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Rant & Rave: Flat Irons
This Week’s Topic: FLAT IRONS!
Your Mission: Tell us what you love, hate, or are otherwise indifferent to about flat irons. What drives you bananas? What makes them necessary?
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i can watch a million and one videos about it, but i can never CURL my hair with my flat iron! =(
Gurl, I used to have this problem until one day I figured it out. Although it’s not worth it. I’ll stick to curling irons instead or better yet, curlformers!
Me neither! It’s impossible!
It’s all in the wrist and how you hold the flat iron – you’ll get it!
Try practicing with smaller groups of hair, thats how I really got the hang of it. I separate my hair into 3 horizontal layers and then split those into about 4-6 depending on how big I want the curls. I find that using a smaller flat iron ~1″ works best.
Woah. I ONLY curl my hair with a flat iron! It won’t stay with curling irons!
I hate it when my hair catches in the plates and it pulls. It makes me cringe! It’s also been tough for me to find an affordable iron that works well with my thick hair. I really want a GHD, but those things are pretty $$$.
Unfortunately in the land of flat irons I’ve found that you get what you pay for. The cheaper ones tend to pull your hair out and cause more damage. If you wait for a coupon you can usually find a CHI flat iron at Ulta for around $80 :-/
I use the Sedu Revolution. You can get it at Folica.coom. It works great to curl the hair too. I love it.
Ghd is no good I bought one at sephora once a couple years ago tried it once and took it back the next day, not worth the $$$ try Paul Mitchell they have the best tools. I used to swear by chi until 2 of them broke on me bought a Paul Mitchell n ever looked back.
I’ve never tried one, but I’m not indifferent. I’d like to see what I would look like with straight hair.
They make my hair smell like burnt toast. I’d like to straighten it more often (I have natural long corkscrew curls) but that iron is what discourages me.
Try a flat iron with adjustable heat settings and it’s also good to use heat protecting spray when you’re using any type of styling tool or if you’ll be in the sun a lot.
A flat iron is the only styling tool I own, of course I also own a blow dryer but that is just to blow-dry my hair. I like flat irons because they’re multi-purpose, I can straighten, curl and even ad just a little bit of texture to my hair with just one tool.
GHD Rave! Although with bumble and bumble blow straight any flat iron would work
I love the shine flat ironing imparts to my hair. I have naturally wavy hair that can hold a curl and I both straighten and curl my hair with my flat iron, so that versatility is a plus too. On the model I use, I hate that my hair tends to catch underneath the plate on the one side. Also, the whole iron tends to heat up so that I can’t touch the outside for a firmer clamping action. I’m not quite ready to shell out big bucks for a GHD or similar iron, though.
Ever since i bought my remington wet t dry hair straightners about 5 years ago ive been hooked. Im on my second pair as i used my old one so much it broke! I like how if your hair is a little damp, i dries it as well. It was a great luggage saver when i went to bangladesh as i didnt need to carry a hair dryer and instead just dried my hair while i straightened. I dont lik GHD’s as my friend straightened my hair with her GHD’s and it felt very thin, with my Remingtons it keeps the thickness but its just sraight as well. Its like 3times cheaper than a GHD and the results are better tha a ghd too
For Christmas, I received my first flat iron! I already have naturally stick-straight hair, so I wasn’t really sure what to do with it. Until I saw a DailyGrace video and actually learned how to curl my hair with it! 🙂
One thing I really don’t like about flat irons however, is when my hair would catch between the plates and get pulled. Such a horrible feeling!
I have fairly wavy hair (best in humidity or in coastal areas where there’s a little salt in the air) and since I live in a dry climate, my hair tends to be a bit unmanageable (fairly straight in the top layers and decently wavy underneath) and somehow a flat iron makes it worse. My hair looks dry and a little crushed, which, to be fair, it is, but it looks so much worse.
There are times when it does work, but lately I’ve been taking my large curling iron (1.5″) and just curling chunks and my hair’s looked much better. It takes less time and I feel like I’m not doing as much damage to my hair because it’s only one pass instead of the multiple it takes on my hair with every flat iron I’ve tried.
Love my GHD! Best straightener ever, doesn’t fry your hair!!! Plus I use the KENRA platinum blow dry spray, my hair is smooth, silky soft, no frizz, and no split ends!!! I recommend to GHD to every one who asks about my hair, it really is a noticeable difference from cheap straighteners, so its worth the $$$!
