I’ve always been a little leery of so many of the product reviews out there on the internet. They often seem to be vague but positive, or either are obviously provided by the
manufacturer or distributor of the product and therefore are suspect in their honesty. When I agreed to start doing reviews of products and featuring them on Hairfinder.com it was with the strict understanding that I
was going to tell the truth as I see it. With that in mind, here’s my look at a product:
The product this time is the Hana Elite 1” Ceramic Flat Iron provided by Misikko Marketing. With a regular retail price of $359.99 the iron is at the high end of the price spectrum,
but Misikko is offering the iron at a 36% discount for a final online price of $229.99 so the savings is substantial.
The Iron:
The iron arrived and the first thing that got my attention was the substantial weight of the tool. The heating plates are solid ceramic with tourmaline, but the weight of the
ceramic is balanced by obviously substantial electronics in the handle portion as well.
The cord has a pivoting connect to the iron so that moving it around offers little tangling of the cord and the cord itself is long enough to allow use in places other than just the
bathroom vanity. And, of course, one must-have feature that the Hana iron gives in deluxe format is adjustable heat controls, with temperature guide. It offers a spectrum of temperature settings up to 450 degrees for
really coarse, hard-to-smooth hair. The packaging includes a small guide to help you select the right thermal setting for your hair type to prevent damage.
As for extras, one of the best things to come with the Hana Elite is the rubber safety mat that protects your surfaces from hot appliances, as well as offering protection for your
ceramic iron from impact with a potentially hard surface. This alone will make a happy addition to your collection of heat styling tools.
You should note that the ceramic plates CAN break if treated roughly, so you have to resist the urge to “click” the plates together the way you might have done with other,
metal-plated - flat irons. Particularly given the cost of the iron, being aware of the risk of damage to the iron should inspire you to exercise care when using the tool.
The Test:
Now, for the average home user, it still may seem like a lot to pay for a flat iron, so I wanted to see for myself if it was worth the price. I had specific questions and I wanted
answers: What does this iron do that the average flat iron doesn’t? Does it perform well enough to make it worth the price?
I enlisted the help of my “go-to-girl” – M. M meets very important qualifications as a test subject: she’s a good friend; she lives nearby; and she’s willing to let me do stuff to
her hair. So, we arranged a Saturday afternoon, and settled in to plan the test of this iron.
