The Sencor SHI 131GD is a straightforward straightener built around two sensible engineering choices.

The first is PTC heating. PTC elements warm up quickly and then self-regulate — they hold their temperature instead of overshooting and cycling the way simpler heaters do. In practice that means the third pass through a section is at the same temperature as the first, which is what produces an even result rather than a patchy one.

The second is the plate surface. Tourmaline ceramic glides rather than drags, and dragging is what actually damages hair on a straightener — the snag, not the heat. Smooth plates let you work through a section in one continuous stroke.

It reaches 200 °C, which is enough for effective straightening on most hair. Slightly below the 210 °C and 220 °C of the Philips models, which for fine or coloured hair is a reasonable place to be rather than a shortcoming.

An LED indicator shows when it is powered, and the 360° swivel cord rotates freely so the cable does not wind itself up as you work around the back of your head.

There is no display and no menu. You plug it in, wait for the indicator, and style — which for a tool used every morning is often exactly right.