Negative ions produced by the straightener work to dissipate water, lock in moisture and seal the hair cuticle, which is supposed to reduce frizz. First, this iron uses ionic, far infrared heat. This Chi iron’s ceramic plate not only has an extremely smooth glide, the material poses additional benefits. While high heat titanium models straighten hair effectively with long-lasting results, their high temperatures can cause more damage than ceramic versions. While a couple stubborn sections at the base of my neck or around my hairline required extra attention, this hair straightener worked quickly and efficiently. It took my strands from looking puffy, frizzy and unfinished to smooth and silky with only one pass on most areas. In practice, this iron easily manipulated and reshaped hair with its single temperature setting. When I used an infrared heat gun to test the heat efficiency, it measured accurately and evenly across the plate. This straightener has only one heat setting of 392 degrees, and during testing we found that it heats up in just 20 seconds, which was one of the fastest speeds of the irons I tested. Ultra Fast Heat-Up And Effective, Even Temperature As someone who hasn’t had a ton of practice creating flat-iron waves, the Chi helped me look like a pro. Together, they make it easy to not only create sleek styles, but also to make a bend or flip at the end of hair or beachy waves. Another perk to this iron’s ceramic plates is the beveled edges and rounded barrel. This was especially helpful for smoothing down the short, sprouty regrowth hairs near my hairline that typically poke upward even when my hair is blown out. With this straightener, I was able to grip hair tight to the root. As a ceramic iron, it’s also gentler on hair than a high-heat titanium iron, so it’s a good fit for those with fine strands, vulnerable color-treated hair or those who may use a hot tool often and don’t want to cause excessive hair damage. Its shorter width makes it a handy tool for use on cropped styles and short, face-framing layers, and it’s equally adept at styling long, thick hair. The Ceramic Styling Iron has 1-inch-wide plates, so it works for a variety of hair lengths (although you may prefer a wider hair straightener if your hair is long or thick).

Chi flat iron