Hair Straighteners - Advice please

maxim

Help! My 13 year old daughter is wanting a hair straightener for her birthday. Never having used one, I'm not sure what to look for as I do not want to ruin her hair for her later life! Looking through the ARGOS catalogue, they vary for €3.99(July special offers) to over €100! Her hair is just below shoulder length, not too thick and fairly straight (ie not naturally curly!), but she's obviously after the 'really' straight look!
Any advice welcome.

Mr Magnolia

The Ceramic type are the best my sister informed me.

Attol

Buy her a protective spray for her hair to minimise damage as well. GHDs are what I'm used to but they can be a bit pricy. This seems to have similar properties to a GHD and looks very similar but it is a lot cheaper. Maybe something like this? For a "really straight look" make sure the straighteners reach a similar temperature to these. The shape makes them ideal for styling too as you can do smaller sections as well as larger and create curls too.

Dreamer 7

I have a head of mad curls and the best way to get the dead straight look is a GHD, you can only buy them in Peter Marks. Mine cost €180 but that was 3 yrs ago, v expensive for a 13 yr old but they do last ages

Malteaser!

they're quite a bit cheaper than that now afaikbut they're still over 100 though!!

kittex

The thought of a 13 year old destroying her hair depresses me.

Even using 'heat protection' sprays, your hair still suffers terrible damage from regular straightening, even with the best ceramic types.

I know lots of people who have had to stop straightenting due to their hair being ruined, me included.

Certainly limit her use of them if you do buy them.

niavie

ive had my ghd a couple of years now and its still as good as new! i think it was €130..id strongly recommend them! just dont forget to use the heat protection spray..its only a couple of euro and is well worth it!!

rannerap

ghd is the best but very expensive,all straighteners ruin your hair so tell her to always use protection sprayh

Pythia

I just bought myself a new Mark 4 GHD. It cost e179 from Peter Mark's. The Mark 4 is different as it can turn itself off if accidently turned on, has a sound to tell you it's heated up and also has a modified barrel.
There are older models of GHD which are available on ebay cheaper and will straighten just as well.
GHD's are worth every penny. I had one for 4 years which I abused to no end and it finally stopped working. I used it at least once a day so the price per use was tiny.
If your daughter wants to straighten her hair every day then get her a GHD.
If it's only for special events, maybe get her something cheaper, but the GHD is absolutely the best and is worth the high price if you can stretch to it.

Stench Blossoms

I'd agree with Pythia, the GHD is probably the best option to go for.

*tOpLaSs

GHD, WAY to go

bug

had a GHD and I would disagree that its the best.

The ceramic plates tend to get porous and the parts tend to loosen after a years use. My sister bought one at the same time and found the same problem.

I bought a Babyliss 230 from argos, on the recommendation of a friend.
The temperature can be adjusted so you can straighten your hair without frying it, and it gets much better results on top of being hard wearing and seemingly better made. Its also much cheaper. The plates also seem to be much more heat resistant and don't degrade over time.

In saying that I wouldn't really buy a straightener for a 13 year old, as it can wreck your hair if used to frequently. The hair can break and become very weak, my hair dresser recently said she wouldnt use one herself as she has seen some frequent users and their hair tends to break off and become weak.

If you do decide to get one for her, its essential that her hair is bone dry before she uses it.

see www.babyliss.co.uk

maxim

Many thanks for all your input. Not wanting her to regret her decision, showed the daughter the replies, and after discussion with her, she seems to have taken the sensible choice of not having a straightener !

I-like-eggs,mmm

She'll destroy her hair eventually :eek:

Is there anything else she'd love?

I used GHD's for years and straightened it to pieces (have natural kink),
as a result my hair was destroyed, breaking near the top of my head- let me assure you spikey hair is not hot! Stopped using straighteners about 2 years ago, still getting it back into good condition....

Dead straight hair isn't even hot anymore, it's about some volume, way sexier

A decent hair dryer, good brushes, heat protector spray, conditioning treatments and patience would be best..

Blush_01

I can vouch for the spikey-ain't-sexy thing! I have lots of broken hairs around the parting at the top of my head and nothing makes them lie flat (very, very fine hair!)

I have a Remington Wet2Straight (yes, I know, awful for your hair).

She'd be as well off getting a very good hair dryer and learning how to blowdry her hair straight as using a straightener, especially if she has straight hair already.

meowCat

I think the GHDs are overrated which I suspect is due to clever and glamorous advertisement. Additionally, all those girls I know who own one complain about flying or frizzy hair after using it.

I have the Remington curl and sleek myself and I am very happy. It does every style, sleek and curl.

But I agree with previous comments about getting her something to protect her hair against the heat. Then nothing bad will happen to her hair. I am very happy with the John Frida stuff. A friend of mine swears on the L'Oreal range for sleek hair.

genie_us

When I was 13 I really wanted my hair permed (!). My mam never let me but she went on a holiday once with her friend and while she was gone I went to my dad and asked him. Being a fella he hadn't a clue what a perm was and said yes, so I got my perm!! Bad move! As a result of that my hair is permanently frizzy so I am a slave to my GHD!
I have to use it every day, and if you do you absolutely have to make sure that you use protection spray, and really strong conditioners. Any conditioner with extra moisturiser type stuff I would highly recommend - the aussie 3 minute miracle one is the best IMO. I have been using GHD for years now, (and before they were invented I actually used to iron my hair!!) but my hair is in good condition, I have to put in the extra effort to keep it conditioned.

Never get a perm!!!

Pyjamarama

maxim wrote:

Many thanks for all your input. Not wanting her to regret her decision, showed the daughter the replies, and after discussion with her, she seems to have taken the sensible choice of not having a straightener !

Result! She will thank you in years to come. As another poster said get her a really good hairdryer as if she has naturally straight hair it should do nearly the same job. You might be able to get your local hairdresser to order you one (they tend to be a lot more powerful than the ones you buy in the shops).

Cheese Princess

Good for her! I was going to say please don't buy her one as it's hard enough to repair the damage from a couple of years of straightening, never mind what would happen if you started at 13!!

It was so great when GHDs first came out though....I was so happy!

Pythia

What's the likelihood the girl in question will end up buying one in the next few years anyway?
IMO, a few split ends are nothing compared to kinky hair (on me anyway).
A good hair dryer and technique does help an awful lot though, go for a 2000W one or similar if possible.

Pyjamarama

Cheese Princess wrote:

It was so great when GHDs first came out though....I was so happy!

They were a godsend! I've embraced curls since!!

Niamho!

Yeah....GHD! the best of the lot BUT....if its too expensive theres a Remington one that i think does the same job...well - on my hair it does and my hair is kinda frizzy and kinked when its let dry naturally. unfortunately i stupidly Posted this without the exact model name....if you're still bothered ill come back with it! sorry.....

phasers

I have a GHD, it is fantastic but I tend to use it once a week at most
I hae a natural head of mad curls so I tend to go au naturale whenever possible as it's better for my hair
I've straihtened my hair only once this summer because I think it deserves a holiday too
I use treatments once a week at least, but I still get split ends so I trim frequently to try and make up somewhat for the damage I'm going my mop

Lauraaa!

ive got a ghd and its great
but they're way too expensive in my opinion

and heat protection sprays are virtually useless and just fry your hair even more
they're just another money making product
dont use it

just condition well when you start using it

and if you reckon they're too expensive remington are also very very good

hope i helped!