Too damaging.
Flat irons are a necessity. Thankfully, I only do it once, maybe twice a week if the shape falls apart earlier. I use dry shampoo and hair fragrance in between. 🙂
I have naturally curly hair, and if I leave it it gets poofy and frizzy. Plus, it doesn’t flatter me. A long, straight look looks better with my face shape and lets me express my personality and style much more efficiently.
yes i love my GHD but i do prefer curls from a curling iron better..the curls/waves on a GHD tend to be the same size rather than curling irons which you can adjust the width of the curling tong.
I’ve used flat irons for years to tame my very curly hair. I invested in a T3 Single Pass flat iron last year and I love it (I used a CHI before). I love how flat irons make my hair stick straight and shiny. The only thing I hate is how drying they can be. I use mine probably five times a week and am careful to always use a protectant spray and deep condition my hair to prevent damage.
I have thick, coarse, wavy hair and it’s also prone to frizzing if it’s humid out. My flatiron has given me the hair I’ve always wanted – straight, silky and shiny. I couldn’t have the haircut I have now (a layered bob) without my flat iron. I have a CHI and if it broke, I’d be going to tomorrow to get the exact same one. Everything to love, nothing to hate (except that it’s hard for me to do the short hairs at the back, at my nape….I wish my hairdresser lived with me!)
My hair is pretty much just frizz, so a flat iron is necessary for me to look presentable. One thing I hate is when hair gets caught in it and it gets ripped out. Ouch! If I use a low quality iron, most of the time my hair will go back to its original state in a few hours or less.
They’re really useful, I use them to straighten or curl my hair, and I love it. I learned watching youtube, and it’s easy! By the way I own a LIM Hair iron, similar to the GHD ones, but much cheaper!
I have thick course African American hair so having a flat iron is definitely a must. I have tried many brands and my favorite is Royale Ceramic 1.5″ flat iron, I bought them from a mall for $100 (I later found them cheaper on Amazon for $60, that’s why you gotta shop around). It makes my hair very straight, silky, and does not damage. They also curl hair very beautifully, assuming you have the patience to master curling with a flat iron. I have tried CHI and I hated them. I spent $80 for a them on sale and those flat irons just pretty much burned my ends and edges. I have learned that investing money and research in professional quality hair tools and hair care is certainly worth it. Your hair will thank you for it!!
I have a TI flat iron and I love it. My hair doesn’t catch in the plates and it heats up in 2 seconds. I love how it doesn’t damage my hair as much because it’s titanium. I do use a heat protectant on my hair and I also use hair spray and a finishing spray to give the extra shine. I love how it comes in different colors. I would recommend this flat iron to anyone. Even though it’s a lot of money it’s totally worth it. 🙂
My hair doesn’t look good stick-straight (for reference, I have thick, wavy/curly hair) so I blow dry it straight with a big round bristle brush and use the flat iron for touch-up at the end. I blow dry on medium heat so the process is less damaging than using a flat iron and gives me more volume and texture. Takes longer though!
If my GHD ever breaks I would turn around and bye another one period.
i have avery coarse curly hair, and i use a flat iron from a company called plugged-in from sallys beauty supply for $30, it’s better and more durable than the chi iron i had.
I have a 1″ CHI that I really like. It makes my hair really shine and it has enough heat to effectively straighten my thick, unruly hair without having to speperate my hair into 15 billion sections. When I travel my flat iron is the only styling tool that I take with me 🙂
I style my hair everyday, so I use my flat iron to either straighten or curl my wavy hair!
I love my CHI. I can straighten my thick, coarse hair in less time than ever if I were using my old one. I would like to invest in a GHD, because even though my CHI is great, nothing seems to stop the still noticeable(to me) frizzy look to it.
I love them, they changed my life. My hair is wavy, so naturally… it’s not the best. I got an iron last year at a professional beauty store and it’s amazing
I don’t care for heat styling. I’ve always had thick hair, and it takes eons to do anything with it–blow dry, curl with an iron. So I’ve actually not tried a flat iron, as I don’t have the patience to get through all my hair with anything else, there was no point in getting the tool.
I have wavy hair that is smooth, shiny, and rarely frizzes…so I generally just let it do its own thing. Some days my hair is fairly straight, some days (depending on humidity and my hair length) it’s even curly.
