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,
