There are many types of curling irons available and range from $15 to $250. If your hair is difficult to style, you will need a hotter curling iron setting to get the best results. Normal hair can handle 180 degrees, while coarse,thick or curly hair will need between 180 to 200 degrees to style. If you have thin/fragile hair, you don’t need any more than a 150 degree setting.

Hi-tech irons can be better for your hair with materials such as ceramic or tourmaline. Many reasons they are better are that they heat up a lot more quickly and maintain heat that is throughout the curling process, while you are already in a rush you should not have to wait for extended periods of time for your hair curling iron to heat up. Additionally, they use infrared heaters that help hair to retain moisture and prevent drying, frizzing and breaking. However, you should be aware that ceramic and tourmaline hair curling irons are slightly more expensive than the metal ones we are used to and you should be prepared to pay between $60 and $100 for a quality model and be aware that it’s 100% ceramic or tourmaline and is not just the coated type.

Buying a good curling iron is important if you use the hair curling iron once a month or every day. Curling irons can be damaging to the hairs structure and good quality is a must. Quality curling irons are an investment they offer more durable heating elements and can last for much longer than cheap renditions that often need replacement. Be sure that you know the type of curling iron that you are seeking. If you want tight curls, smaller diameter is what you are seeking, but if you want body or larger curls then a larger diameter is what you want to look into.

Curling hair with flat irons makes softer, looser curls and can be attempted in a couple of ways. The first way is to quickly run the tool down a small lock of hair several times until it is warm to the touch. Then the iron is slid down the hair one last time to the ends and the length of hair is quickly rolled around the iron. The residual heat from ironing will encourage the hair to use the shape of the iron as a roller. After a few seconds when the hair is freed from the iron the resulting curl will be loose with a bit of extra curl at the end from where the hair was closest to the heat. This is a good way to add body to limp hair.

Curling hair with a flat iron can also be accomplished by simply using the tool to bump the ends in a specific direction. Hair that needs to be coaxed into a direction different than its direction of natural growth can benefit from this method. The flat iron is simply run down the length of hair in the direction the ends need to be curled up into. Hair that will drape around a chin or hug a neck should be ironed from scalp to end with the tool held as close to the head as possible. Then, the iron is pulled sharply in the desired direction at the terminal end. This creates a long curve rather than an overt curl.

Alternately, to create volume hair should be coaxed in the opposite position from the one it will be styled in. When ironed from root towards the ceiling and pulled slightly towards the wrong side of the head or face, when the hair is finally laid down it’ll naturally sit up a bit because it has been temporarily trained to defy gravity.

The  next thing you are going to want to keep in mind is what type of curls are you looking for? Every iron will curl your hair in a different way. In order to understand what types of curls you will get from your iron it is important to look at the length and thickness of the barrel of the hair curling iron. The size of the barrel will change the size of your curls so it is important to understand this and try out different models to get a feel for what you need.

As a general rule the larger the size of the barrel of the hair curling iron the larger the curl you will get when curling your hair with a curling iron. The same obviously applies for smaller curls or shorter hair you will need a shorter barrel on your iron.  Finally last but not least your going to want to look at the quality of the iron itself, what type of material is it made from. There are several different types of materials that hair curling irons are made from but mainly they are either ceramic or metal. The ceramic irons are the most popular they are said to be better at not damaging your hair with daily usage. They help to seal the moisture into your hair thus preventing damage to your hair. Metal irons use steam to achieve hair curling so these irons are better for people that have very thin hair and are not recommended to be used on a daily basis, every other day is fine. There is also a brush style of hair curling iron and these are good for women with less thick hair fand they are recommended for daily usage.