I’ve been straightening my hair since junior high. My first flat iron had gold metal plates that gave me stick-straight (albeit fried) strands, and left my room smelling like smoke each morning.

While I still like to smooth out my naturally curly hair most of the time, thankfully I do it much more safely now with my ghd Platinum+ Hair Straightener. I’ve had this flat iron from ghd (previously featured here and here) for four years now and it still works as well as the first time I plugged it in. You could definitely find a cheaper model, but the design of this one not only gives you the final look you’re after but also safeguards your hair so you can keep on styling and experimenting as often as you like.

In the market for a new hair tool? Here are three reasons why I’ve never looked back since adding this hair straightener to my beauty routine:

1. The single temperature setting.
   One of the easiest ways to damage your hair if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing is to mess around with the heat settings on your tools. I was always guilty of choosing the highest setting for the sake of speed, which left my hair brittle. The floating plates of this hair straightener heat up evenly to 185ºC and 185ºC alone, which is hot enough to smooth your hair without repeated strokes. It also turns off automatically after 30 minutes of sitting on your counter unused.

2. The go-ready design.
   I travel a fair amount, so if I’m going to spend a good chunk of change on a hair styling tool, I want to be able to take it on the road. First of all, this hair straightener has universal voltage, so I can plug it in all over the world (as long as I remember to pack my converter). Second, it comes with a heat-resistant sleeve I can slip onto the plates as soon as I’m done instead of waiting for it to cool down before my checkout time.

3. The versatility.
   Older, larger hair straighteners could really only do one thing: flatten your hair to within an inch of its life. I would rather have options, but I also don’t want to buy 10 different gadgets. This flat iron allows me to wear my hair straight, tame flyaways when I wear my hair in its natural state or create loose waves and larger curls for more volume. And while I do own a great curling iron, when I only have room in my bag for a single tool, this is the one I always grab.

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Good as Gold Petra Canan Trudell · Sep 25 Read full story

MIDDI is a weekly roundup of mid-priced beauty, fashion and home buys released every Monday. Have a product you’re searching for? Leave your suggestions in the comments.