Hot Mama Daily

Solia vs. Sedu: The Flat Iron Battle Rages On

by Pascalle on November 19th, 2007

Not too long ago I told you gals about a flat iron purchase I’d made. Originally, I purchased only the Solia 1 1/4″ flat iron.

I had no idea up until recently about the kinda/sorta “battle” (and I use the term very loosely) between two major flat iron manufacturers: Solia and Sedu.  So, me being the curious consumer/blogger that I am, I decided to buy BOTH and put both to the challenge of taming my lion’s mane. LOL! Yeah, I know, I’m nuts. But I figured it’d make a GREAT post for you guys (I know, I know, you can thank me later…)

What makes these flat irons so different? It’s the “tourmaline plates”. Tourmaline plates? you ask? Yeah. I said the same thing when I first read it. Here’s the definition per an article I found (also comparing the 2 irons):

“…tourmaline gives off negative ions, which have been shown to lock in moisture into the hair follicle and help to straighten hair without excessive heat damage.”

Cool. My hair is a FRIED as they come. I have not had my hair professionally done since my baby shower LAST FALL. Yes. You read right–as in a year ago. *Le sigh* So, I’ve been doing the wash and go thing for the past year. And as it’s starting to get cold ’round where I live, it’s time for a blow dry & flat iron. I’m always up for a challenge. You ready? Here we go!

Sedu is apparently a world-wide known flat iron brand, used by celebrities and celebrity hairstylists. It’s been mentioned it many national magazine publications, and because of that, you pay a higher price for it. A Sedu 1 1/2″ flat iron will cost you around $130.00 USD. Ouch! Yes.

Solia on the other hand, uses the same technology, and costs less: the 1 1/4″ model costs $88.00 USD.

I could get into the nitty gritty details on the differences, but why when you can read all about the smaller differences right here. You gals want to see PICS! LOL! I know.. I know…

So. What did I do. I bought a clarifying shampoo so that I could start fresh. I had gel, conditioner build-up which I wanted to get totally rid of. And here is my hair fresh out of the shower (towel dried), with ZERO products in it:

I use a professional blow dryer to blow my hair normally. Personally, I SWEAR by Solano Professional Blow dryers. I have the ‘Top Power 3200′ model.

Love ‘em. It’s what all my hairdressers in NYC used. They’re around $80.00-$100.00 USD but worth every single penny (yes, you can find them on eBay too *wink*).

As I knew I would be using a flat-iron, I did not blow dry in great detail. Just enough to dry out my hair before using the flat iron. Hence the reason for the puffiness in my hair in between:

UGH! I know!! My ends look TERRIBLE! Definitely time for trim, Pascalle. I know.. I get it. I look like a hippie, don’t I? (Nevermind that you can see my shower curtains in the background. Oy. I’m a hot mess!)

Anyhoo! OK. So after this was done, I used Neutrogena Triple Moisture Healing Shine Serum specifically on the top/exterior and ends of my hair.

This is a very important step! You want to make sure that you protect your hair from the damage of heat styling (specifically since in my case I did a double heat whammy with blow drying and flat ironing). Find the serum that works best for you, but definitely protect your hair before heat styling. You don’t want to fry your hair. OK. Let’s move on…

I used each flat iron on each side of my head.

I was planning on cutting bangs for myself (I knowwww, I told y’all I’m crazy!) so I put that part back to save for last. Keep in mind the pic above is ONLY a portion of my hair. The rest was not done just yet. Judging from the, the Sedu side, it looks flatter and smoother than the Solia side, doesn’t it?

But that was shortlived. Here is the full result:

Now, call me blind, but I DON’T see a difference with each side… do you?

Here’s each side:

I honestly don’t see a difference. For the price difference I expected the Sedu side to show a HUGE difference. To me, there isn’t a huge difference. So I later styled my hair and braided my hair into a ponytail and played with my new bangs. I love ‘em!

That night I put my hair into a loose ballerina hair bun and wrapped my hair in a satin scarf. I do the bun to give my hair some loose waves and body. It looks messy here, but you get the idea…

So that’s that!

What do you all think? I really want to hear from you all. Did you see a difference in either side? Did it look the same? Obviously I won’t keep both irons, so I want to hear from you!!! Help a sistah out.. ;)

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POSTED IN: Hair Care, Product Review