The Philips BHS375 sits in the 3000 Series, and it is the model in this range we would point most people towards, for one reason: it gives you a choice of temperature.

180 °C and 220 °C, selected on a physical switch. That sounds modest next to a straightener with a digital display and fifteen increments, but it covers the decision that actually matters. Fine, fragile, coloured or damaged hair should be straightened at the lower temperature. Thick, coarse or stubborn hair needs the higher one to hold a style. Most heat damage happens because people use more temperature than their hair requires — usually because the tool gave them no alternative. This one does.

The plates are 28 × 100 mm, which is full-length. More hair passes between them on each stroke and contact is held along its length, so a section is done in fewer passes. That compounds with the temperature choice: less heat, applied fewer times.

It is ready in 60 seconds, and the plates lock closed with a key-lock for storage — worth using, since a scratched plate surface is what starts snagging hair. Universal 110–240 V voltage means it works anywhere without a converter, and the 1.8 m cord gives comfortable room at a mirror.

Simple, well-judged, and the temperature switch is the feature that will still matter to you in a year.