Many of the most popular new hair styles feature curls. The easiest way to create these styles at home is to use a curling iron. A good quality curling iron is important in creating an evenly curled style in straight or even in curly hair. A curling iron can make the difference in the time it takes to create the style. If you iron is not hot enough, you will spend more time on each curl and sometimes have to return to a curl to redo it. If you iron is too hot you may cause damage and end up with dry frizzy hair.

I decided to road test the Rusk Professional Ceramic Curling Iron. I am very impressed with ceramic irons. Ceramic eliminates the hot spots that are often found on metal barrel irons. A hot spot is a place where the heat is more concentrated than in other areas of the iron barrel. Hot spots cause damage to hair by over heating parts of the curl while under heating others.

Ceramic is also known to emit negative ions when it is heated. Negative ions assist in the break down of bacteria build-up and are said to enhance and renew the vitality of hair.

The Rusk iron has 30 temperature settings so it can be adjusted for any hair texture.
• Numbers 1 to 9 are the coolest settings. They are for fine hair that responds easily and quickly to the curling iron.
• Numbers 10 to 21 are for naturally curly hair and for medium texture hair.
• Numbers 22 to 30 are the hottest settings. These settings are for coarse and hard to curl hair.

This iron has ‘instant on’ technology. It is fully heated within one minute after the power switch is turned on. This feature requires many hairdressers (me in particular) to change some old habits. When I am at work, I’m used to leaving my curling irons on all day so that they are ready to be used whenever I need them. ‘Instant on’ irons are meant to be turned off when not in use. Leaving them on for an extended period of time may cause them to burn out.

When I used the Rusk iron, I found that it made nice curls smoothly and easily. The hair slid easily around the barrel and the curls were formed quickly. I did not have to re-curl any of the curls. I used the spring grip iron that also features a cool tip, making it easy to manipulate the iron.

Another feature of the iron is a long electrical cord. I love that. Short cords are irritating as they hinder movement. Long cords are a must for professional work and are handy for home use too. This cord swivels a full 360 degrees to prevent twisting.

I recommend this iron for salon or at home use. It is easy to use and gets the job done in a minimum amount of time. The Rusk Professional Ceramic Curling Iron is reasonable priced for the quality of the iron.