Flat Iron Recommendations/Questions - post all here

nibjet

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

I've been using my CHI iron at work for almost two years now, and recently bought another one for use at home so I didn't have to drag mine back and forth. I love the CHI, I think it's definitely worth the money.
 

chameleonmary

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

ive tried a million, but nothing works like a GHD... and a muster - yes an old-skool muster stainless steel plated thing!

i kept my muster for emergencies - and today i pulled it out, dusted it off, and worked like a charm. it truly was one of the best of its time (despite the damage factor)
 

natasha

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

well i use straighteners since 4 years..ive tried several brands from the really cheap ones till the most expensive....well in greece we dont have chi or folica so i stopped using the babyliss irons which really sucked and since then im using one from imetec...this one...its great it makes my hair soo shiny.......
http://www.apothema.gr/default.asp?p...51&itmId=3000#
 

dizzygal

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

The only thing that keeps my unruly hair sleek and straight are my GHDs I have tried various but GHDs are the best
 

jennzy

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by TIERAsta
i'm saving up to get a corioliss ceramic straightener (comes in pink & black, 1" and 1 1/2"). i saw it & tried it at one of the kiosks at the mall & it worked great... glad i got to try it before i shell out $$$ for it (almost $200 i think, i heard it was more than chi). i'll have to check out folica though, see if there are any deals on this brand.

i have corioliss... which i bought from a mall kiosk. it works fine had it for a year and now my mom decided she needs to iron her bangs so she told me i can buy any flat iron i want. i'm looking at metropolis its got 10 year warranty.
anyways at corioliss kiosk, they kind of pressure u to buy it, telling you that the sale will end tomorrow. but it doesn't. they've had the $149 or something for over a year now. so if ur thinking one but ur unsure, dont buy it because sale is going to end tomorrow because it won't. but its a great iron though :p
 

Another Janice!

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

I just bought my CHI on Amazon.com for $87.95 and super saver shipping!! I had $40 worth of Amazon gift cards for doing online surveys for companies, so I paid $47.95 out of pocket!!!

It arrived today...and right after tearing open the amazon box, I went to work on my hair.

OMG. The Hot Tools ceramic iron that just died on me does not hold a freaking candle to the CHI. Took me all of 10 minutes and stayed that way through the humidity. Best $47.95 I have spent in a long time.
 

tannny

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

ISO irons are good, Ghd, and Hai, chis arent that great, invest in a good iron instead of buying a new one every so often, thats what i did. look for them on ebay!
 

MAC_Pixie04

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

I'm proud to say that Sephora is now the exclusive US retailer for GHD products and tools (for now anyway) but they only get up to 374 degrees, and my T3 gets up to 410 and styles my hair while it's wet.

I 've gone through 2 CHIs, I loved them both but they kept breaking. Their blowdryer is amazing though.
 

mello

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

I've got a T3 iron and I love it. Paid 140$ for it, bought it off of my cousin. She's a hairstylist so she got it for me from a supply place.
 

BloodMittens

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

I have a BedHead Tourmaline straightener and a Remington Straightener. Personally, I love my BedHead but I've have my Remington for a year and I have never once had any problems with it. It still straightens nice but the BedHead is better.

I've never tried any other straighteners. Lol. So I'm not sure what else is out there and I don't have the money to throw around.
 

natalie75

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by girloflowers
i would sell um... ALL of my makeup for a GHD. honest to god.
They're the most awesome things in creation, my current straightener is crap, my hair goes curly again within like, 2 hours. le sigh.


I'd have to, OMG they are EXPENSIVE
th_wink3.gif
 

user79

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

I'm thinking of buying the Sedu 220V European version one. Does anyone have the Sedu one? Is it ceramic plated, or just coated? The website isn't so clear on it. The reviews on folica.com make it really sound amazing, the before & after pics are great.

Also, I have long hair so for that the 1 1/2" is recommended, but I also want to use it for curling, so should I get the 1"?
 

CantAffordMAC

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by MissChievous
I'm thinking of buying the Sedu 220V European version one. Does anyone have the Sedu one? Is it ceramic plated, or just coated? The website isn't so clear on it. The reviews on folica.com make it really sound amazing, the before & after pics are great.

Also, I have long hair so for that the 1 1/2" is recommended, but I also want to use it for curling, so should I get the 1"?


