Review: HSI 1″ Flat Iron Hair Straightener
21 Jun
I have been on the hunt for an amazing flat iron for months. I think I probably spent a good 5 or 6 hours scouring the interwebz for reviews and what not. One brand that kept turning up in my search results was HSI. They have the #1 rated flat iron sold on Amazon. That is seriously something to boast about because Amazon reviewers don’t sugarcoat ish.
4/11/13 EDIT: Some readers pointed out that the flat iron I’m reviewing is the 2nd Generation Worldwide Edition, and the popular model sold on Amazon isn’t. The only difference I can find between the two is that the Worldwide edition is dual voltage. Both go to 410F, both are 100% ceramic. One thing I noticed on both irons, the product descriptions say the heat temperature begins at 240F, but you can clearly see from my photo that the low setting is marked at 140F.
I don’t use hot tools on my hair very often, so I wanted a flat iron that was 100% ceramic (not just plated) with an adjustable heat setting. I wanted it to have rounded floating plates so I could also use it to do flips and curls. My hair is actually pretty straight when air-dried naturally, but if I sleep on it wet then it dries with a wave and causes some ugly hair bump things on the top of my head.
I’m VERY happy with my HSI Flat Iron. It’s tourmaline Ceramic, which means it’s a gentler form of heat that helps eliminate frizz and puts an awesome shine into my hair. The plates are 100% ceramic, not just ceramic plated, making this iron much higher in quality than your average supermarket flat iron. The ceramic plates are floating and curved, so I can easily flip my ends and create gorgeous barrel curls.
If you have extremely curly/kinky hair, you will appreciate that high heat setting. One feature I hope they implement soon into their design is a digital heat gauge that tells you exactly what the temperature of the iron is. Currently it’s a little knob and it’s a bit difficult to tell what temperature you’re at unless it’s all the way up or all the way down.
This iron heats up very quickly, probably 60-90 seconds or so. The package that I received included a small jar of leave-in argan oil hair treatment, a gorgeous red silk pouch to store the flat iron in, and a black glove to protect your hand during styling.
You can pickup the 2nd Generation Worldwide flat iron from HSI’s website or the non-worldwide edition from Amazon.
Disclosure: This product was sent to me for consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
Chelsey. Makeup lover. Mastiff momma. Geek at heart. Collector of all things girly. 
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Thanks for this review, I’ve been looking for a good one, my hair is very frizzy. I usually get them from Marshall’s or TJMaxx, but I have this little problem of breaking them easily. I went through three within a year. This last I got is BaByliss and it’s okay, but not my favorite, when I break it, I will try HSI! :)
I know what you mean Lola. When I buy hair tools at TJMaxx they usually break within a few months. I’ve been using my HSI iron a few times a week and I seriously love it more and more each time lol. I use it to curl my ends and my hair actually STAYS curled all day with no product added.. which is a miracle with my hair haha.
Chelsey recently posted..Review: Conair You Reel 1875 Watt Tourmaline Ceramic 2-in-1 Styler
The amazon price is a great deal! A good straightener is a must!
Yeah it really is! I was pricing out Remington flat irons and they ran about the same price and weren’t as good quality as the HSI flat iron.
hi. a question, does it straighten hair as flat as GHD?
because my hair is so thin and and i cant use ghd. it look awful on my hair. basically i just want it frizz free, dont need to be as straight as flat head
thanks
I’ve never tried a GHD :( I think if you do quicker passes through your hair with this one you won’t get a super flat look.
I noticed on the picture that the dial starts at 140 F but in your review you have mentioned 240 F. Maybe I did not read the picture correctly. Could you tell me what is the minimum temperature?
Thanks! I appreciate it!
Ooooo I didn’t notice that! I took the temperature directly from the product info I had but I would probably go with what is printed on the flat iron itself.
Hi there,
Just a clarification for those reading your blog. You were sent the “Worldwide Edition” which is NOT what’s being sold on Amazon.com. Take a look at the front of the boxes (yours and theirs) and then read the descriptions. Amazon.com says nothing about it being 100% ceramic. You have a different version, probably newer. Also, if you go to HSI’s website, you’ll see that the “Worldwide Edition” is a 2nd edition, while the one on Amazon.com doesn’t list it as any edition. I’m sure it’s a 1st. And last, your review says the max temp is 420 degrees when your photo shows 410 degrees. Good review, but the info isn’t correct.
Hi Gussaroo – thanks for pointing out the “Worldwide” edition clarification for me! I edited my post to reflect that detail. As far as I can tell, both irons claim to have solid ceramic plates and go to 410F. When I wrote my review I was going off the spec information I was given my the company representative. The only difference I found is that the Worldwide version is obviously dual voltage. Other than that they seem to be the same.
I saw a Groupon for this flat iron today. 45 bucks, I think! http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-hsi-iron-1-in?c=all&from_gifts=true&p=4
Thanks Bec!
And FYI, the flat iron on groupon is the 2nd Generation version that’s featured in this review :)