Recommendations for a New Flat Iron

Someone mentioned the Brazilian straightening method - i just got it done and i really like it. My hair frizzes in the humidity and i just hate it....this really works. I still have to blow it dry and I even use my straightener to just soften it up a bit. My straighter is a cheap one and with the Brazilian treatment, it works great. My hair is smoother and healthier looking - and it is less work, frustration for me! It was not cheap, but it lasts about 6 months or so.

Hi D.:

My sister is a hair stylist, also a member of this group. I have long, straight, thick, virgin, black hair that was really frizzy. She did a Chi on me. It was AWSOME. It lasted for about a year. The first 6 months it was straight as a pin and them after it was still straight enough that I didn't even have to blowdry. Although it is a harsh chemical, not having to flat iron or blow dry for a year kept it pretty healthy. I was thrilled.

My sister works at home (and at a pricey salon in South Miami. The CHi is not cheap, but a year of hassle free hair maintanance is a beautiful thing for a mother of a toddler. It was for me. She can also tell you about the best flat iron. Her email is Marcella Seidensticker at yahoo dot com, all together.

I have had the Chi for about 2 years now & I love it! To me it was worth the money only because I use it on a daily basis. With the Chi it only takes about 5 mins to straighten my hair & I have a head full. Try the local salons for the Chi that is where I bought mine

A.

hi!! i've just recently started using a flat iron, and my hairdresser suggested purchasing a tourmaline iron only!! i purchased one recently from sally's beauty salon, and i really like it..i's called IQ My teenager has been "stealing it from me."

hope that helps!

I use the Magic Ionic Ping and I love it. It makes your hair so smooth and silky. I've never used any of the other brands that have been mentioned so I'm not sure how they compare. It is on the high side at around 180.00 but totally worth it.

Chi's are the best. Linens and Things has them and with the 20% off coupons that come out, I think thats your best bet.

Hi. I can vouch for the Babyliss brand as well. You can get it in several thicknesses, your beaty salon store should be able to order it for you, mine did.

Deb,
I have thick, long, curly, frizzy, hair. I do not have time to straighten it every day. For me, the Chi was not a wise investment. One of the ladies I worked with got a porcelain straightener from sally beauty for 40 dollars and used it on my hair and it was wonderful. It provided results that satisfied me. I had a plain ceramic plated iron before that and it really just made my hair look baked. The "porcelain" seemed to make all the difference. If you have the 200 or so to drop on a straightening iron, then be my guest. It just wasn't something I was going to use but once a month so the Jilbere Porcelain Series available at Sally Beauty did fine for me. Good luck

Okay, I personally do not have a need for a flat iron. My hair is the definition of flat. However, I have a really good friend who has thick, wavy, difficult to manage hair. She absolutely 100% swears by the Chi. She goes on and on about how much less time it takes to do her hair with a Chi, how much smoother her hair is, and how long the results last. If she uses the Chi on her hair she'll skip washing it the next day because her hair still looks and feels so good. She has used tons of different products and swears it is the best.

If you have never used the Chi on your hair, many salons use them. You can pay a little extra and have the stylist use the Chi on your hair. This will give you an idea of how well it works on your hair and if you think the results really are that much better than other flat irons.

Hi D.,
Please note this is not a scam or spam, I'm a regular person with every hair straightning product on the market it seems....I'm not sure if this is a route you'd like to take, but I met a woman @ a beach wedding this weekend after we all got rained on (just as the bride started to make her way down the aisle!) I have thick curly hair that I spent almost 2 hrs on blowing out & then flat ironing - it looked great until the rain, then it curled up as usual.

This woman's hair was smooth & straight, although she swore she had hair curly like mine. She said she had a new treatment done to it called Brazilian Keratin Treatment. She said it was different than the previous Japanese straightning systems. She said her hair feels stronger & healthier since she did it too.

