What it is: Hana Elite flat iron, sold through Misikko.
The really good news: remember what a mess of a review the Professional iron produced? Well, fret not — this one is (fairly) clean and simple! The iron itself looks more sleek and is weighted just wonderfully, and doesn’t feature that same problem… you know, that one where it wasn’t working the way it should. (Plus, I really prefer this mate black over the not-quite-hot but not-quite-pastel pink!) The light, this time, is constant when the iron turns on and flickers as soon as it’s reached the desired temperature.
I had my cousin, Kylie, try out this iron as well, because we thought she’d be a much better test for it than I. I’ll be using it to curl my hair, mainly, but Ky’s hair is gorgeously thick (no, seriously, it is thick,) not 100% straight, and quite coarse.
Comes with a tin, a case (pictured,) a heat-resistant (black) mat and a storage pouch.
This Hana heated up incredibly quickly (hurrah!) taking practically no time at all to reach the highest setting (450 degrees.) She only had to go over two sections of hair before being wowed, and I have to admit, it was the same for me, too!
What she liked about it: Aside from the already mentioned super-fast heating up time…
- it hadn’t the slightest trouble with her ends (she described this by mentioning that most flat irons get most of the hair shaft just fine, but have trouble getting the dry ends as straight and shiny.)
- the iron left her hair feeling incredible — which I could see, too. Talk about super-straight and silky! I mean, I’ve seen her hair flatironed before, but it looked nothing like this. (Sorry my dear! Your hair does look wonderful, but you know exactly what I mean. It looked awesome.)
- the flat-ironed effect lasted all day (no mid-day frizzing up!)
What I liked about it:
- It was also a dream for curling hair, sliding over the sections flawlessly and finishing the job super-fast.
- The curl says really well, too, holding up through an entire night out without any hairspray, and leaving enough curl and body in my hair that there’s no need for me to style it the day after, either.
The downside: This does pack a $230 price tag — ouch! Ky couldn’t compare it to other high-end flat irons (as hers have all been mid-range so far,) but to be honest… I like this iron more than any of the other irons I’ve worked with, from low-end Conairs and high-end CHIs. And for what it’s worth, after using this iron, she started asking about what kind of high-end iron I’d recommend!
A sidenote: I ended up giving her the Hana Professional, which (as I’m sure you remember) didn’t work out so well for me. However, I found that it was pretty intermittent at the beginning, working really well some days but working terribly other days. So, after some oh-so-technical shaking and hitting, it seems to be working fine — and she’s really happy with it!
The verdict? I can’t give you a verdict on this one, because the choice will be so different for each and every one of you. Do I think it’s an amazing piece of technology? Certainly. Would I, personally, spend $230 on it? No way in heck — I wouldn’t use it nearly enough to justify it.
However, if you’re going to flatiron your hair every day and want a high-quality iron, this definitely has it’s pros and cons. The “con” is the price, but everything else is a “pro.” It heats up quickly, works like a dream, has a gorgeous matte black finish and a swiveling cord (it’s a minor feature, but one that makes a major difference for me,) and its plates are both tourmaline-infused and 100% ceramic. Plus, there’s a two-year warranty, meaning if you straighten or curl your hair six out of the seven days of the week, you’d get at least 624 uses out of it…
The decision is yours!
