Lots of people want to know why there is so much hype around the Hot Tool collections for hair and beauty tools. If so many people are searching “is hot tools a good styler?” on the magic box then perhaps it is worth looking into the successes of the company and some of the not so great steps they have taken thus far. Therefore this is an expose of one of the world’s leading flat iron power houses in completion with top brands like CHI, GHD, Paul Mitchell, BaByliss Pro, CROC USA, and EVA NYC among others.
Now, you may wonder why we picked the Pink titanium straightener and professional black gold flat irons by the same maker. While they are nowhere near the crème de la crème of industry, these two straighteners have become the staple of salons across the globe as they are cheap and effective for taming all types of hair. We decided that the Hot Tools models must be doing it right for the people and it was about time we looked into two of their average models.
These straighteners are mid-range if you will and some have excellent qualities and features that makes some expensive brands look like a waste of time and money. The brand is one of pioneer brands in the hair styling industry and they have endured with rigorous research and development of cool new technologies for sustainable styling. The only demerit of the hot tools array of products is that they are not insanely overpriced as their fancy named counterparts.
As a matter of fact, the Hot Tools brand has some of the most advanced flat irons in the market today with a wider variety of features and stellar performance with incredibly good results. Other than the flexibility and affordability they offer, we also love Hot Tools because of their level of precision in styling. They are built with powerful heating and also keep accurate temperature ledgers by the microsecond. They are overall good for people with tougher than normal hair and wish to get silky smooth hair with little to no heat damage.
Here we have details for you on why at first sight it easy to dismiss these fire spitting little dragons as dangerous but once you learn to tame their behavior you can do a lot of tricks with them as well.
HOT TOOLS PROFESSIONAL | HOT TOOLS PINK TITANIUM |
PROS | PROS |
Titanium and ceramic Plates which protect, smooth and shine hair. Sleek and compact design. Variable temperature range up to 455F. Advanced Multidimensional plates placement. Dual voltage support. 30 seconds heat up. Limited lifetime warranty. Professional swivel cord with 8 ft. length. | 30 second heat up. Dual voltage. Heat resistant pouch. Powerful titanium styler. Smooth styling surface for better protection. Variable temperature range up to 450F. Reasonable pricing for mid-range flat iron. Superior heat recovery technology. |
CONS | CONS |
Few online reviews. The rounded barrel will not stay upright on counter. | 2 hour auto shut feature is still too long. Prone to breakage and malfunction. |
Hot Tools Professional Black Gold Flat Iron
The Hot Tools Professional Black Gold Micro shine Salon 1” Flat Iron is a wonderful feat of engineering and design with a well-rounded body and firm grip to complement the robust heating and gliding capabilities of the main components. It opens up your opportunities for endless styles and locks in your perfect look for every occasion without causing heat and traction damage to your individual hair strands.
The Iron can recall you last preferred temperature settings so that you do not have to go over the initial configuration every other time. When you start it, it will automatically load your preferred temperature and carry on where you left off. It also comes with an ample LED temperature display which is for your peace of mind so you can always know what is going on inside your flat iron.
This flat iron is for you if you want to take the guess work out of the equation and be left with an efficient tool that gives your hair the care that it needs and to you the stunning results of precise styling with advanced heating and materials. Black Gold technology by Hot Tools will deliver on shine without harming volume and hair color creating some inspirational looks for all your friends and workmates.
The Hot Tools Pink Titanium Flat Iron
It will not stop itself from spontaneously combusting after 5 hours of idle running if you forget to unplug it but the Pink titanium straightener has a lot to offer for your daily styling needs. It may not be big on such fancy features as auto-shut but the closer look at the instruction manual and realize that the device actually comes with an extremely long auto-shut period of 10 hours. We acknowledge reports that Hot Tools actually updated this feature in later models to 2 hours which is also an awful long time to have 400 F sizzling hot metal sitting idle on the counter tops.
Technically, with the rheostat installed the straightener should be able to maintain stable temperatures and keep accidents from happening provided there are no combustible materials just lying around but it does little for our confidence when using this. Plus your mind will always play tricks on you so that you turn around and go back home to confirm even when you actually turned it off. If you are not as forgetful, you should have no trouble using this however.
Now that we have given you all the reasons not to buy this cheap flat iron here are its redeeming features and more of the bad stuff real quick. Don’t write it off just yet, read on!
DESIGN
The Hot tools set of tools for hair and beauty are affordable yet pack some serious weight in features and functionality. They are your go to solutions cheaper dispensable tech but also offer unparalleled quality of results thanks to the high level of innovation and testing done on the prototypes. The Professional Pink titanium styler for instance makes one of the hardest plate surfaces resistant to corrosion and wear or tear.
If you know your ceramics well enough then you will understand why they developed the titanium plate for a flat iron. Ceramics are not very hard and find themselves susceptible to scratches and chipping away under the heat and pressure. On the contrary, titanium is as solid as they come and gives one better glide even at old age and toward the end of a heater’s life.
Both these straighteners pack some serious heat that ensures sufficient hotness for all kinds of heat treatments but not in a reckless kind of way. It would suffice to say that titanium ages gracefully and looks almost as good as new towards the end of the equipment’s working life. The Hot Tools collection will present you with wonderful choices of stylers that seem to last forever and perhaps it is because you wouldn’t miss them so much if they died that they simply refuse to retire.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
There is not much in the way of luxuries attached to these basic models of straightener but at the very least you are always in control of your styling. They handle nicely and let you tweak the heat and also come with a fancy LED read out for your working temperatures. Titanium plates on the pink eliminate frizz simply because titanium is the best known conductor of negative ions.
VERDICT
Each of the two flat irons discussed above is absolutely stunning and yet affordable for most hair enthusiasts. There is nothing quite like a cheap and effect hair tool that you can easily experiment with or replace incase it dies on you without feeling the pinch. Of all flat irons in the same price range, Hot Tools have been voted some of the most versatile and well balanced cheap flat irons that are an absolute joy to have.
The titanium versus ceramic debate will go on forever but we say that whichever side you are on, is the right side. There is a right side for everyone and hair type should be the guiding principle. If for instance you have tough unruly hair that just won’t style with a GHD then you are better off with the furious persistent heat of the titanium plates. On the other hand if you want gentle moderate heat with intermittent bursts of fury then the titanium and ceramic blended Black Gold 1” Micro Shine Salon Flat Iron will give you the better bang for your buck.
While each of these is a great addition to your makeup or salon kit, there is one that is just ideal for you and there is one you would have to drop if this were like a competition. Their value for cash is just about the same and yet The Pink titanium seems to be slightly better than the Black gold. Ultimately if build down to your preferences and assessment of the beauty of each product because they are so similar.