Flat iron woes: need recommendations

Sigh. I just got a fantastic cut & color right before Thanksgiving. Then over the holidays my flat iron (HAI) died. I'd had it for 8 years and it worked really really well.

I wound up using my daughter's CHAI, a cheaper model (the type when they run seasonal specials; still ceramic plates, but no adjustable temp). My hair would snag instead of slide.

So when we got home from the holidays I invested in an ION with tourmaline/ceramic plates, adjustable temps, supposed to be the best at Sally's Beauty (I asked) and for fine hair like mine.

I don't know if the CHAI screwed up my hair or the ION. The first few times the ION would also snag. It's no longer doing that, I have it on middle setting (yes it is possible when I first used it I accidentally had it on the highest setting).

My hair has split ends all over now.

I'm going to give the flat iron a rest but I have 60 days to return the ION. Could you please be so kind as to give me recommendations. What flat iron do you use?

Also anything I can do to repair my hair? I plan on getting a trim again right after xmas and before I start my job. It's salvageable, but just curious for hair product suggestions.

12 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

Shiny, my favorite hair product is "It's A 10" - smells great, does wonders and is easy to use. It's not cheap but a little goes a long way.

I have a semi-expensive straightener and it's a world away from the cheapo store-bought ones in terms of not snagging or burnng my hair to straw. Can't remember the brand but it was around $100 so not the super-high-end either.

rae

(website)

I love my Maxiglide. Lots of heat range options, and it combs the hair as it goes. Got it as a gift and expected it to be a dud (I'm so lazy with my hair), but now I use it almost daily.

WendyATL

Active Member

I've had good luck with my CHI flatiron, so I'd recommend that. However, I am really crazy about the Instyler, which is sort of a combo curling iron/brush that does a great job of straightening my fine, wavy hair, while still preserving volume. So, I get straight hair that actually has some swing to it, and is not plastered to my head. You can find it in lots of places online, but I got mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

As for products, I've tried several high end ones to prevent flat iron damage but I always come back to got2B Guardian Angel flat iron balm (spray). It keeps my hair shiny and smooth, minimizes splits ends, and is practically weightless so I never have that heavy, greasy feeling. Best of all, it's super cheap and can be found in most drugstores and grocery stores.

Flat irons snag? I have about 6 flat iron moments in my 43 years, so I am a babe in the woods. What is snagging?

Summer

Ooh, there shouldn't be snagging?

I've had a CHI and liked it, but my favorite ever was a Solia...I remember it had blue plates. Left it accidently in a hotel in N.O. and mourned! When my CHI died a friend gave me her unused Jilbere (I think ?) from Sally's Beauty Supply. I intended to use it just until I could order another, but find I like it just as well as the CHI.

For improving my hair when it's trending towards dry and damaged, Aveda Damage Remedy Intensive Restructuring treatment is awesome. I've also had good results from Rusk Cure...has bought be time waiting for a trim and kept the ends looking nice! I use B&B Defrizz (a bottle has lasted me years) or Biosilk on my ends before I flat iron. If my hair's a little fuzzy from the high humidity here it helps it behave and offers some heat protection.

Scarlet

My GHD is a delight. Snagging? That sounds scary. I hope your hair is okay. The Aveda damage remedy line is very good.

SuzyQ2

Another vote for CHI, but since my last haircut I've stopped using flat and curling irons. My hair was becoming increasingly drier and I'm experimenting to see if the hot tools are to blame. Pretty sure I know the answer to that one.
Anyway I still blow it dry and with a really good haircut the extra tools aren't necessary to tame the locks.

Stuti

very happy with my GHD. No snagging or much split end

bella

No recs for flat iron, my go to appliance is a curler. As for repairing the damage, I switched to argan oil based shampoo, conditioner, and hair serum and it has done wonders for my hair. I think they call it Moroccan oil in the US. However, you mention that you have fine hair, so you might just pick one and use that, the whole set might be too heavy for fine hair.

cinnamon fern

Another vote for It's a 10. I've always avoided conditioner, because it does weird things to my fine-but-thick hair, but this stuff is genius.

marianna

I really reccomend Misikko. I won one in a blog giveaway a few years back and it is so amazing. Gives me smooth, straight hair with body. Doesn't snag. They're on the pricier side, though.

http://www.misikko.com

RoseandJoan

Another addicted to her GHD's

I also love Loreal Everstrong shampoo and conditioner and Loreal Professionnel Mythic Oil.

shiny

I wasn't sure what was up with the snagging; in retrospect, I think it was my hair singing and breaking because the heat was too high. The Chi was probably the culprit since it only has one heat setting. The Ion can be used to curl the hair too, so I was playing around with that. It may have only compounded matters - though I did have it set on medium. Then again, the temperature control is written in such tiny print, I may have read the dial wrong! The Ion is no longer snagging but I can see and feel the damage on my hair in certain spots. Thank goodness my hair grows fast and I don't really mind going shorter for winter!

Anonymous

Ugh, I'm no help, but I can commiserate with you. My hair is pretty damaged from straightening, so I've stopped using a flat iron all together (at least for the winter). It's the worst on the sides, which is the part I want to get longer. I'm just tucking it behind my ears for now and hoping all the damage doesn't show!

An update on this:

I ordered the Hai classic, with blue plates -- the one I had before that recently died. Rec'd it yesterday, and used it today. HUGE difference!! My hair is more or less back to normal, except I think the newer Ion somehow stripped color from my hair?? That may be my imagination. All I know is that it's back to feeling silky and doesn't look or feel as dry or damaged -- but the color still seems off to me. The recent color job was amazing, too. It shouldn't have faded this fast.

Hair pros:

1) Can a flat iron strip color?
2) Why is it that the Hai Classic/blue plate works for me, and the Ion did not? It's not the heat; I've used the Hai at the highest setting with no issue (though usually use it at mid setting). I used the Ion at all different settings with same awful dry split end flyway -just horrible- results.
3) In case the Hai dies (reviews suggest that my 8+ years was exceptional), what other brands/models would you suggest that will give comparable results?
4) Can you recommend a travel version that would work just as reliably?

DD is getting the Ion. I can still return it, but she likes that it can also function as a curling iron, and it works fine on her hair, which is different texture than my own.

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