How many of you lovely ladies have curly hair?  Or, maybe it's not even that curly, but just needs help depending on how the weather is.  Personally, I have wavy hair, and lots of it, which I tend to keep short because it becomes a lot more managable at this length.  Recently I had the opportunity to review a flat iron and I couldn't be more excited to post my review.

Included with the iron was a silicon heat-resistant mat to place on the table during use to prevent damange to any type of surface, a travel case, the tin and case that the iron fits into, and a bottle of the Hana Shine Shield, which is a heat protectant serum for the hair (below).

The first thing I noticed, outside the gorgeous pink color of the iron, was the easy-to-read "on" and "off" switch, along with temperature setting and indicator light which blinks once the iron has reached the desired setting.  There is a closeup of this below.  Also, these are ceramic plates, so you know your hair is receiving the best treatment.

Although I do have wavy hair, I decided a more difficult and trying test subject would be a great way to review this iron, so I picked my little sister as the guinea pig.  My sister has tons of rich, tight, curly brown hair.  Although her hair isn't coarse at all, she has enough hair to make anyone with hair envy jealous.  Personally, I would love to have her hair - color and all - which is ironic conisidering I dye my hair blonde!  Look at all the shine and curls in the "before" pictures below - it's just gorgeous. 

Well, with curly hair at hand, I decided to tackle the task of straightening her hair.  I had set aside about 30-45 minutes to do this, as I have tried previous brands in the past with some success, but the time to accomplish the desired look was substantial.   After dividing her hair into four sections, I went about the task at hand.  Let me tell you, the performance of this flat iron is UNBELIEVABLE!  In one pass of the iron (set at ~375 degrees), I was able to have a straight section of hair immediately, with no need to come back.  Section by section, this was no exception.  Even the tight curls underneath were simple to straighten.  I was sceptical that the 1" width of this iron would be sufficient to staighten this much hair, but sure enough it worked like a dream.  I managed to straighten my sister's entire head of hair in under 15 minutes.

The other nice thing is the roundness of this iron, which I think you can see in the first few pictures, is it has the flexibility to "curl" your longer hair - it doesn't have to just be a flat iron!  There is a very handy "how to" guide that comes with the iron, and will teach you everything you need to know about achieving curls, flipping your hair under or out, and other techniques that are very helpful when using an iron such as this.

Look at these before and after shots!  Isn't it amazing!  One thing I forgot to take a picture of was the shine serum by Hana which also came with this.  This is truely a serum, and has the consistency of mineral oil.  As my art teacher used to say, "A dot does a lot!", and this is no exception.  About a pea sized drop of this serum and I was able to apply to my sister's hair and protect it from the heat.  Look at how shiny her hair is, and even better, it smells tropical and wonderful!

Another key points to take away: 1) the iron comes with an extremely long cord, and where the cord connects with the iron itself, it swivles/twists, which allows you to keep working and not worry about any tangles in the wire.  2) the iron is easy to use because it's light weight and easy to grip.  3) As mentioned earlier, you can adjust the temperature of the iron.  Depending on who is using the iron will determine what type of heat is needed.  Seeing as my hair is wavy, I don't need a setting of 375-400 like my sister did.  This helps us protect our hair!  The guide (above), also has some suggested settings based on your hair type, which is a great starting point when working with one of these types of irons. 

All in all, I have to say this is the best flat iron I've used to date, and I've tried numerous varieties from the basic you can find at your drug store to those at a beauty supply store.  I would definitely suggest you pick one up if you have been struggling with your iron. 

Keep your eyes peeled here, as well, since I will be posting a contest to win your own flat iron, courtesy of Misikko.com.