I use one and someone said on another thread that they're bad. If so, how??

the steam adds moisture to your hair (think steam from a boiling pot of water). with the moisture in your hair, and the intense heat from the iron, you are literally boiling your hair.

over time, you will end up with what is called "bubble hair."

Thank you soooo much for your reply. :) I'm so glad I posted this thread! I had never heard of this "bubble hair" before. I just finished researching about it and I read it contributes to hair breakage/loss. :eek: I've had a whole bunch of hair loss in the past due to various medications I've taken. I'm currently on a med that I thought was giving me some hair loss. But, after reading what I just read.....I wonder. ;) Needless to say, I'm getting a new steamless flat iron. :p

a lot of people swear by steam irons, but over time they can really damage hair. but ANY iron will damage hair. the trick is to protect the hair by using a product to coat the hair. many companies make specific hair protectants, but any serum or gel will do. that way, you are burning the product and not the hair itself.

i would suggest a ceramic flatiron. a lot of women love the CHI iron, but you really dont need to spend a lot of money for a good iron. i aboslutely LOVE my Revlon ceramic iron. its a 2 inch black flatiron with gold ceramic plates. i got it at Target for around $25. my sister in law also loves this iron, and she is the one who recommended it to me. she is a hairstylist and this is the only iron she will use. it gives great results for about 1/4 of the cost of some of those pricier irons that will give the same results.

a lot of people swear by steam irons, but over time they can really damage hair. but ANY iron will damage hair. the trick is to protect the hair by using a product to coat the hair. many companies make specific hair protectants, but any serum or gel will do. that way, you are burning the product and not the hair itself.

i would suggest a ceramic flatiron. a lot of women love the CHI iron, but you really dont need to spend a lot of money for a good iron. i aboslutely LOVE my Revlon ceramic iron. its a 2 inch black flatiron with gold ceramic plates. i got it at Target for around $25. my sister in law also loves this iron, and she is the one who recommended it to me. she is a hairstylist and this is the only iron she will use. it gives great results for about 1/4 of the cost of some of those pricier irons that will give the same results.

Yeah, when I first bought my steam iron, I thought it would be good for my hair. I figured the steam adding moisture to my already dry hair would really help it. I do use hair protectants all the time. Right now I'm using Sculpting Glaze by Matrix and it works really well. Today, I went out and bought a Conair Ceramic Iron for $25. It has a detachable comb on it to help with straightening, but since I suffer from hair loss, I'll be taking the comb off because it'll pull on my hair. It'll be interesting to see if the hair loss slows down since I've switched irons. I'm going to use it tonight, I hope it works good. Wish me luck! Thanks again! :)