Category Archives for "Anatomy of a Flat Iron"

July 11, 2011

The Anatomy of a Flat Iron: Stay Away From Metal Plated Flat Irons!

   Flat Iron Reviews  

 

Wait! Before your eyes start to glaze over from the seemingly academic heading, hear me out. It is a necessity for you to know the anatomy of a flat iron before you can buy the perfect one. Why? Because if you don’t, you can easily bamboozled and dazzled by terms like nano-silver and far infared lasers. This next section will tell you what terms should impress you and which terms are all hype.

 

 

 

 

Metal Flat Iron Plates

 

Flat irons have come a long way since it was first patented in the early 1900s. Not to mention how far they’ve come since the 90s. They were so big and clunky. And the plates were metal. Aluminum, actually, and usually coated “gold” as to disguise what was really hiding underneath. Unfortunately, even with all the technology and improvements made since then, there are still some flat irons that are made out of metal.
Please avoid any flat irons that don’t at least say they are ceramic or ionic. These are the lowest vilest forms of flat irons. They are the most damaging type of flat iron because the aluminum plates do not have the technology to make sure the flat iron stays at an even temperature like a ceramic/tourmaline iron. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they can have the tendency to snag the hair which leads to hair breakage. Please, if you happen across one of these in the store, run the other way. Your hair will thank you.

 

Quick Metal Plate Facts

  • Made of Aluminum
  • Usually coated with Gold
  • Least Healthy for hair (most damaging)
  • Cheapest material used for flat iron plates
  • Cheapest type of flat iron (or should be…if it’s not your being ripped off)
  • Least smooth plates
  • Can snag hair because of its low/cheap quality

 

The Final Verdict on Metal Plated Flat Irons


Obviously I would not recommend getting a flat iron with metal plates. Their is not flat iron that is truly good for your hair but flat irons with metals plates the worst. The cheaper flat irons are usually the ones that have the metal plates. Even if they say “ceramic”, if the flat iron is really cheap then it will probably only have a very thin coating on it so I would be very wary of buying those $15 flat irons.

If you are on a tight budget though here are a few flat irons that get really good reviews from their users and seem to be the leaders of the pack for inexpensive flat irons:
Cortex Platinum Flat Iron Andis 1″ Flat Iron

I’ll leave you with a video review of the Cortex Flat Iron

[vsw id=”jgIN1Xn0FNE” source=”youtube” width=”425″ height=”344″ autoplay=”no”]

 

And while you’re here, why not read the next part of the Anatomy of the Flat Iron series, Ceramic Plates. Thanks for reading 🙂

 

September 25, 2011

Clean Your Flat Iron: A How To Video

Hello all,

I will not be taking credit for this idea at all. I will just say that i love it and it is such a cheap way to make sure you flat irons (as well as curling irons, crimpers, etc) stay clean and in tip top shape. Thank you UniQueLeeMade for sharing this with us. What a cool idea.

Here’s the video:


[vsw id=”T7tRdOn3cO8″ source=”youtube” width=”400″ height=”375″ autoplay=”no”]
For those of you at work or somewhere YouTube is blocked…I feel you pain. Here are the steps to what she did:

Step One: Turn your flat iron on the lowest setting.

Step Two: Unplug it after a few seconds just so the flat iron is mildly hot.

Step Three: Dip an applicator brush into a jar of relaxer.

Step Four: Brush the relaxer onto the plates of the iron (as well as the back and sides).

Step Five: The relaxer will begin to slightly sizzle due to the heat of the appliance. Now wipe the appliance clean with a  dry rag. Any residue should come right off.

Step Six: (optional) Finish by pouring a little coconut oil on a rag and wiping the flat iron plates with it.


You are now left with flat irons or hair styling tools that look like new!
Cool idea right. If you don’t clean your hair tools then you should start. Whatever gunk you might see on your flat iron plates could wind up on your hair. I don’t think I have to ask whether or not you want that.  I’m pretty sure you don’t.
If you do clean your flat irons and stuff, what methods do you use? Let me know in the comment section and if you have a neat way of cleaning your hair appliances then I might feature you in a future blog post, so let me know.

Toodles,

October 5, 2011

TR Flat Iron Reviews Quick Post: Cheap vs Expensive Flat Irons

Hey Ya’ll,

 

I found this question on Yahoo answers a little ago  and I think it is a very obvious question but one that is not answered very often. Here is my take on it:

 


Q: What the difference between cheap and expensive flat irons?

 

 

There are a pair of flat irons that seem pretty good for about 170.00. But I dont want to pay that much unless im getting allot of bang for my buck. So beside durablity whats the difference between an $20 and $170 flat irons? Or it just a scam?

 

 

 

A:  Okay so there are two different ways to answer this question…We can look at it as what the actual differences are and what the actual differences should be.

 


What the actual difference should be between expensive and cheap flat irons:

1) Expensive flat irons should first and foremost use higher quality material for their plates. For instance, the $200 Ghd should use more solid ceramic heaters and plates than the $30 Conair. The Conair usually uses a ceramic coating on its plate with the actual plate being made out of… metal, aluminum? I don’t know but it is not good for your hair nor does it produce the negative ions that give you the shiny look that you are going for when you flat iron

2) They should have more features that cheaper flat iron. Various nano technologies, digital displays, higher temperature settings, longer cords, and they should last longer than a drugstore flat iron although that is in no way guaranteed.

What the differences really are between expensive and cheap flat irons:

 


1) In many cases high end hair straighteners are made with better materials (but not always). Sign up for my fairy tale newsletter on the sidebar to see what I mean.

 

 

2) Sometimes part of the difference is how the flat iron has marketed itself. Remington is a very well established company that has sought to be affordable for almost everyone. They might make good flat irons that they are able to sell cheaper because they are a household name, so to speak. For instance, the Remington Shine Therapy Flat Iron gets great reviews and it is under $60. These are considered consumer flat irons for as regular folks.

 

 

Then you have the professional or salon grade flat irons like the Sedu or the KQC. They are marketed as the creme de la creme and most of them live up that. They really can deliver salon quality results and if you go to a hairdresser it is unlikely that you are going to see a Conair flat iron lying around. It will usually be ones like I just mentioned.

 

 

My rule of thumb is this…if you look up reviews for a certain flat iron that costs, say, $150 or more and the ratings aren’t at least 4 or more stars or/and there’s only a few reviews, I wouldn’t get it. Or at the very least they should have a well defined return policy.

 

 

Okay so this wasn’t as quick as I imagined so I’ll go ahead and end it here. For more info, read my post Flat Iron Metal Plates.

 

 

Thanks for reading,