Hair Straightner/Curler Suggestions?

[starrypawz]

So, I'm looking into getting some straighteners and a curling iron to use on ponies. I think I might have some but I've never really used them and don't even know if they're still in the house and if they even work.

I was looking around and found some 'mini' ones that are designed for when people travel and I think they seem perfectly pony sized. And they seem fairly cheap (15 GBP each)

But does anyone have any good reccomendations? Anything I should look out for feature wise?

[Oneleo1]

I thought heat damaged the hair on ponies? I don't know that I would use a curling iron on them.

I use curlers and hot water to set pony curls

[starrypawz]

I thought heat damaged the hair on ponies? I don't know that I would use a curling iron on them.

I use curlers and hot water to set pony curls

I usually use straws/markers. But I could do with a bit of an edge for certain ponies that really need help.

I've seen quite a few people who use heat on pony hair and it seems to work okay.  I think I've been told you need to really conditon the hair first and work quite quickly.

[Skeen]

Heat won't damage a pony's hair if you do it right. 

I use a cheap variable-temperature ceramic straightener and lots of high-quality conditioner, and I've had success with normal ponies, tinsel, clear tinsel, color-change hair, nirvana hair, and plushies/MPP's.  The trick is just to keep the hair moist and to keep the iron moving. 

[Eldarwen]

Well..  I often curl my ponies hair with my own curler. And no. I do not use water and I do not use conditioner. My curler is even straight from the 80's so you cant even decide how hot it is. Its REALLY hot. And no, ive never had any problems. No melting, no nothing. I even curled Pony Brides hair (with tinsel) and nothing bad happened.

Im not saying you should do it that way, im just saying that its not hard. 

I have some pictures of the curls I did with my curler:

Sugar Sweet with Dollyhair:
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Pony Bride with original hair:
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And my childhood Pina Colada:
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[hathorcat]

I have happily used a flat iron for straightening pony hair however I would recommend against using heat to curl hair. It works when straightening because you just keep the iron moving and therefore the hair gets hot and then cools, hot and then cools...if you keep a consistent and strong heat on it as you do when holding a curling iron in place you are very much risking melting. You may have some success but personally its not a risk I would take...but its down to individuals. As Skeen says always make sure to use as much conditioner as possible and keep the hair wet to damp.

As for straighteners I have found the most success with a cheap ceramic pair to be honest - its got 3 heat settings and cost me about £12 I think Boots.

[Chi]

I've never had a problem with melting hair but make sure it has more than one heat setting! If it only has one, it's almost guaranteed to be too hot. As for the conditioner and water technique, I've never personally tried it as I have great results without it. Some straighteners have 25+ heat settings but I'm sure around 3 settings like mentioned above is enough. I'd also suggest trying to find a ceramic/ceramic plated one over shiny metal if possible.

[starrypawz]

Thanks for the tips.
Someone on the UK ponycon fourm reccommended a particular pair of straightners, which I believe are the ones I intially saw. I'll do some searching tomorrow to see where has them at the best price and try and grab a pair.