Wet/Dry Flat Irons

Wet-to-dry flat irons attempt to save you time

The vast majority of flat irons are meant for use on dry hair only: Use them on wet hair and you risk damaging both your hair and the flat iron. A few models, however, are made specifically for use on wet hair, managing to dry and straighten hair at once. We found mixed reviews for this type of flat iron, however.

The Remington Wet 2 Straight Flat Iron (*Est. $25) gets good reviews from experts and users for its convenience factor, since it eliminates the need to blow-dry hair first (though it can straighten dry hair, too). On her website CosmeticsCop.com, Paula Begoun, a beauty industry expert and critic, explains that unlike conventional flat irons, the Remington vents steam into the air "as opposed to boiling up in your hair and causing damage."

The Remington Wet 2 Straight Flat Iron is available in both 1- and 2-inch sizes as well as a 2-inch curved-plate model that, according to the manufacturer, is supposed to add volume and shape to hair. It has 30 heat settings and a digital temperature display. Consumers at Amazon.com and Drugstore.com give it positive reviews. However, several warn that it may take longer to style hair with the wet-to-dry feature and that the resulting steam can burn you. Users at Folica.com are not as fond of the Remington; many complain that the wet-to-dry feature doesn't work very well and leaves hair frizzy and damaged. While the Wet 2 Straight Flat Iron seems affordable and convenient, you may have better results letting hair air dry or using a separate hair dryer.

The Conair Infiniti Nano Silver Steam Straightener (*Est. $50) includes a water reservoir; fill it and the resulting steam is supposed to dry your hair and straighten it gently. The flat iron's plates are coated with ceramic, tourmaline and nanosilver particles. It also features a retractable comb in between the two plates to help detangle hair while straightening. Users at Folica.com and Amazon.com say the iron works on thick hair, but several complain that the steam runs out quickly and the reservoir cannot be refilled while the iron is hot. Others say the Infiniti is
time-consuming and that it doesn't straighten hair well. As with all hairstyling tools, user satisfaction may vary greatly depending on user skill as well as hair type and condition.

Multifunction flat irons

Most flat irons do nothing more than straighten hair. A few models try to do more, but with mixed success.

The Conair Special Styles Styling Tool (*Est. $19) has five interchangeable attachments for straightening, crimping, waving, curling and spiral-curling. Users say it's a good idea in theory, but the versatile tool doesn't deliver. It gets poor ratings from reviewers at Amazon.com and Target.com, where consumers complain that it does absolutely nothing to their hair. Reviewers say it takes a long time to heat up and, even then, it never gets very hot.

You might have seen commercials for the InStyler (*Est. $100). This tool can be used as a flat iron or as a curling iron using a motorized barrel. Most reviews say it works pretty well, but isn't any faster than a regular flat iron. Plus, many users are annoyed by the noise made by the InStyler's motor. We have a full review of the InStyler in our infomercial-review section.

Conair's Infiniti CS54 You Style Multi Functional Styling Iron (*Est. $40) capitalizes on the trend of curling hair with a flat iron. According to Conair, the You Style makes it easier to do so. The 2-in-1 tool is a flat iron with 1-inch ceramic-coated heating plates as well as curved cooling plates. Users at Amazon.com, where the iron earns an average of 3.5 out of 5 stars from about a dozen reviewers, say it takes some time to master the technique but that it does work (an instructional DVD is included). Some say that it is a better straightener, though, and that it takes too long to curl a full head of hair. Reviewers also say that the You Style is best for those with fine, straight hair -- it doesn't work well on thick, layered, coarse or curly hair. The iron has not been tested in any professional reviews.