I have medium-thick long hair and it's layered.I don't wanna use a blow dryer and those roundbrush too much work for me.DOes anyone here use the flat iron to give your hair that sleek nice look?

Oh my gosh, I sure do! The CHI iron is the absolute BEST! Yes, it is expensive, but SOOOOO worth it! I can't imagine life without mine. I have naturally wavy hair that gets frizzy with humidity, but this tool zaps that right out. CHI is the best, and any brand that says they are like a CHI could not compare. I spent about 100, but bought it over a year ago, and have seen them on several differnt websites for cheaper. I'd look it up, and go with the best deal...i still remember the first time i used it, my hair looked like the slick style of Jennifer Aniston. get one!

The CHI iron is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!

The CHI is supposed to be the best, but I didn't feel like shelling out $100 for a ceramic flat iron, so I went to Sally's and bought a Helen of Troy ceramic flat iron for around $30-40. I've had it about a year - it works great - and my dd & I both use it, so it gets a workout. I have hair that is naturally thick & wavy, and is shoulder-length in the front & about 2-3 inches longer in the back. I can straighten it in about 10-15 minutes with this iron. My dd's hair is naturally curly, thick, & about 2 inches past her shoulders - she can straighten hers in about 15-20 minutes.

I bought a Helen of Troy at Sally's for $39.00. I love it! Yesterday, one of the girls I work with said "you got your hair cut, it looks so much healthier". I hadn't, but the flat iron makes it shine and it doesn't have the frizz. My only worry is that the heat will damage my hair, but so far it doesn't seem to.

My only worry is that the heat will damage my hair, but so far it doesn't seem to.

You can buy products that will help protect your hair from the heat. I have Ion Heat Protection Straightening Iron spray - I can't spray it directly on my hair because it makes it look greasy - so I spray a little in my hand, rub my hands together & then smooth it over my hair.

Again, I have to say Biosilk Silk therapy is the best for protecting from heat damage and making hair glide through the iron and look smooth/shiny. Biosilk is made by FAROUK who also makes the CHI iron (which in my opinion is the best as well) Especially with daily use, you need a heat protectant. I have tried many from pro to nonpro ones and this is what I always return to. You use it by the drop not a lot at a time. It runs about 5-6 bucks on the auction sites for a small bottle which should last 2 months or so. In most of hair appliances, you get what you pay for. With products, there usually is a difference with pro and nonpro but that doesnt mean there arent some good drugstore ones too. You can usually get a good deal on the pro ones on the auction sites. :)

how much did you pay for the helen of troy iron?and what kind of products do you use when you use the iron?

It was about $35-40.

I use a lightweight/medium styling product (like Aveda Confixor or DuWop's Hands2Hair) before I dry my hair (usually if I'm going to use the flat iron, I let my hair dry naturally) - and then before I use the iron, I apply a little of the heat protectant.

Again, I have to say Biosilk Silk therapy is the best for protecting from heat damage and making hair glide through the iron and look smooth/shiny. Biosilk is made by FAROUK who also makes the CHI iron (which in my opinion is the best as well) Especially with daily use, you need a heat protectant. I have tried many from pro to nonpro ones and this is what I always return to. You use it by the drop not a lot at a time. It runs about 5-6 bucks on the auction sites for a small bottle which should last 2 months or so. In most of hair appliances, you get what you pay for. With products, there usually is a difference with pro and nonpro but that doesnt mean there arent some good drugstore ones too. You can usually get a good deal on the pro ones on the auction sites. :)

I just discovered Biosilk myself not too long ago. I got the big size and it was quite pricey but well worth it. I've been using flat irons for years and never ventured beyond the drug store cheapy brands which prolly have aluminum plates (or something else besides ceramic).

My question is - does ceramic really make that big of a difference? I still have fly-aways and frizz but would like to get it smoother. I'm willing to shell out the cash if I knew for a fact that ceramic flat irons would do a better job of taming my *extremely* thick and wavy hair. Any personal experiences with comparisons between ceramic and non-ceramic irons???

