Flat Irons - Hair Straighteners - What You Need To Know - The Basics

"What flat iron is best for me?"

I get this question all the time.

"How hot is your flat iron?"
"My flat iron doesn't straighten my hair like yours does."
"What kind is a good flat iron for my hair?"

Sound familiar?

IS IT WORTH INVESTING IN A GOOD FLAT IRON?

Yes & No.
Yes, if you have thick, coarse hair and want to save your sanity in the morning, as you do your hair.
Yes, if you want to have a flat iron that will last you years.
No, if you have 3 strands of hair on your head and/or don't battle a strong wave pattern or frizziness.
Professional flat irons make your life easier and last longer than cheap flat irons!!

Hair straightening flat iron basis can be put into 3 categories:

Flat iron plate material
Flat iron size
Temperature setting


Ceramic, Titanium,Tourmaline are pretty basic for flat iron plates these days. Ceramic is the most popular. Titanium gets the hottest fastest and is great for hard to straighten hair, but because of the heat intensity, can cause more damage. Ceramic is recommended for daily and frequent at home straightening. Tourmaline infuses moisture into hair and combats frizz.

The most common flat iron sizes are 1" and 1.5". I use my ARROJO IZUNAMI flat iron in hair design & color studio everyday on almost every client. It has 1.5" plates and straightens all hair with ease. , If you have shorter hair - 1" would be an easier size for you to navigate with. For longer hair 1.5" to 2" does the job quickly. Then, of course, there are the tiny flat irons for the tiny, baby hairs around your temple.

Temperature settings - as a rule of thumb - the thicker and coarser your hair, the hotter you need your flat iron to be, in order to see successful and smooth results. My salon flat iron goes from 280-450 degrees F. I almost always use the highest setting on my flat iron to quickly pass over frizzy strands and smooth them. For fine hair, a lower setting.

The most popular brand of flat iron is CHI, and with good reason. They work great and for a long time were an industry standard. The basic ceramic CHI has no variable heat setting, other models do. They tend to last a long time.


P.S.

Please remember: ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS - use a heat protectant, PRIOR to using your flat iron! Doing so puts a barrier between your hair and that heat and will minimize heat damage.

Till next time! :)