On folica.com it says its true ceramic/tourmaline. I also found this link for tips on curling hair with the 1-1/2 inch.
http://www.folica.com/Sedu_Ionic_Cera_d1560b.html

I'm very interested in buying the same iron, as you can tell lol.
 

Dizzy

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by MissChievous
I'm thinking of buying the Sedu 220V European version one. Does anyone have the Sedu one? Is it ceramic plated, or just coated? The website isn't so clear on it. The reviews on folica.com make it really sound amazing, the before & after pics are great.

Also, I have long hair so for that the 1 1/2" is recommended, but I also want to use it for curling, so should I get the 1"?


Sedu is fully ceramic, I've had the opportunity to play with one before at a different salon. They're quite nice imo, if I didn't already have a CHI and a Paul Mitchell I'd get it.

As far as the size, it really depends on preference. In my experience, you can never go wrong with a 1"; it might take you longer to do your hair, but I feel the end result is much nicer. You don't run the risk of "missing" spots because the iron has too much hair between the plates, or over-styling/damaging certain pieces because the plates are too big (2 most common complaints in my salon).

I've found that most 1" flat irons will come with a bit of a lip between the plate and the edge of the iron, which is wonderful because I've burned myself and a few other people with flat irons that had plates flush to the edge. This can also vary depending on the brand, I've tried mostly professional appliances so I can't say much about the consumer-marketed ones.

Also, with irons that are larger, some people can't get it close enough to their head, so they end up with a noticeable 'crimp' around the crown of their head. It doesn't happen to everyone, but that also depends on the training and experience someone has with hair.

If you want to curl or make waves with it, the most important thing is to make sure it has rounded edges. Without those, you'll end up with a "crimp" in the middle of the curl that will make it more "squarish" than round. It's still doable, but the curl comes out much better with rounded edges.

Just for reference, my hair is about an inch away from my waist, very thick and naturally curly, and I use a 1" flat iron for everything. I have 3 curling irons that are gathering dust because the irons are simply easier to use because of their versatility. Using a 1" with rounded edges, I can usually either straighten my hair in about 20 minutes if already dry, and I can do curls in about 45 minutes.

Hoped that helped some!
smiles.gif
 

CantAffordMAC

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dizzy
Sedu is fully ceramic, I've had the opportunity to play with one before at a different salon. They're quite nice imo, if I didn't already have a CHI and a Paul Mitchell I'd get it.

As far as the size, it really depends on preference. In my experience, you can never go wrong with a 1"; it might take you longer to do your hair, but I feel the end result is much nicer. You don't run the risk of "missing" spots because the iron has too much hair between the plates, or over-styling/damaging certain pieces because the plates are too big (2 most common complaints in my salon).

I've found that most 1" flat irons will come with a bit of a lip between the plate and the edge of the iron, which is wonderful because I've burned myself and a few other people with flat irons that had plates flush to the edge. This can also vary depending on the brand, I've tried mostly professional appliances so I can't say much about the consumer-marketed ones.

Also, with irons that are larger, some people can't get it close enough to their head, so they end up with a noticeable 'crimp' around the crown of their head. It doesn't happen to everyone, but that also depends on the training and experience someone has with hair.

If you want to curl or make waves with it, the most important thing is to make sure it has rounded edges. Without those, you'll end up with a "crimp" in the middle of the curl that will make it more "squarish" than round. It's still doable, but the curl comes out much better with rounded edges.

Just for reference, my hair is about an inch away from my waist, very thick and naturally curly, and I use a 1" flat iron for everything. I have 3 curling irons that are gathering dust because the irons are simply easier to use because of their versatility. Using a 1" with rounded edges, I can usually either straighten my hair in about 20 minutes if already dry, and I can do curls in about 45 minutes.

Hoped that helped some!
smiles.gif


thud.gif

wait...what???? LoL your hair is that long and you can straighten it with a 1" flat iron? In 20 minutes? Wooow. I was going to ask if you blew it dry first but I guess you don't? I've just started blowing my hair out before using the flat iron (I dunno why...just to try something different I guess. before I was just letting my hair air dry then flat ironing the curls) I was going to go with the 1-1/2" sedu but maybe I won't now...I know what you mean about that crimp near the roots.

I've used 1" irons maybe like 2 or 3 times in the past, and I've just noticed that they snag my hair more than a bigger one. Maybe thats my imagination. I used a wigo and a cricket 1".
 

