Cheap flat irons for curly hair?

[american_mama]

I have asked here before about flat irons before for my biracial daughters and been scared away, but I want to buy one now. DD1 had her flat ironed for the first time by a stylist, who uses an ancient flat iron that works great in her hands. I want to touch up the ends. DD2 will get her hair flat ironed at an appointment later this month.

The girls are 9 and 12 years old. One has long, very thick, puffy hair with a light curl. The second has corkscrew curls a little bigger than a pencil, very dense, thick hair that currently hangs to her shoulders but will be below her shoulder blades when flat ironed.

I do not want to spend over $50 at this point in their lives. Flat ironing will probably be a 3 time a year event in our family. When they are teenagers and want to spend a lot of time doing it, we can get something better, which probably means a Chi, GHD or something that I'm not yet willing to buy. I will be the one doing it, not them, although I confess I've never been that great with a curling iron or many hair tools.

I am thinking Remington T Studio or Remington Frizz Therapy. Other suggestions?

[nfowife]

I got this one to use on my DD after reading the reviews here and at amazon. It's been good!
http://www.amazon.com/HSI-PROFESSIONAL-TOURMALINE-STRAIGHTENER-Treatment/dp/B001MA0QY2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397496006&sr=8-1&keywords=flatiron

I got it for about $45 w/prime shipping.

[AnnieW625]

TBH a quality flat iron is a great tool to have on hand and it can be addicting. I have an FHI Flat iron which at the time when I bought it in 2004 was priced about the same as the one that NFO linked. It works fine for random flat ironing, but it cools off kind of quickly so if you have a lot of hair to do (which I do, esp. when it is long, I have to do three sections and two to three layers) so that can be an annoyance so if you want something that is going to stay hot then I would invest in a more expensive one and if turns out they are going to be wanting to get it done on a regular basis even by you getting a $100 to $150 iron like a Chi, Solia (http://www.amazon.com/Solia-Tourmaline-Ceramic-Flat-Iron/dp/B002LZ0GJM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1397498507&sr=8-5&keywords=flatiron+hai), GHD, or Sedu is probably the way to go. Also invest great salon quality heat sprays if you want to avoid split ends. I would see what the salon uses.

FHI Flat Irons @ Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=flatiron+fhi)
HAI Flat Iron (http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Convertible-Ceramic-Flat-Iron/dp/B0003009NK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397498410&sr=8-1&keywords=flatiron+hai) (my sister has had one of these for over 5 yrs. and she uses it on a more regular basis than I use mine and it seems to stay hotter longer)

[AshleyAnn]

I have several of the Remington T Studio products (but not the straightener) and love them. Whatever you buy needs to have a variable temp setting so you can use the lowest heat that is effective without burning the hair. Also get a good hair protection spray to help prevent damage.

[ellies mom]

I have a Remington Frizz or Shine Therapy with adjustable temp setting. I've had it for several years and it does a good job. I want to say we spent about $50. I like it better than the cheaper ones because it glides better on my hair. The cheaper one I had before that was always pulling on my hair.

[ray7694]

I like Babyliss brand

[oneontheway]

I got this one to use on my DD after reading the reviews here and at amazon. It's been good!
http://www.amazon.com/HSI-PROFESSIONAL-TOURMALINE-STRAIGHTENER-Treatment/dp/B001MA0QY2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397496006&sr=8-1&keywords=flatiron

I got it for about $45 w/prime shipping.

I have this one and a CHI and I prefer the HSI although the difference is small. Originally I got the HSI to travel since I didn't want to accidently drop or abuse my CHI which was way more expensive.