my ceramic straighteners

Choosing which hair straighteners (or 'hair irons') to buy can be a nightmare. There are so many types to choose from! And how much should you spend? Will a £30 set of hair straighteners give results as good as a £100 pair?

It can be tempting to think 'you get what you pay for' and then buy the most expensive model you can afford, but this isn't always the best idea and can lead to disappointment - nobody wants to spend £100 on something which doesn't work for them!

Buy straighteners for your hair type

When choosing what set of straighteners to buy, the key is to buy based on your hair type. Every woman's hair is different, so it is important that you think about what sort of hair you have before investing in a good set of hair straighteners.

If your hair is very healthy, you are likely to get good results even with cheaper models of hair straighteners. But if you are like most of us, and your condition could be a bit better, you will want to think a bit about your purchase to make sure you get a set of hair straighteners which both makes your hair look great but also prevents any damage being done to your hair and its condition.

For reviews of hair straighteners, see our Hair Straightener Reviews page.

Our Advice on Straightening Hair page has more information on matching your straighteners to your hair type.

Cheaper hair straighteners tend to use metal plates, which are less expensive to produce. The problem with metal plates is that they can be abrasive on your hair.

Very healthy hair can take the abrasive effect of metal straighteners, while fine or unhealthy hair will effectively be 'scraped' by the plates, causing long-lasting damage to the condition of the hair.

Ceramic plates, on the other hand, are smoother and will not generally cause damage to the outside layer of your hair.

A further advantage of ceramic straighteners over metal straighteners is the distribution of heat. Just like with a ceramic hob in the kitchen, ceramic hair straighteners have a more even heat across the plate, since the chemical makeup of the ceramic is more even than that of the metal.

This is important in order to get an even straightening effect across your hair, and furthermore, there is potential for serious heat damage to your hair if there are fluctuations in temperature across the plate of the straightener.

For reviews of hair straighteners, see our Hair Straightener Reviews page.

Our Advice on Straightening Hair page has more information on matching your straighteners to your hair type.