Dizzy

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by CantAffordMAC
thud.gif

wait...what???? LoL your hair is that long and you can straighten it with a 1" flat iron? In 20 minutes? Wooow. I was going to ask if you blew it dry first but I guess you don't? I've just started blowing my hair out before using the flat iron (I dunno why...just to try something different I guess. before I was just letting my hair air dry then flat ironing the curls) I was going to go with the 1-1/2" sedu but maybe I won't now...I know what you mean about that crimp near the roots.

I've used 1" irons maybe like 2 or 3 times in the past, and I've just noticed that they snag my hair more than a bigger one. Maybe thats my imagination. I used a wigo and a cricket 1".


Blow drying my hair is another story, lol. I do it properly (ie: section by section, no larger than an inch, with a large round brush) and it can easily take me upwards of an hour to do. However if I blow dry my hair then flat iron it, the iron will only take me about 20 minutes extra and it gives it that sleek look as well as straightening the most stubborn curl on the bottom.

With 1" though you definitely have to lead it with either a comb or brush. It does snag sometimes, but if you run a brush before the flat iron (like brushflatiron down the hair with no space) it won't snag.

Another reason the Wigo might have snagged is because it doesn't have fully ceramic plates. It's made by the same company as Hot Tools, Helen of Troy, and they don't usually do fully ceramic plates. The ceramic on the Wigo is a bit better, but the problem there is that it begins to chip off in mighty fine pieces first so that's what could also be snagging since they tend to chip like paint, with a bit of an edge to it.
 

CantAffordMAC

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dizzy
Blow drying my hair is another story, lol. I do it properly (ie: section by section, no larger than an inch, with a large round brush) and it can easily take me upwards of an hour to do. However if I blow dry my hair then flat iron it, the iron will only take me about 20 minutes extra and it gives it that sleek look as well as straightening the most stubborn curl on the bottom.

With 1" though you definitely have to lead it with either a comb or brush. It does snag sometimes, but if you run a brush before the flat iron (like brushflatiron down the hair with no space) it won't snag.

Another reason the Wigo might have snagged is because it doesn't have fully ceramic plates. It's made by the same company as Hot Tools, Helen of Troy, and they don't usually do fully ceramic plates. The ceramic on the Wigo is a bit better, but the problem there is that it begins to chip off in mighty fine pieces first so that's what could also be snagging since they tend to chip like paint, with a bit of an edge to it.


oh okay...it takes me about an hour to flat iron (or blow out followed by a flat iron) my hair. this doesn't really bother me. do you think it would take a really long time to straighten with a 1" sedu if my hair was air dried and curly? (i'm not sure i'll feel like blow drying my hair first all the time). you are so helpful!
 

Dizzy

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

How curly is your hair?

If you have looser curls, more like Shirley Temple curls (that's what mine are), and medium length hair (just for argument's sake) it should take you somewhere between a half hour to an hour to straighten them. I know with mine, the curl itself will flatten but I'll still end up with a wave if I don't blow dry it first.

If you have extremely tight curls, like corkscrew type curls, I would probably suggest blowdrying first and then flat ironing. Those are an absolute pain to straighten when dry. You can do it, but expect for it to take upwards of an hour, i'd venture to say closer to two, tbh.

All in all though, most 1" fully ceramic flat irons will all take you the amount of time. They're designed to function the same as even the 1" metal or coated irons, just that ceramic doesn't transfer heat the same way that metal does, so it does less damage.

Quote:
you are so helpful!

Thank you!
greengrin.gif
 

mochabean

Well-known member
Re: Advice on flat irons, please!!!

I had a Chi flat iron. Then I bought a Sedu on the Folica website from hearing all of the good reviews about it. Lets just say I traded in my Chi and gave it away to a friend and kept the Sedu! BEST money I spent in a long time! I think the Sedu is superior to the Chi. But it all really depends on preference. It gets my hair the straightest ever! I have thick long hair past my waist and can flat iron my hair in 20 min when it is dry.
 

chameleonmary

Well-known member
Flat iron recommendations - anyone own a GHD?

I am more than happy to spend over $200 on a hair iron if it means 1. quality and 2. quick and straight hair.

I have wavy hair to my waist so those of you with hair like mine can understand the need for a quick and easy straight style.

I know everyone raves about the GHD, and that it just does not compare even to cheaper 100% ceramic plate irons out there.

What hair iron do you own? What do you recommend and can anyone give me a quick overview on how they straighten their hair? I currently blowdry straight and then go over it with an iron (a big, old, bulky Muster with stainless steel plates - naughty!)
 
Top