The best and worst of the straightening iron selection. Also includes tips on using a flat iron.
When shopping for your straightening tool, keep in mind that this is one of those cases where you really do get what you pay for.Don't even consider anything but a ceramic iron""other kinds do more damage to your hair.Ceramic irons lock in moisture and prevent frizz and damaged spots along the hair shaft.
Helen of Troy Ceramic:This one is next in line to the Chi, a runner-up from afar.Still ceramic, this one will do less damage to your hair than most of the heating tools on the market.It's not quite as effective as the Chi, but the cost is a lot lower""about $45.00 at Sally's Beauty Supply.This one's great for those of us who can't carelessly shell out $100.00+ on a flat iron superstar.The Helen of Troy iron comes in a narrow width so it's still easy to hold on to while styling your hair.It heats up in about 50 seconds, and is designed to make it easy to flip your hair up or under at the ends.
Hot Tools:I bought one of these in a salon for about $45.00 with a gift certificate.My hairdresser swore this one was as good as the expensive one she had used on me before but then sent back (I suspect it was a Chi).She used one on me before I bought it, but we all know hairdresser is sometimes synonymous with miracle-worker.My hair did look almost as good as before.Straight, shiny, healthy.Until I washed it and tried my own iron out on myself.It was awkward, paddle-like.My waves stayed wavy in some places.The front and sides tended to do okay because I could see what I was doing and get to those pieces easily.I still sometimes had to go over them two or three times each, though, to get them perfectly straight.I felt like I was doing serious damage to my hair, especially when I touched a piece I'd run the iron down recently and got a burn mark on my hand.Heaven forbid you tap your earlobe with one of the plates on accident while you work.This one's not a ceramic iron.I might as well have left the back alone.This one would still be an okay product for someone with only slightly wavy hair and the luxury of living with someone who will style their hair for them from time to time.You definitely wouldn't want to use this every day of the week.
Revlon:Ah, memories.Of trying too hard, paying too little, and frying my already frizzy hair.The penny-pincher that I sometimes am, I first started out with a $16.00 drugstore straightening tool, thinking that if drugstore makeup was as good to me as department store, the drugstore styling tools would be worthy rivals of the more expensive irons as well.At that point I knew nothing of ceramic irons and the word ionic was foreign to me.So, I followed the directions, grabbing one-to-two-inch sections of hair at a time and running the iron down them each""over and over and over again, trying to get rid of the small amount of wave my hair had in it.I managed to make my strands semi-straight but it never did give me that shiny, healthy look I yearned for.I might as well have ironed my khaki pants on the ironing board and then bent over and subjected my locks to the same heated metal.It would've gotten straighter, at least.
All flat irons are not the same.Look for ceramic plates for the best results.They'll add more shine to your hair than any other type.None of them are good for using every day so try to give your hair a break from time to time.If you have the opportunity to save enough money to buy one of the more expensive kinds, you won't regret it.But if you have to have something to get by for now and don't have the cash flow to spend a lot of money on something frivolous, check out beauty supply stores for their best irons at usually low costs.
