risk of heat damage to hair.

If you’re in the market for hair straighteners that will give you incredible results for almost half the price of a pair of GHDs, keep reading because I’ve been testing the recently launched Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straighteners for just over a month. It’s fair to say I’ve been completely bowled by their one-pass styling prowess and super-fast results that leave my hair looking and feeling healthy, shiny and silky smooth. And I think you’ll love them too if you give them a shot.

If you’re a Brit like me, and you’ve never heard of the American hair styling brand Hot Tools before, don’t panic. Neither had I, that is, until I received an invite to attend the swanky London launch of the Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straighteners. If I’m honest, I immediately decided that the straighteners couldn’t be that great if they weren’t from GHD, Dyson, T3, or any of the other juggernaut brands that appear in our round-up of the best hair straighteners. 

However, when I saw that British Hairdresser of the Year Robert Eaton was going to be at the event giving styling demonstrations with the straighteners – and that she-of-the-always-fabulous-hair Nicole Scherzinger was a celebrity ambassador for the brand – I decided to go along. And trust me, I am sooooo glad that I did (BTS video here). So, without further ado, here’s our review of the Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straighteners.

Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener: Price And Availabity

The Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener is now available for a recommended retail price of £129.99 /US$129.99 from Hot Tools UK / Hot Tools US and selected third party retailers including Amazon. It is not currently available in Australia. 

Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener: Design

Unlike traditional flat irons that feature two wide plates for straightening, the innovative Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener has a gap down the middle that essentially splits a regular plate in half to create four 12mm plates (and provides a handy ‘cool tip’ space for your fingers). 

The reason for the dual plates is two-fold. One, you get better precision styling with these slimmer plates when straightening and curling. And two, more plates equal two-times faster styling. Best of all, you can individually control the temperature of the left and right plates (more on this later) for amazing one pass straightening results that cause less damage to your hair, meaning you won’t have to go over the same section of hair a few times to achieve your desired look.

The four plates are floating so they move with you to adjust the pressure on your hair and help to protect the hair shaft from damage, and they’re also made from titanium for sleek, frizz-free results. Meanwhile, the rounded edges help to give you excellent grip for more even preciseness. 

You wouldn’t call the design sleek or streamlined thanks to the dual plates at the top, but it’s extremely comfortable to hold and use, and pretty lightweight, weighing in at around 350g, or just over 12oz – much less than the Dyson Corrale’s 563g.

Available only in black, the Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener also comes equipped with a 3m tangle-free swivel cord, a generously-size heat-resistant black mat to rest your straighteners on, and a sleek black heat-resistant carry case with a divider down the middle to separate the tool from the cord – perfect for those moments when you use it and then need to pack it up quickly while it’s still hot.

Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener: Features And Technology

As mentioned, these Hot Tools Straighteners have dual plates. And these dual plates, says Hot Tools, are controlled by a ‘revolutionary, first of its kind’ dual heat control that lets you set different temperature on the left and right plates for maximum styling versatility.

This essentially means that you can customise your temperature, so you have the option of setting different temperatures on the left and right plates at the same time. If I’m honest, I didn’t understand why this was a good thing until top hairdresser Robert Eaton explained it to me at the launch event, but once he did, it all made perfect sense.

Simply put, if you’re straightening your hair and leading with the left plate (the left and right plates are clearly marked on the outside of the tool), you set the temperature of the left leading plate higher, and reduce the temperature of the right plate that follows behind it. 

This means you get two plates moving down the hair shaft for one pass speed, but you reduce the risk of causing heat damage to your hair because the temperature of one of the plates can be det significantly lower than the other. For example, when I’m straightening my hair, I set the left plate to around 220°C, and the right plate to 170°C, then easily swap the temperature of the plates when it’s time to move to the other side of my head and lead with the right plate. 

In all, the clear LED digital display allows you to select up to 30 Variable Temperature Settings on each plate, up to a maximum of 235°C (455°F) to give you an unparalleled level of versatility and control on all hair types from thin to course. 

Personally, I feel much more in control of the temperature using something like this than relying on the ‘smart technology’ of a tool like the GHD Platinum+ hair straightener, which feature ‘predictive’ tech to control the temperature based on your hair type and speed of styling. But hey, that’s just me. Maybe I’m a control freak. 

Finally, the Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Straightener heats up super-fast – like, under 10 seconds to reach the max temperature - and most importantly, the Exclusive Pulse Technology holds high temperatures until you turn them off, although there is a handy two-hour auto shut-off feature should you forget to do that. 

Finally, the placement of the switches and buttons is perfect, and I never once accidently hit the on/off button or adjusted the temperature without meaning to (something that can happen to me a lot with other tools). Another great feature that deserves a mention is the Last Setting Memory Recall, which remembers your last temperature setting – great for when you find your perfect styling temperature but forget to make a mental note of it.

Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener: Performance

First off, let me state that I have a huge amount of thick hair that usually takes a good hour to style (hairdressers hate me). However, I found that the Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Straightener genuinely cut my styling time in half. 

The ‘one pass technology’ claim is absolutely true, whether I was straightening or curling my hair, and I only needed to redo two curls the first time I used it (keeping both plates on the same temperature), because I was still getting used to the tool and perfecting my wrist/arm action.

I’m not the only one who found it to be fast and reliable, either. My sister-in-law has even more hair than me at almost double the length, and usually sets aside a few hours to straighten her hair. But the first words out of her mouth when I asked her for thoughts after using it were, quite simply, ‘wow’. Put it this way, she’s ditched her trusty GHDs and the Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener now spends more time in her room than mine (we live together).

Straightening aside, this tool also gives fabulous, long-lasting curls, so it’s also replaced my regular hair wand, too. But oddly, I think my favourite thing about it – apart from how shiny, soft and healthy it leaves my hair looking and feeling – is the extra-long tangle-free cord, plus the fact that it NEVER gets caught up in my hair. And that means zero snagging, pulling, or pain.

Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener: Verdict

Whether you’re on a budget or not, the Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener is a fantastic investment. When it comes to the number of straightener plates on a styling device, I’ve learnt that more is most definitely more, and you will 100 per cent cut down on your styling time with this tool.

Of course, the best bit is that you can control the temperature on the left and right plates to reduce the risk of heat damage to your hair, whatever your hair type. All in all, this highly versatile straightener is incredibly easy to use, provides amazing, long-lasting results, and will leave your hair silky and frizz-free. Highly recommended.