Winter weather is in full effect, and so are winter trends. If you’re anything like me—a Black woman with coily hair—the colder months are the perfect time to pull out my trusty heat tools like hot air brushes and straighteners. As a beauty writer, I’ve tried plenty of products and gadgets—but I’m convinced I found the best silk press flat iron for type 3 and 4 hair like my own.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/T3-SinglePass-StyleMax-1-Flat-Iron-0b0008f354c546d8a70d62ca777d88bc.jpg "This Silk Press Flat Iron Got My Type 4 Hair Bone Straight—Here’s How (1)")
Whether used for a silk press, clip-ins, a sew-in, or even a quickweave, the T3 SinglePass StyleMax has become my go-to hair straightener for the season. It’s a 1-inch ceramic flat iron with custom settings catered toward even heat distribution so that it can glide through hair seamlessly without tugging or pulling—making it an ideal straightener for thick, coily hair. When I read that this straightener claims to keep my hair type healthy, strong, and shiny, I was intrigued but skeptical.
As a Black woman, my relationship with heat tools is complex and nuanced. Personally, if I’m wearing straight hair, I want my hair to remain just that. I’m okay with high heat if I can have silky strands that won’t require touch-ups. It takes a significant amount of trial and error to figure out what heat temperature my hair is comfortable with, and automatic settings (like the one on this flat iron) tend to give me less control over the straightening process.
Overall, the T3 Singlepass Stylemax is type 4 hair-approved. The lowest coarse hair setting was hot enough to get my hair straight. The ceramic plates add the “silk” to the press without making my hair feel or look fried. I already have some breakage in the front of my hair from tension and extensive bleaching, so I have to protect my strands as much as possible. I feel confident that my hair will revert after using this silk press hair straightener.
In Use
T3 is beloved for its viral tools by stylists and our editors alike. Different models have performed incredibly well in several of our InStyle tests to find the best hair dryers and other hot tools, so I was eager to put the brand to the test for myself. When it was time to wash my hair, I went in with a cocktail suited for my dry, coarse, blonde hair. Post-wash, I applied a lightweight leave-in conditioner to seal in all moisture before spritzing The Doux Drops Bonding Anti-Frizz Treatment Polish all over my head. I then blow-dry with Revlon’s famous blowout brush. The key to a silky smooth press is a good blow-dry, so I focused on the parts of my hair that I would leave out with my clip-ins.
To begin, you hold down the power button and program your curl type into the tool before using it. T3’s recommended setting is based on your hair texture. The brand categorizes textures into fine, medium, and coarse. Each has nine corresponding heat settings ranging from 260 to 410 degrees. I have type 4 hair, so I pressed the power button until I reached level seven, which is equivalent to 390 degrees (seven to nine is recommended for coarse hair). I locked my texture in by waiting a few seconds.
The user guide recommends thin, horizontal sections when straightening to position the iron close to the roots. This method made pressing out my textured hair super easy. The single pass claim is true—I would’ve been fine with one pass, but I preferred to go over it once more to ensure my roots were thoroughly straightened since I sweat a lot. Using tension, I passed the iron a quarter of a way down the section until my roots were covered and then started over, gliding the flat iron from my roots to the ends. The straightening process was smooth and quick. I got my entire middle part, edges, and the perimeter of my hair bone straight in less than 15 minutes.
Before & After
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ins-t3-singlepass-stylemax-essence-wiley-before-after-69e9bfa9862e4caea43081bf7017a391.jpeg "This Silk Press Flat Iron Got My Type 4 Hair Bone Straight—Here’s How (2)")
My hair was noticeably shiny and smooth, which I’m sure the bonding polish I applied previously contributed to. It was difficult to get the roots of my edges, but that was expected as they are on the finer side, and a 1-inch flat iron like this is too thick for straightening those super small hairs. I also used the silk press straightener on my clip-ins. It worked well, and they didn’t have that greasy feel or burnt smell after. Instead, they were smooth and soft like my natural hair.
For $200, this is a great product for people with curly hair to have in their arsenal. The design is sleek and professional-looking. The white is relatively easy to keep clean, and the rose gold accents feel extra girly. I wiped mine down with a dry towel and stored it in its space-saving box, which is important to me as I’m a beauty writer who needs all the free storage I can get.
