Inexpensive flat irons -- what do you have?

[MushyMushy]

My DD wants a flat iron for Christmas, but I don't want to spend more than $50 because she doesn't take care of things. What type would you recommend?

Her hair is extremely kinky curly. Each hair shaft is really thin, but she's got a ton of it. It's curly to the scalp. When she washes it, it starts to dry almost immediately because it's so curly.

 

[mfd25wife]

You may try ebay for a CHI. I got ours cheaper than it was in the stores. I got it from a person that had a lot of them and a great rating. So make sure of who you buy one from if you go that route. My hairdresser said it was cheaper than she paid for hers. I kept trying the inexpensive ones for DD, but they rarely lasted more than 8-9 months. The CHI has been great. I am pretty frugal, but it's already paid for itself since it has lasted longer than the others. Regardless of what you decide on, the flat iron sprays definitely help. We got one at the beauty supply store for after the CHI stuff runs out.

 

[SomedayI'llBe]

Rimmington Wet to Straights have been excellent for myself and most of my friends. I've got a friend with fairly curly hair (not as curly as your daughters, I think), and it works fairly well for her. With hair that curly though, you're really never going to achieve perfect straightness.

 

[MinnieMe87]

You may try ebay for a CHI. I got ours cheaper than it was in the stores. I got it from a person that had a lot of them and a great rating. So make sure of who you buy one from if you go that route. My hairdresser said it was cheaper than she paid for hers. I kept trying the inexpensive ones for DD, but they rarely lasted more than 8-9 months. The CHI has been great. I am pretty frugal, but it's already paid for itself since it has lasted longer than the others. Regardless of what you decide on, the flat iron sprays definitely help. We got one at the beauty supply store for after the CHI stuff runs out.

I agree! The cheap ones can really ruin your hair. I got one from Walmart that's a Conair. They had a few different straighteners for different types of hair. My hair is very thick and wavy. It's worked okay so far, but I'm waiting it out until christmas when I hopefully get enough money to buy a Chi.

ETA: Make sure to ask your hairdresser about a good shampoo and conditioner for her hair. (If she doesn't currently use a moisturizing one) If she straightens it a lot, then she'll need a good moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. They also have good smoothing shampoos that have helped my hair be a little bit more manageable for straightening. Hope this helps!

 

[bluesaturn]

A cheap one will not work on her hair, it will actually probably ruin her hair. Her hair will likely look worse using it (because it will be fizzy, lots of fly aways). You could find a good quality one for about $100 though.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

Your daughter's hair sounds a lot like mine. I agree with the posters who said cheap will not work. My flat iron was $130, but I got it on sale for $90.

Honestly, flat irons are one of those things where more expensive really is better.

 

[Buckalew11]

Do you have a TJMaxx near you? Around here they carry some salon brand flat irons for a decent price. Probably $40.00 and up. Honestly, most of the cheaper ones will just not do the job for hair like your DDs. If you have a friend who is a hairdresser you could ask if she might get you one at cost. A CHI costs a hairdresser between 90.00 and 200.00 so most around here do not make any profit when they sell you one. I know I don't but I want my clients to have the best available so I just sell it for my cost.

A Babyliss and some others are very good and run less than 100.00 easy. Good luck.

 

[bluesaturn]

CHI is on sale at folica.com for about $73 I believe. I think the sale ends tonight.

 

[kaseyC]

Do you have a JC Penney Salon near you? I purchased my Chi from there last year on sale. They seem to have sales on them pretty often. My 3 DDs have very curly ,kinky and thick hair and it does a beautiful job on it.

 

[MyGoofy26]

I got a Chi on eBay for $65. I went through www.live.com and used their cashback feature to get 25% back. It's pending for 60 days, but if you can wait for it, that'll bring it very close to your budget. Only a couple dollars over once you include shipping.

I just did a search on live.com for "cheap Chi" and the first sponsored link was eBay. You have to do a Buy It Now and pay with Paypal to be eligible for the cashback. I read on slickdeals the other day that the cashback bumped up to 30%, not sure if it's still that high or not.

But something for you to consider! Oh, and if you go this route, the cashback doesn't show up immediately. It took a day or two for it to appear. I was in a bit of a panic since it was my first time trying this cashback, I'd read great things about it. So, just in case you buy one this way, I wanted to make sure you didn't panic like I did!!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Interestingly, I've had a "cheap" one from Sally Beauty for 3 years, use it almost daily, and it works great. It does not work as quickly as a Chi, but for a $20 investment it works GREAT. I can't justify throwing it out in favor of a Chi yet.

I do not have kinky hair, just wildly wavy thick hair.