I'm not sure what it costs, or if its as great as she made it sound but if you are interested here's the info she gave me:
The guy who did hers name is Fred Savage @ Spalano in Boca Center -the woman's name who gave the info was Shelley Cohen. Like I said, I have no idea what it costs, but it may be something you might wat to look into at least.

If you would rather stick with the flat iron, I have a ceramic one I got from Sally Beauty Supply called a Jibere & it works great.

Good luck,
Crissy

Hi D.! I was just wondering if you ever got the Chi, and if so, what you think of it? I have a ceramic one from Sally's-- the Helen of Troy series-- and it seems to work pretty well, but it takes me quite a while to straighten my hair with it. Consequently I hardly ever do it. (I also have two small boys-- 2 and 8 months-- so I don't have a lot of time.) I was intrigued when people said that they were able to straighten their hair in much less time with the Chi. I'd love to hear which product you went with and what your experience has been, if you have the time to respond. (I know how it is with two small boys!) :)

~B.

I've been using flat irons for years, and the one I prefer is the Sedu 1 1/2 inch Ionic Ceramic Tourmaline Iron. Unless you can find it at a salon, the only places to get it are Folica.com and Amazon.com (which ships from Folica, so same place either way). It runs about $120. You can find lots of reviews at Folica. It's harder to get than the Chi, but I believe it's a better iron. It's lightweight, extremely smooth, and gets hot enough to bake biscuits in less than a minute. I have very thick, coarse wavy hair, and in less than 10 minutes I can make it soft and stick straight. I keep it at about 325 degrees, but it goes to over 400.

There are only around five things that I absolutely rave about and that's my Element, Gibson guitars, the Macintosh, Fantasie of England bras and this Sedu flat iron.

http://www.folica.com/Sedu_Ionic_Cera_d1560.html

M.

Ok, I spent a good bit of money on a 1 in flat iron at Sally's and it didn't work very well. On a whim, I decided to get a Conair one from Walgreens for $24.99 and it worked perfectly and was ceramic. It's gold and I believe it is a 1 1/2 in and does that dry/wet straightening. Works much better than anything I have ever used myself.

I spent the 175.00 on my flat iron. I believe it was the Chi. I bought it from my salon. It is worth EVERY dollar that I spent. I spray on a protectant barrier on my hair (recommended by the flat iron company) then I use the iron. I am EXTREMELY impressed with it.

THanks,
C.

Finally, a request I feel I can respond to! The Hot Tools Professional is really good but if you're willing to spend the money, go ahead and get the Chi...it's the best and gets really hot...plus it's better for your hair. I also got the Maxiglide that I didn't like a whole lot, but I have friends who LOVE it...I was thinking of selling that on ebay.

Hi there...

I have had my Chi (a regular one) for a year and a half and I absolutely love it. I have naturally curly hair and the Chi makes it straight and smooth.. It is definitely worth the money, in my opinion. I haven't had any problems with it, except me remembering to unplug it! I got mine as a gift, but if it ever breaks, I will buy another one right away!

Hope this helps.

I have a CHI and LOVE it! I have super curly hair and this thing always does the trick. Depending on how long your hair is, you can use anything from a 1/2" up to a 2". My SIL has a 2", but her hair is super long. I personally have the 1/2" and it works great for my hair (just past my shoulders). I've had my CHI for almost 2 years now and have had no problems with it- it still works just as well as it did when I first bought it. I purchased mine on eBay and saved quite a bit. Good luck!
Also, don't forget when using the flat-iron to always use a heat-safe lotion on your hair first. It makes a big difference!

Hi D.,
I have the Chi(the regular one) and love it! I take my shower at night let my hair dry naturally then I use the Chi in the morning and my hair looks great. I use biosilk products to help with the frizz. Buy it on ebay make sure it is a brand new one it will save you a lot of money. I do the buy now option but if you will remember about the bidding you may be able to get it for even less. Take Care-M.

