Product Review - Hair Straighteners

I've recently learned (the hard way, of course) that with hair straighteners (or flat irons), you get what you pay for. Some things in life you can skimp on and get away with, and some things you really just need to splurge and be done with it.

The BAD
I chopped my hair all off a few months ago (the reasons for which I plan to blog about some other time!) and since my hair is naturally wavy/curly, a flat iron was a necessity. I didn't want to spend much money though, so I bought at Ulta what I thought would be a good cross between price and quality: the Andis Tourmaline Inferno. It was only $25, so I should have known there would be a problem eventually :)

In defense of the product, it worked really well at first - it heated up quickly, got really hot, had really smooth plates with rounded edges, and I liked that you could lock the plates closed (it made it SO MUCH easier to store. Sometimes the simplest things can really rock your world!)

HOWEVER! After about 2 months, the coating on the plates started to peel away. Just a tiny bit on the edges at first, but as it gradually got worse, my hair started snagging on it and so I'd end up with hair all over the counters when I was done getting ready for work in the mornings. No bueno! After three months enough of the plates had eroded that I decided to go with something new.

I give it a 2 out of 5 stars (I'm not going to give it a 1 on the off chance that mine was just defective, but it still ended up pretty badly, so I think 2 is being generous).
 

The GOOD!
I decided this time that it would be worth it to invest in something that would last me a long time (I've used the same curling iron for more than 10 years now, so once I have a styling tool, I don't replace it until it breaks!) Now, anyone who follows these kinds of things knows that the CHI straighteners are the most raved about of all time, but they are REALLY expensive! (Just looking on Amazon I saw one that was over $400!) and I think they usually run for $100 and up in stores.

So when I went to Ulta to get my haircut, I asked my stylist for a recommendation, worried that she was going to try to up-sell me to something ridiculous. And she did, of course, recommend a CHI, BUT it turns out they were having a PHENOMENAL sale on them that day! (I got it almost half off the usual price!) So if anyone needs a new flat iron, head to Ulta NOW! :)

Now, I bought it just yesterday, but I can tell you that after one day of use, I am a very satisfied customer! (To be fair, I thought my old one was good at first too, but I'm pretty sure this time will be different! If it's not, I promise I'll post an update). It heats up SUPER fast and gets SUPER hot (beware of burning your fingers!) It's similar to the one my stylist has used on me before, so I know that it's possible to make my hair straight as a board (I hate the way that looks, but I know it's possible!) and I know from my own use of it that it also does a great job of adding some volume and flipping the ends under. The box says you can curl your hair with it too, though I don't know how (they were having a product demonstration at the store today where I could have learned, but I didn't feel like making the drive again!) The plates are SO smooth that my hair had gone through them and come out the other end all smooth before I realized I'd even pressed the plates together! I did my hair SO fast today that I amazed myself. I do wish that it had the same plate locking feature that the old one had because it and the cord are already all tangled up with the cord of my blow dryer, but I'll find a way around that. 

I have to admit, also, that I've always felt that having a CHI straightener was a kind of status symbol, so I was really excited to join the "cool people" club :) Also, it's so cute! I wanted to post a link to a picture of it but I can't find one that is exactly like mine. (Every place online seems to make up their own names for the same product, and I just got annoyed and quick looking). This one is pretty close though, so just picture it a shimmer-ier color, and there you have it!

I give this one a 4 out of 5 stars, to possibly be upgraded to a 5 if, three months from now, it still has the ceramic coating on the plates ;)