Product Description

Farouk CHI Turbo Regular 1" Ceramic Flat Iron Hair Straightener

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2272 in Health and Beauty
• Size: 1"
• Color: Pewter/Red
• Brand: CHI
• Model: GF1538
• Released on: 2005-07-01
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.50" h x 1.50" w x 10.00" l, 1.50 pounds

Features

• Straighten · Curl · Flip · Style
• Versatile "all in one" ergonomic design with 10 foot heavy duty cord. On/off switch on the side for easy access.
• Temperature control. Flash heating in only seconds. Variable tempature control saves energy.
• Create silky shiny hair instantly.
• Light weighted and fits in a standard curling iron station.

Customer Reviews

Flawless product!
I was suspect of the need for "ceramic ions" and "far infrared technology", but this iron was highly recommended by salon personnel, so I decided to dish out the money and try it. You don't need to believe the hype to realize that this is a top quality product. This was a case of "you get what you pay for"! It is lightweight and ergonomic, heats up almost immediately, has a slider bar for varying heat from 176-356F (80-180C), and velvety felt that protects you from burns (also allows me to get closer to my ears and scalp without getting burned). The latter feature is worth the money to me alone, and the the ceramic feels much gentler to my hair (I have baby fine hair very prone to breakage). Two other things to keep in mind when choosing a straightener:

1) size matters - smaller size is better - it's more maneuverable, and doing smaller sections at a time will produce better results. for superfine hair, I recommend the 0.7" (mistakenly advertised as 0.07")

2) not all ceramic is created equal - there are solid ceramic plates or plates COATED with ceramic that are cheaper. the ceramic layer on the coated plates can peel off and is supposedly damaging to your hair (not to mention your product is ruined).

so yes, this iron is more expensive, but hopefully it will last for years of top-notch straightening.

Internet Buyer Beware!
After reading numerous online raves about the CHI Flat Iron I ordered a CHI Turbo Flat Iron. I have no complaints with the product as of yet, I've only had it a few days.

***BUT*** the few complaints I read online dealt with customer service from Farouk the manufacturer of CHI products and warranty problems. Before buying the product, I went to the Farouk website and noted that they had a 1-year warranty, no problem so I thought. I went back to the site today with a nagging thought, why would people who had spent so much money on a hair iron have problems with customer service? Upon reading the fine print I found out. The following was copied and pasted from the Farouk website:

ATTENTION INTERNET SHOPPERS: Any product manufactured by Farouk Systems, Inc. will lose its warranty if purchased from an internet distributor of any sort. Farouk Systems can not guarantee the quality of the products that are sold over the internet. Besides that, It is against company policy for internet distributors to sell our products. Any CHI appliance or Top Blade products are only under warranty if purchased from a Professional Salon.

BOTTOM LINE: If this product is ordered online by comparison shopping you can potentially save a lot of money but you will NOT have a manufacturer's warranty. The manufacturer's warranty is only valid if you buy through a professional salon.

Fabulous! but I think the smaller sizes are better ...
CHI manufactures this 2" size, and 1" and 0.7" widths in the same line also. My first inclination was to buy the 2" size - that would make the process faster, right? Well, I was advised and found out to be true that bigger is not better in this situation, for reasons stated below. So while I highly recommend the CHI Turbo straightener, I would recommend the smaller widths unless you know for a fact that you prefer the larger plates. The following section is my review for the 0.7" (which is mistakenly advertised as 0.07"), which I think is helpful even if you decide on the 2" model, so forgive my copy-and-paste.

I was suspect of the need for "ceramic ions" and "far infrared technology", but this iron was highly recommended by salon personnel, so I decided to dish out the money and try it. You don't need to believe the hype to realize that this is a top quality product. This was a case of "you get what you pay for"! It is lightweight and ergonomic, heats up almost immediately, has a slider bar for varying heat from 176-356F (80-180C), and velvety felt that protects you from burns (also allows me to get closer to my ears and scalp without getting burned). The latter feature is worth the money to me alone, and the the ceramic feels much gentler to my hair (I have baby fine hair very prone to breakage). Two other things to keep in mind when choosing a straightener:

1) size matters - smaller size is better - it's more maneuverable, and doing smaller sections at a time will produce better results.

2) not all ceramic is created equal - there are solid ceramic plates or plates COATED with ceramic that are cheaper. the ceramic layer on the coated plates can peel off and is supposedly damaging to your hair (not to mention your product is ruined).

So yes, this iron is more expensive, but hopefully it will last for years of top-notch straightening.