Inexpensive hair straighteners - worth it?

[NeverTimeForTea]

My 12 year old daughter occasionally uses my ghd straightners. I'm thinking of getting her some inexpensive ones for Christmas i.e. £20 or less.

Some of the ones on the Boots website have good reviews such as:

Remington
Babyliss

Do you think they're worth getting?

Babyliss are hopeless.
The thing is, straighteners only work if they get really hot. So you need to consider how careful/dextrous your dd is.

I would not recommend for your DD to use inexpensive hair straighteners. because

1. They don't do the job right
2. They will damage the hair.

I've got really thick, frizzy/curly hair-used to always use GHD but babyliss have been brilliant for the last couple of years..not sure about the models you have shared but mine were on offer for £25 from Sainsbury's I think and I can't tell the difference between them and GHDs, but buy a good hair protection spray.

Depends what her hair is like. I haven’t found anything that works like GHDs but I have very thick hair. If I get another brand then they have to be very hot to work and then damage my hair.

I've got the Remington ones, they have adjustable heat and go up to 230 degrees. I had GHDs for years but they broke early this year. I've found them great but I will caveat to say I generally use them only once a week, mainly wear my hair wavy. I would recommend them though.

I have the Remington one and I'm happy with it. I would recommend it.
I can't comment on the babyliss.

I have a had a Remington one for over 10 years it's got extremely wide plates and as I am lazy I find it brilliant( and never use the GHDs unless i need to curl my hair ) a couple of sweeps is all you need . Not the same model but it works and it's lasted really well.

Another vote for Remington - I bought them to replace broken GHDs (a gift from my lovely mum) and tbh, I don't notice any difference in their performance. Think they were mor like £40 than £20 though, but definitely worth it,

Hmm I’ve never found any Not that could touch GHDs but I’ve not tried any new models for years now.

GHDs are expensive but they last. My pair we still going after 8 years when I had them stolen during a break in.

I went through a cheap pair of straighteners a year before I bought them.

I've had two pairs of GHDs and couldn't afford to buy another pair when my last ones died, so I bought a pair of Nicky Clark ones for £30. They are great and do as good a job as my GHDs did.

My dds have had Babyliss, tresseme, Nicky clarke hairstraighteners there hair hasn't been ruined dd2 loves her nicky clarkes

Ok the most important thing is the heat. Older GHDs heat to a much hotter temp (210-230) than newer models (180ish). This was a design change by the company who say the lower temp is enough for all hair types. It isn’t though. I need over 200 to keep my super thick hair straight. In the last few years other brands have rapidly caught up technology wise and I have some £35 Remingtons which are easily the equal of my old ghds which died. I did get new ghds but sold them on as the lower temp is awful.

5-8 yrs ago the difference between cheap and expensive ones was very noticeable but now there is absolutely no news to spend £100.

Just make sure they heat up to a minimum of 200 to be effective - lots have adjustable heat now too. Remington in general are great and there will be models on offer for Christmas in Boots etc.

Typos sorry.

I've just got these www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008BDSZFK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?psc=1&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8 and am impressed so far.

I did consider getting some reconditioned GHDs but then I realised GHD has no temp control. I do not need 220 deg to style my hair.

I've had babylis ones for over 10 years

www.boots.com/remington-s3500-230-ceramic-slim-hair-straightener-10129898

These are £19.99. My sister has this model and they are excellent. Nice and slim so easy to manoeuvre and 230 heat.

Get a heat protection spray for her as well. Lee Stafford is the one I use but lots available.

Has adjustable heat too in case your dd has finer hair.

I’ve just realised Ive linked to the ones in your OP! Sorry!

I can vouch that they are good though :)

Thanks everyone for your input. My daughter's hair isn't thick or curly, it's more a case of smoothing out a few kinks. She knows to use heat protection spray and not to use them unless her hair is completely dry.

Sounds like Remington is a good option. I had Babyliss before my GHDs and tbh I don't think the GHDs are a huge amount better (but my hair is similar to my daughter's so I may just not need that much straightening 'power').

I have very thick hair and found GHDs never did as good a job as my Babyliss 230s - I needed the extra 30 degrees.

Another vote for Remington ones, I have curly frizzy hair and they do the job just aswell as the more expensive ones Iv had in the past. As other posters have said main thing is temperature and also I prefer ones that the plates aren’t too thin on babyliss I’m looking at you

www.tesco.com/direct/remington-s8500-shine-therapy-straightener/498-9709.prd?source=others

I've had these for years and they're brilliant. Hated GHDs