I HATE Chi. Despise. Loathe. Total waste of money for me.
It, simply, gets nowhere near hot enough... so I have to go over and over and over an area which is not only a waste of my time, but it FRIES my hair. I often look at people who say flatironing fries their hair, and I make a small wager with myself that they use a Chi.
I flatiron my hair every day, and have super healthy hair. Even when it was waistlength (which means the same hairs had been ironed thousands of times over years).
For me... I need a temperature setting. I have VERY curly hair, so it takes a lot of heat to straighten my hair to begin with, and a strong curl pattern. I set mine at 430 and zwip! Done. Move onto the next. Maybe 2-3 seconds tops per strand of hair. With short hair, we're talking 1 second.
My sister's hair is almost as curly as mine, but has a weak curl pattern. She can do 2-3 seconds at 380 and get the same result. (380 on me means I have to do 6 or 7 passes... which kills anyone's hair)
I've found that any salon supply store (like Sally's or EdWise) generic brand WITH a temp register is great. Name brands? Also great. Ceramic and beveled edges and very very SMALL (to get in by the roots, and also to have the hair on the iron for a very short period of time) is the way to go. It doubles as a curling iron for loose waves or big ringlets at that diameter, as well :) Score. 2 in 1!
I'm currently using a ToolScience 3/4" straightener.... but I've used many brands at different times
- Temp wheel or digital
- Narrow diameter
- Beveled edges
- Ceramic plates