If this guide is helpful to you, please remember to select "yes" at the end of this guide.

Flat irons, specifically ceramic flat irons have made its way into the beauty industry and most would agree, a very useful tool.  Through the years, selling thousands of these products, we have gained a certain level of knowledge of these products, from the technical engineering of them to what makes a buyer/user happy with their iron.  I do want to point out that I am not a very good writer but if this guide helps at least one person find an iron they are happy with, then it was all worth it.  I have broken this guide down into a few key areas which have proven to be the most significant.  If you do not want to read the entire guide, I have outlined these key areas at the bottom of this guide.

Type of heat:

Traditionally, to straighten kinky hair, stylists would use irons that were heated in a stove.  While effective, it proved to be very inefficient and the heat inconsistent.  The birth of electrical flat irons soon followed and more than 9 years ago, there were a handful of decent flat irons, which were found at your local hair salons.  Such brands included Solano, CHI, and HAI.  The materials used for the plates varied from one brand to the other but mainly a smoother plate surface was the main goal so it would not snag the hair.  Ceramic technology soon surfaced which proved to provide a safer type of heat and also produce negative ions.  It is important to note that consumers should not be mislead when they hear "safer heat".  These tools get very hot and average 370 to 450 degrees F.  Ceramic irons get very hot and will burn you and your hair.  What is meant by "safer heat", after doing some research, is that true ceramic heaters produce what is known as "far-infrared heat" which is different than "infrared heat" which is produced by non-ceramic heating tools.  A good example of a product that uses "infrared heat" would be the typical iron you use to iron your clothes.  They are mainly heated by a "coil heater" and although gets hot and most certainly would straighten your hair, the heat would be more damaging.  Ceramic heaters, which produce "far-infrared heat", tend to penetrate the hair shaft and works from the inside out.  Negative ions, which is produced by ceramic heaters, actually breaks up water molecule clusters into micro fine particles which all happens at a microscopic level.  This aids in balancing the moisture in your hair.  The ceramic irons also seals the hair follicles and that is why you are left with a shiny silky feel.  It is important to note that there are only a couple reputable ceramic heaters used in today's hair irons.  They are called PTC and PTFC heaters.  So what does all this mean?  Basically it means, it is a good idea to look for a true ceramic flat iron that is heated by a PTC or PTFC heater.  It is also important to note that the plates (which is heated by the ceramic heaters and actually touches your hair) is different than the ceramic heat itself.  Ceramic heaters are attached to the bottom of the plates.  Most plates are metal and coated with ceramic.  A manufacturer who properly bakes the layers onto the metal plates is often the same manufacturer that produces today's best irons.  Cheaper plates tend to peal over time.

Warranty:

This is arguably the most important part of you being happy with your new flat iron.  if you are happy with the price you paid, and you are happy with the results you are getting with your flat iron, then the only thing that would make you unhappy at this point is if your iron breaks.  We all know as consumers, if your product breaks and you can not get it replaced or it takes weeks to even get a company to take your product back, your satisfaction level drops.  The interesting thing about this is, your happiness has no bearing on the actual product, but where you purchased it.  Over the years, as the ecommerce has grown, warranty policies from many flat iron companies have changed.  You may have noticed these changes, such as companies not honoring their 1-year warranty if you purchased their iron over the Internet.  Have you ever wondered why this is?  Here is what I think.  Usually, higher quality hair products are labeled "professional" and most likely used by your hair stylist much like tools your auto mechanic uses.  However, most hair salons offer these products for sale in their salon and usually they are not cheap.  The companies who brand these products obviously want them to sell for the highest dollar and traditionally limit the resell rights to hair salons only.  We can all remember when the CHI iron sold for $160 plus in hair salons but as soon as they started popping up on the Internet, prices dropped and today you can pick one up for $50-60 bucks.  Its the same product.  So how does a company attempt to stop their products from being sold cheaper than they wanted?  One way is to change their warranty policies, voiding warranties to any customer who has purchased their product over the Internet.  My point is, make sure you got a good warranty, make sure its valid, and make sure you know how fast you will get a replacement if your iron would ever break.

Knowledge:

We all have been there.  You go to a salon and your favorite stylist performs a miracle on your hair and you look absolutely beautiful.  A few days later, you try to duplicate this style at home but you just cant get it right.  Knowing how to use your flat iron is very important.  These are not magic wands that will some how make your hair look exactly the way you want it.  The user has a responsibility to learn how to use it.  It is the combination of a good quality iron and a knowledgeable user that creates great results.  Every brand of iron we have sold has had users that absolutely love it or claim the product does nothing for them.  I feel the difference in opinions from the same product lies in the technique used by the individual user.  I know many hair stylists that have used the cheapest irons on the market with great results.  They often seek higher quality irons to save time in the chair.  What I would suggest is taking your iron to your hair stylist, even if they don't carry that specific brand in their salon.  Ask your stylist to help you with the iron and have them teach you how to use it.  At least get some tips that may prove to be the difference between ok results and great results.

To sum it up, in my opinion, to pick the best flat iron, you need to consider these key areas:

- What type of heat is being generated?  Is it ceramic heat and if it is, what type of ceramic heater is being used?  (PTC and PTFC heaters are the best)

- What type of warranty does my iron come with?  How long is the warranty for?  Most importantly, if something goes wring with my iron, how quickly can I get my replacement?

- Now that I have this flat iron, do I know how to use it properly?  Asking your hair stylist to help you learn is a great idea.  Also, videos can be found online that help with tips and techniques with your iron.

Notables:

- Plate size is not as significant as one might think.  One-inch width has always been the standard and I think 95% of consumers would be happy with the versatility of this size.  If you have very short hair you may obviously consider a slimmer size.  Larger sizes in my opinion are more of a personal preference.

- Price is always a significant part to determine if you got a good deal or not.  If you are buying these items on eBay, you can be pretty certain you are getting the lowest prices compared to paying a premium in hair salons.  Traditionally, $100 on average would have bought you the best irons on the market and I still think that is true today.  Popular brands such as the CHI have gone from $160 to $60, but technology keeps evolving and improving.  To get the latest and greatest, you still will find these irons in the $100 range.  Moreover, price becomes less of an issue when you have it and love it, then it breaks.  You might of saved $10-$20 bucks by going with a cheaper vendor, but how pissed would you be if it took 4 weeks to get a replacement.  So I would say its more important to buy your iron from a reputable source than the cheapest vendor in town.

Recommendation:

If you need a good starting point, a good measure of a good quality flat iron, we would recommend the H2pro brand of hair products.  Over the past 9 years, we have seen more flat iron brands than we care too, but presently the H2pro brand has the highest level of customer satisfaction.  We will soon be posting a guide for the H2pro brand shortly so look for it.

Last thought:

In closing, I would like to say that these are just flat irons.  They are tools that style our hair.  The most important thing to remember is that, properly learning how to use these tools leads to beautiful hair, and beautiful hair leads to happiness.  I think if you are happy with the price you paid, if you know how to properly use it to get the hairstyles you want, and most importantly, you can exchange your iron if it breaks, then I think it'll make for the best iron you could buy!

Hope this guide helps and if anyone has any questions, feel free to drop us a line.

If this guide is helpful to you, please remember to select "yes" at the end of this guide.