My Favourite Curling Iron

I used to be so intimidated to curl my own hair. As much as I loved the look of loose curls, I was always scared that I couldn't recreate it on my own hair. I would describe my hair texture as straight, thick, and very heavy. I was worried that my curls would never hold, or that I would spend hours trying to curl all of it. 

However, I decided to give it a go and bought my first Conair curling iron in my early twenties (23 perhaps?). I made sure to buy it on a budget as I wasn't sure how much use I was going to make out of it. It took a lot of trial and error to find the right technique (especially for my bangs), but I nailed it down and I finally got my hair to look like how I'd always envisioned it. My good old handy Conair lasted me a good year before I decided to upgrade!  

Today I own four curling irons, with my most recent purchase being my absolute favourite! The first time I encountered this curling iron was at my girlfriend's place. Even then, I had loved it but reviews online talked about Babyliss being the best and so I bought two (one tourmaline and one ceramic) before I realized that I should've just listened to my gut. It's been 3 days since I've bought it and I have used it every day - each day I fall in love with it more than the last :) If you're looking for a great curling iron, go buy the Isinis Ceramic Curling Iron with Spring Handle (mine is a 1-1/4" barrel).

So what makes this curling iron superior than the rest? The clamp on this barrel is by far the best. It holds my hair effortlessly as I curl it. What I've found with my Babyliss curling irons, is that my hair constantly slips out from the clamp as I am working my way down to the ends. The curling process becomes twice as long, as I have to gather the section of hair again to re-curl. This might be a non-issue for someone who doesn't have a lot of layers, but because my ends are thinned out at the bottom, the slipping usually happens half the time. 

I love the results and the time that I'm now saving. It doesn't get as hot as the Babybliss ones (25 heat settings vs. 40 heat settings for the tourmaline), but it's enough to make my curls last. In fact, I think it's actually better for keeping my curls because the clamp grabs all my hair tightly as a turn the barrel. I don't even need hairspray to set it! 

I bought my curling iron at Trade Secrets for $59.99. They're on sale right now because Isinis just came out with a newer model and they're trying to phase out this one. I'm not sure what's different about the newer model, but it retails at $77.99 at the Eaton Centre. You should keep in mind though that Trade Secret stores are franchised and different stores may have different pricing (you can definitely see if they'll price match with different store locations). If you're having trouble finding this at stores (since they're discontinued), you can try looking online. I've never bought from here before but Fabove.ca sells them for $69.99 and shipping is free if you spend over $100. 

If you have layered hair like me and you've experienced hair slipping out from the barrel clamp, I highly recommend this curling iron. It took me 4 years to finally get it, but I'm so happy I did!