Check out Sally Beauty =)

 

[ksumn1]

Sorry, not trying to hijack but a quick ? while we're on the subject. What if you don't have curly hair. My DD has a chin length bob, very straight thick hair and wants a straightner. Our hairdresser reccomended it to make her hair shinier and straighter with less flyaways. Do I still need to buy an expensive one or will a middle of the road one work OK for her?

 

[rcraw45425]

The CHI is good, I bought older DD one on eBay last year for her birthday, then bought younger DD an Ultra CHI at ULTA a few weeks back. Apparently the Ultra one has something to cut down on the frizzes. Fast forward now to last week, I bought another Ultra CHI at ULTA for <$100 after paying $119 sale price and using a 20% off flat iron coupon I had from them. They have CHIs on sale now and there was a 20% ff coupon in todays ad. Mom'll get the old faithful black one as I don't have a problem with frizzies.

 

[chrisw127]

Sorry, not trying to hijack but a quick ? while we're on the subject. What if you don't have curly hair. My DD has a chin length bob, very straight thick hair and wants a straightner. Our hairdresser reccomended it to make her hair shinier and straighter with less flyaways. Do I still need to buy an expensive one or will a middle of the road one work OK for her?

I bet she can get away with a cheaper one. I have wavy hair (some of it quite curly and prone to being frizzy on humid days--all the time, since I live in the south) and I can use the cheaper ones. They don't work nearly as well as the Chi, which I use all the time, but they aren't awful either

 

[jewjubean]

I have VERY curly hair and we went to sally beauty and got a knock off of the chi iron and i've had it for almost 2 years and it works like a charm and i use it every day!!! We paid like 40 bucks for it.

 

[puffkin]

Sorry, not trying to hijack but a quick ? while we're on the subject. What if you don't have curly hair. My DD has a chin length bob, very straight thick hair and wants a straightner. Our hairdresser reccomended it to make her hair shinier and straighter with less flyaways. Do I still need to buy an expensive one or will a middle of the road one work OK for her?

I have very straight, shoulder length hair and I use my straightener almost daily. I like the sleek look it gives my hair. I used my friends CHI on a cruise and loved it. When I got home I bought a cheaper iron, the Remington Wet to Straight. I don't like it at all, there is no comparison to the CHI. I am crossing my fingers that I get a CHI for Christmas.

 

[AmericangirlinFrance]

I have an Andis straightener. Love it! Much better than some of the cheapies (Conair, etc) that I have tried.

I have never tried a Chi, so I don't know the comparison. This works well and it wasn't expensive.

http://www.andis.com/USA/products.asp?Div=Professional&Product=Curling Iron

I have the 1" Clamp Style Ceramic flat iron (scroll down a little).

 

[MushyMushy]

I have an Andis straightener. Love it! Much better than some of the cheapies (Conair, etc) that I have tried.

I have never tried a Chi, so I don't know the comparison. This works well and it wasn't expensive.

http://www.andis.com/USA/products.asp?Div=Professional&Product=Curling Iron

I have the 1" Clamp Style Ceramic flat iron (scroll down a little).

Wow, that seems to get really good reviews on Amazon and it's only $26! I might check that one out.

I'm having such a hard time justifying Chi prices for a 13 year old when she's so fickle and doesn't take care of her stuff. It would be different if I had any interest in using it, but I can use a big fat $20 curling iron to straighten my hair and it does a great job.

 

[bluesaturn]

Wow, that seems to get really good reviews on Amazon and it's only $26! I might check that one out.

I'm having such a hard time justifying Chi prices for a 13 year old when she's so fickle and doesn't take care of her stuff. It would be different if I had any interest in using it, but I can use a big fat $20 curling iron to straighten my hair and it does a great job.

Fair enough. But I think it would be better not to get her one at all, then to get her one that is going to tear up her hair. The wrong tool could cause serious damage. I don't have tight curls at all, and a curling iron would do nothing to straighten my hair.

Edit: I'm not saying the straightener someone else suggested isn't good. I was just saying that I would suggest quality over price, although quality could be quite cheap in some cases.

 

[MushyMushy]

Fair enough. But I think it would be better not to get her one at all, then to get her one that is going to tear up her hair. The wrong tool could cause serious damage. I don't have tight curls at all, and a curling iron would do nothing to straighten my hair.

Edit: I'm not saying the straightener someone else suggested isn't good. I was just saying that I would suggest quality over price, although quality could be quite cheap in some cases.

Oh, no, I totally understand wanting a quality tool, which is why I didn't buy one right off the shelf at Walmart and came here to ask for ideas. I just didn't believe that I'd necessarily have to pay Chi prices for a straightener.

Trust me, I won't let that kid do anything to damage her hair. No highlights, no color, no cheap products (and she's been begging for highlights for a long time, but even our stylist says not a great idea). At least we can share the expensive salon products, so I don't mind putting out some money to try them out.