CHI Turbo Ceramic Hairstyling Iron - Do You NEED A Turbo or a Regular CHI?
Written: May 11 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Similar to other CHI's
Cons: Switch, smaller, features not worth it
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line is, for me, this version was not worth the extra money it cost.
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| KMINER's Full Review: Chi Turbo Ceramic Hairstyling Iron |
I had a Chi Flat Iron and broke it. I dropped it on my ceramic tile in my bathroom one day, and one of the ceramic plates popped out.
Well this is a crisis situation in my hair world, so I quickly shopped around for a new Chi. Looking around in Ulta while shopping out of town with friends, I noticed the CHI Turbo Ceramic Hairstyling Iron from the same company.
This one appeared to be very similar , come in different sizes, and only have a few differing features. I chose a slimmer model than I had own previously (the Chi Turbo Mini) with the sleek looking velvet handles.
I purchased this model for a few reasons. I thought the velvet would make it easier to touch the outside if needed. Also the handles had little grooves in them where your fingers should go - nice and ergonomically designed. As well this model has a temperature control (from 175°-356°F), and I was curious about how adjusting the heat might affect my hair styling options (the original Chi just has an On/Off switch with no heat settings). And finally I like that the LED Light was on the outside handle of this model instead of hiding between to the 2 "arms".
I was excited to use this and felt pretty comfortable making the transition since I had owned a CHI before.
Well what is a CHI?
It's a ceramic flat iron designed to straighten even the most unruly hair. My hair is naturally wavy and on its own, even with the help of a dryer and a round brush, my hair has a mind of its own. A flat iron helps control not only the frizz, but puts my hair into a straighter, sleeker, more put together style. The idea behind purchasing a CHI (one of the pricier ceramic plated flat iron models) is that you get a higher quality, less damaging tool that lasts for many years. Along with this is the idea that this product is sealing the hair shaft and making it softer and smoother, with a high amount of heat, and all the while not causing damage to the hair. The other idea behind the CHI models is that the plates are solid ceramic and not "ceramic coated", making them additionally the "better" purchase for your hair.
I have to say, having now used both, that I prefer the original.
Though the CHI Turbo Ceramic Hairstyling Iron has heat settings, I quickly realized I didn't know enough about "how much heat" my hair needed, and often turned it up to the highest setting anyway.
Also I didn't notice this heating up that much faster than I needed a "turbo" version. Also I didn't find much benefit from the finger grooves or the red velvet covering. Keep in mind this version costs more than the original - so it would have to perform better or have some better features to make it really worth the price increase for me. (regular CHI's are around $100 where the Turbo is around $125).
Though the switch is in a different location and the indicator light on the outside of the handle, the light is covered with some really sad looking red plastic "film" making it hard to "really" tell when the whole thing is lit up, heated, and ready to go.
I also felt that I didn't like the decrease from my old one's 2 inch plate to a 1 inch plate (though that was my fault for buying the "mini" version this time). I felt, even with my shorter hair, the 1 inch plate was not wide enough and it took longer to straighten my hair. I found myself going over pieces more than I had to previously.
So basically I found the CHI Turbo Ceramic Hairstyling Iron to be more hassle and more expensive.
I probably would have gone on happily using it though, as I didn't want to shell out money for yet another CHI. But as fate would happen, I broke this one too.
What's weird is I don't know how - this time I didn't drop it! It just stopped turning on one day (my guess is I dropped the plug part on my bathroom's ceramic tile). So after a few months I was CHI-less.
I did purchase a $25.00 ceramic "coated" iron at my local Walmart and use that for about 3 months. It was horrible. Within a month my hair was all dried out and looking a mess. In conversations with a friend, she was "upgrading" to a new CHI and offered to send me her perfectly good working, 4 year old regular model - I jumped at it gladly.
When I need to go purchase my own some time in the future, I will be purchasing the original model, and not this Turbo version.
Recommended:
No
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