DEBBIE I am a hairstylist and if your looking for a good flat iron get a babybliss iron. I do not like chi's you are only paying for the name. Babybliss for the same or less money comes with a 5 year guarentee. I use these irons at the salon.

Hello Ceborah I have extremly thick hair and curly I straightn it every day. Bur the CHI is ti small I bought one you can get it at Sally's I love it and it only cost 60 or 70 dollars. It's called Ceramic Series by Helen Troy.

D.-
I used to have a cheap flat iron that would not work on my hair, which is long, wavy, and extremely thick. I finally bucked up about 1 1/2 years ago and got a CHI iron. It was totally worth the money and is still working great. I got the wide version because of my longer hair. I love it!

All I can say is get the Chi.. I have one and it is the best ever.. My hair isn't too curly but very thick and it gets it straight in no time.. Also my friend is hispanic with tight beautiful curls and usually doing her hair would take a couple hours, she has the chi and it is done in 45 minutes and it looks great.. SO INVEST ITS WORTH IT!!!

You need a flat iron that has ceramic plates and goes up to 400 degrees. I use them a lot. I have...ok, I have beautiful nappy hair. If it can work on my hair, then it can work on yours.
Gold plate is a step up from Conair, I think.

Ceramic is heavy duty.

Pam

I LOVE my CHI, I could not live without it. It is worth every penny!

I ALSO HAVE FAIRLY THINK CURLY HAIR AND I HAVE A CHI I LOVE IT GOT FOR CHRISTMAS LAST YEAR, I USED A OVER THE COUNTER REVELON ONE BEFOR THAT AND IT WORKED THE BEST FOR BEING 20 BUCKS I BOUGHT THAT ONE FOR MY SISTER INLAW WHO LIVES WITH US SHE IS 12 SO AS FAR AS OVER THE COUNTER ONES AND I BOUGHT A FEW AND THE REVLON I WANT TO SAY 1/2 OR MAYBE 1INCH ONE IF YOU WANT TO SAVE $100 DOLLARS, OR A CHI FOR ABOUT 120 IN A SALON OR CHECK EBAY LIKE ONE OF THE OTHER LADYS THAT COMMENTED.

H.

Hi D.,

I too have very very thick and curly hair. I mean big hair like the girl scary spice from scpice girls. Well I had the oppertunity to be in a hair show where this very famouse hair stylest did my hair. He did not use a relaxer but a Chi flat iron and my hair felt as strait as an asian texture and all. Not sure how he did it but he did. I went on a mission to by a Chi but I couldn't afford one so I bought a 2 inch Conair Infiniti, it was ok but too big since I only have shoulder lengh hair. My mother in law who also has curly hair gave me an inexpensive remington wet2straight 1 inch and I can not live with out it. Granted I can not accomplish the asian texture the hair stylest did but I am very pleased with the final look. I also use the FRIZZ-EASE Hair syrum (just a drop) then use the flat iron and my hair is very strait. I love my remington.
(I suggest to only use it on dry hair though, I can't figure out the wet part).

I hope this helps.

V. :)

Hi D.,
The Chi is a great brand and so is the Babyliss. Both are going to be around a hundred dollars or so. The one I use now is the Corioliss and I bought it at the kiosk at Boynton Beach mall for about 85. They were asking 99.00 for it, but you can talk them down. It is probably the best one I have had so far and I am a licensed cosmetologist. As long as you get one that has ceramic plates, you should be ok. I wouldn't suggest getting the one inch (too small) or the two inch (too wide).
The 1 1/2" work great.

Good luck!

A.
www.mymonavie.com/A.
www.burnlounge.com/soflorida
www.youravon.com/asilverman

I'm a makeup artist, the profeesional hairdressesersIi worked with, use a brand called Baybliss on the models for photo shoots. This is the best and should last you forever. They have it at Sally Beauty supply or you can shop for a better price online. Good luck.
M.