Cloud Nine straighteners

My hair is normally fairly straight, but since my last haircut it has a tendency to kink and stick out when I wake up in the morning. Having always had quite a sleek style it really annoyed me and I resorted to sticking my hair under the tap and letting it dry again every other day in an attempt to restyle it. This was really inconvenient and I often left the house with the ends of my hair still wet, plus it didn't always get rid of the kinks. So you can imagine how pleased I was when Cloud Nine sent me a pair of their straighteners to try out.

Cloud Nine are developed by the founders of GHDs and their motto is less heat, more style. I was sent the normal iron which is suitable for most hair types, has a temperature control feature and 'unique black plates' to add shine.

The straighteners came in a simple black and turquoise box that made it look very expensive and luxurious and included a plastic heat guard, a travel pouch and an information blooklet with instructions on how to create the different hair styles.

Because my hair is fairly straight anyway and I'm conscious about heat damage I tend to use them at 100 degrees. The temperature control bit lights up when it gets to the correct temperature (seconds for 100 degrees and about half a minute for the highest temperature). The on switch and temperature control pad are both on the inside of the straightners and I was initially worried about accidently burning myself but luckily they are both far away enough from the heated plates to prevent that.

The straightners glides through my hair easily and it has a swivel cord for ease of movement. I prefer the blowdried rather than poker straight look and it normally takes me about 5 mins to straghten the ends to achieve this. According to the box the ceramic plates contain a secret ingredient to give a shiny, natural finish and indeed whenever I use the irons I'm left with sleek and shiny hair.

As I mentioned earlier it comes with a plastic heat guard which I found really useful, because I can just slip it on and leave the straighteners on the floor without worrying about it burning anything. It also has hibernation mode to automatically turn off after not being used for 30mins and although I tend to unplug it straight after use it does give me peace of mind to know that if I have accidently left it on it won't stay on and cause loads of damage!

As well as straightening both me and my flatmates have used this iron to curl our hair. I simply wrap my hair around the iron then drag it through to the ends for a loose curl and it takes me about 10-15mins to get a full head of curls.

Overall I'm really impressed and would definitely recommend if you are looking to invest in a pair of straighteners.