I’m lucky to have a silky straight hair inherited from my Vietnamese heritage. I only bought a flat iron for occasional curling. To my dismay, even after almost burning my hair the curl never locks in for more than a couple of hours. Recently I have found that blowout with a round boar brush gives me a softer and more natural waves that I love. So I ditch the flat iron and only use it to tame any bed hairs.
Ahh you’re so lucky to have vietnamese heritage. I think it’s one of the culutures with the most beautiful hair! One of my best friends is vietnamese and she has this beautiful long, silky, smooth straight black hair down to her butt! It’s gorgeous! Mine is so annoying, it’s sort of half curly/wavy half straight, down to my waist, it frizzes really easily and is super thick so it’s difficult to tame. My Remington straighteners are great, and so are my Nicki Carke DesiRED ones. I wish I had hair like yours! You’re really lucky! 🙂
I’ve been looking for a flat iron with comb attachment forever…. do they not make them anymore???
RAVE: Babybliss Pro is a dream. It’s titanium, so it heats up incredibly fast. My hair can be pin straight in minutes!
My flat iron is the one tool I can’t live without! I do agree with what others said, though. You definitely get what you pay for. I had a cheap-o one before (I think it was Conair, but I’m not certain); I finally got frustrated enough with it that I sucked it up and bought a Chi. I wish I had bought one sooner! I absolutely LOVE my Chi. I’ve had it for around 4 or 5 years now and use it pretty much every day. The cheap one would grab at my hair and usually leave my hair frizzy. The Chi is smooth to use and leaves my hair nice and sleek.
my ghd is my baby!! i love it sooo much 🙂
I have both a Chi and a Jibere, and I definitely reach for the Jibere more. Got it for 60$ at Sally and it came with a curling iron…. I’ve had it for almost seven years! SO underrated. Also, if you’re dead set on a Chi, I see them in the beauty section at TJ Maxx for 50$ and under all the time.
Curling with a flat iron is so easy and a lot faster! The only downside is that I bought a 1.5 inch Sedu to straighten faster and I have to keep a 1 inch flat iron around for curling. I might just have to get the Sedu Revolution now. But for now I just straighten first and then over the course of a week or so, I curl with the other flat iron and touch up when needed.
i have a remington one…never had the patience to totally straighten all my hair(esp in the back) but my hair is only semi-wavy so i didn’t really need to
now i just use it for the front hair(if some hair sticks up) cause i have a bob
I have no major issues with them, but I will say I’ve never found price tags to make a difference on my thick, wavy/curly hair. No matter how much I spend on one, it still takes at least 30-45 minutes to straighten it. As a result, I only use them very occasionally and stick to tousle-curling my hair.
My hair is unruly, unevenly wavey and hot, frizzy mess. I love my Chi Air 1inch iron from Target. It was $100 bucks and totally worth it. If you have straightener issues, upgrade! A one time investment will save you from pain and frustration of an iron that doesn’t work.
If you get snagging or burnt hair, try a smoothing product with heat protection. Tresemme makes a whole line of heat protection products and I love them all!
I’m lucky enough to have pretty straight hair already so I’ve never owned a straightener. My friend curled my hair with a GHD once but I like the look I get from sleeping with rags in my hair better.
I hate the smell of burning hair, the way my arm and wrist starts cramping, the going over and over the same sections and still missing a spot, the worrying I’ll sweat/get wet/it’ll be humid and it’ll look bad, the damage to my hair, and the losing my unique curls. I do kind of like how sleek and shiny it looks.
I had a CHI for about 7 years until it broke on me. It was a gift but I loved it for my dry, frizzy, insanely thick hair. I took advantage of a Cyber Monday sale and opted to buy a Sultra flat iron. Holy smokes. My hair has NEVER stayed straight all day nor looked so flawless until now. I can even curl my hair. It heats up in 30 seconds and only takes one pass to straighten. I find myself straightening my hair very often now just because it looks so nice. Best.deal.ever. Plus it’s pink 🙂
/Rave
It’s the best multi-purpose tool I have!!! Love my flat iron!!! I really couldn’t live without it. Don’t like my curly hair so I straighten every day!
ri use a chi nano and its amazing but like pretty pricy over 100$ whch for me is pricy