Yes, ceramic definitely makes a difference. And you'll find that you can straighten your hair in a lot less time, too.

where can i get a ceramic flat iron

You generally get what you pay for in appliances. Ceramics make a HUGE difference in straightening esp. if you do it daily. A higher end iron usually has temperature regulation, etc. that lower ones dont. I wouldnt even flat iron without a ceramic iron and biosilk. Get a CHI at an auction site or local hairshop.

where can i get a ceramic flat iron

I bought mine at Sally's.

the hot tools professional iron is excellent!! you dont need to spend $100 to get a good one trust me. You can get them at a store called ULTA-its a beauty supply store. Im sure they have them at other places. I think its like $30. Just make sure you get one that is hot enough-go for one that is a 160-170 watt one or else it wont work that well for your hair.

CHI and HAI are wonderful.......I would give you a web address where you can get info and feedback on them but this fascist message board will not allow it...oopps them might ban me for a communist reference

my CHI hasnt been working good... it doesnt straighten my hair as quick as it used to and doesnt stay hot!! has anybody else had this problem? im gonna go exchange it for a new one since its under warranty.. ive had it less than a year!

I thought me and my sister were the only one with this problem. We own the chi for several years now. We had to exchange for another one because it wasn't working like it used to. (Not getting hot enough and my cord is loose or something because I have to twist to get the light to turn on) We also notices that the new one aren't the same. The original one(note, we own this several years back, way before they were popular) would heat up very fast and once you iron your hair, it lets off a lot of steam, and would straight it once. The new one does steam but doesn't straightening your hair as fast. It takes me longer than 40 minutes to straight my hair. Very frustrating beacuse I have long thick hair. My sister and I believe the quality has gone down, now that is so popular. The Chi Turbo isn't any better. Again, I'm off in search for a better ceramic flat iron that is better than the chi. Any suggestions?

yeah really!! i remember years ago getting my hair done by a salon and the chi worked great with lots of steam.. mine isnt old or whatever but now its definitely not as good!! grrr! id like suggestions too if anybody has them.. besides the chi! and yes.. my friend has the chi turbo and doesnt like it

I have an H2Pro Flat Iron which I love. There are Flat Irons by a company called FHI that are supposedly the best, but the FHI Irons will cost around $150, whereas I got my H2Pro for $90 (the iron is usually more expensive, but the site where I got mine is running a promo right now.) One good thing about FHI is that their irons have a 3 year warranty so if you find that the iron isn't working as well as it was before you can send it back and they will send you a new one. My H2Pro has a 1 year warranty. H2Pro and FHI are both Ceramic Ion Irons which supposedly are better for your hair than even regular ceramic irons. I'm not sure if this is true, but I do know that my flat iron works better than almost any other one I have used. The site where I got mine ranks flat irons (I unfortunately of course can't give a link, but if you do a Google for H2Pro Promo you should be able to find it), but FHI is the highest ranked and H2Pro is next. They do sell the CHI, but it isn't in the top 5 most highly rated. The next three were Infrashine (UNIL), Superstar and HAI. They also have a number you can call to to talk to someone and the people are VERY knowledgable.

I have medium-thick long hair and it's layered.I don't wanna use a blow dryer and those roundbrush too much work for me.DOes anyone here use the flat iron to give your hair that sleek nice look?

Yes, cures fly-aways too! Try using a defining wax once you have straightened it to keep your flat look. I will never go back to using just a blow dryer.

P

Hey MissGucciGurl... my Chi had a 20 year warranty.. and I went to Trade Secret where I bought it today and told them about the problem. They told me to just bring it in to get a new one and that they were getting a lot of bad Chi's shipped to them and that they have better ones! I SURE HOPE SO! I'll try that.. and it better work as good as the old ones!

I think the Chi company is sending out all bad Chi evrywhere because my sister and I bought ours at Armstrong McCall's through my aunt since she has a nail salon. She has return her Chi 2x because it wasn't as good as the first "original one". She was even willing and begging to buy our hair stylist's Chi for $300 since he had the older BETTER model! She has major lion king hair so she takes ber hair very serious. I've seen the Superstar one, claiming to be better than the Chi, and it's more expensive, but I don't want to buy it on Ebay and not knowing how well it works and not be able to return it.

I use the Hai 2 and it's ceramic, but I have heard the Chi is the very best. I also get TR'd hair and love love love it.