Conair’s affordable tool with turbo heat technology performs surprisingly well for those seeking intense heat for unruly hair
4.4 out of 5
Model Number: CD87GNR
Price: $21
Shape: traditional spring iron
Available sizes: 0.5”, 0.75”, 1”, 1.25”, 1.5”
Best for: all hair types and lengths
What we like: very fast heating, long-lasting results
What we don’t like: cheap quality material
How it stands out: appeals to the ones that are on a budget and prioritize speed
Conair offers this tool for those who want a very fast session from their curling iron. It has this unique “Turbo Heat Button” that you press which heats the barrel extraordinarily fast. We recommend this mostly for thick strands because this feature makes the tool seriously hot and fragile hair may get damaged by it. Its material is very different from what you usually find in the market, being chromium, nickel, copper, and steel. While this choice makes this tool a bit too harsh on fine strands, it also provides long-lasting results to the strands, as well as higher levels of heat. It’s a traditional spring iron and the locks that it creates are uniform and spiral shaped. It has a long holding clamp and is ergonomically designed, providing ease for both longer and shorter strands. It also achieves this by offering many different barrel widths. The smallest one at 0.5”, provides very tight curls and appeals to even the shortest hair lengths, such as bob cuts. The longest at 1.5” width is for very large and bouncy waves, which is perfect for mid-back or longer hair. This is an extremely affordable tool at $21 and unfortunately not the one with the highest material quality. This is not a tool that you choose for its durability, but rather for its speed and high levels of heat. It’s not bad with its design either, with an extra-long cool tip that makes it easier to handle and maneuver.
If you’re seeking the best curling iron for thick hair, rest assured, Conair Instant Heat Curling Iron has you covered.
Below we share our experiences with “Conair Instant Heat Curling Iron”.
Shape
Being a traditional spring Iron, the Conair Instant Heat Curling Iron comes with a holding clamp that holds the strands attached to the heated barrel while styling. This is the tool you choose if you aim to create sleek and perfect-looking locks that have a fine finish. Because the clamp keeps the holds of the strands so that all hair gets exposed to the same level of heat. The results are spirally, rather than s-shaped, which would be the case in a wand. The clamp of this tool is long and comfortable and has a good amount of pressure. This tool is also considered to be more beginner-friendly, as you won’t have to hold your strands with your hand while styling.
Size
When it comes to size, this tool is very generous with its options. It has 5 different barrel widths to choose from and no matter what your hair length is, there will be a perfect option for you.
The 0.5” one is one of the smallest numbers available in the market, and perfect for very short hair such as bob length or shorter. This size is also for the ones that are looking to create retro curls, while still adding some volume to your strands.
0.75” is close to the average size and quite versatile, appealing to shoulder length and longer hair and the ones that want relatively tighter locks that look polished.
The 1” one is the standard size in the market and for sure the most versatile one you can choose. It can create decent results on all hair lengths and can achieve the largest range of hairstyles.
The 1.25” is perfect for armpit-length or longer hair. But if your strands are shorter but you would like larger curls, you can still go for this size as it’s also quite versatile.
The largest one is 1.5” and is specifically for mid-back or longer hair. This width creates very large locks which would only appeal to longer strands. It provides great volume for the longer strands, but would not really work on short hair.
The length of this tool’s barrel is 4.9” and is considered to be a short one. This can be a positive thing if you would like a compact and lightweight tool that you can handle and maneuver easily. But for longer strands, it can get a bit frustrating to use as it covers a smaller area at one go than longer barrels.
Heat and Variable Settings
This tool has 25 different heat settings to choose from, which is very useful if you’re trying to find the perfect temperature for your needs. We don’t really recommend this tool for fine strands as its minimum temperature is too high to be safe from heat damage. But this tool can really heat up. Its maximum temperature is 390°F on the website but actually our measurements show much higher at its maximum setting, especially if the turbo heat button is used. So, this is a curling iron that can tame the unruliest strands very fast and provides very smooth results.
Material and Performance
The barrel material of Conair Instant Heat Curling Iron is the only one that we’ve come across that offers it. A mix of chromium, nickel, copper, and steel is its choice. These combinations of metals provide extraordinarily fast and long-lasting results. Its barrel heats up quickly and to high levels of heat. That said, it’s definitely not the healthiest for your strands, if you have thin or damaged hair and a ceramic alternative would be worth considering.
As we mentioned above, this tool’s material quality is not impressive. It has relatively cheap material which is expected from its very affordable price. This is a tool you choose rather for its high levels of performance. It can provide very fast and smooth results, and the style that it creates is very long-lasting, one of the best that we’ve tested. It’s not very sturdy to hold but ergonomically designed with its very long cool tip and holding clamp. Overall, its price vs performance is very high.
Features
The most outstanding feature that this tool offers is its “turbo heat button”. With this button, you basically are able to heat up your curling iron almost instantly, which means that your styling session is much faster than usual. It also heats more than other curling irons, contributing to its speed.
It comes with a 60-minute auto shut off, in our opinion, a very necessary feature that makes this tool fire-safe. It’s especially useful to have for the busy minds that don’t want to worry about forgetting their tool on.
It doesn’t have ionic technology, a feature that eliminates frizz by releasing negative ions. If you have frizzy strands, we usually really recommend seeking this feature. That being said, this tool is pretty successful at eliminating frizz. It has a super smooth barrel that lets your hair glide through the barrel and is really helpful with eliminating frizz.
It doesn’t come with a digital display or temperature count. It has manual buttons for its turbo heat and variable heat settings.
Like most curling irons, it offers dual voltage which makes sure that you can use your tool anywhere in the world. Considering the fact that this is a lightweight and compact tool, the Conair Instant Heat Curling Iron is very travel-friendly.
Ergonomics
For its price, we’re impressed by how ergonomically designed this tool is. First of all, it’s lightweight with 7.6oz. This is great, especially for the ones who struggle with holding their tools for longer periods, which is more common than you would think.
It has a slim handle with 0.88”, fitting comfortably even in the smallest palms.
It comes with an unusually long cool touch finger grip. This allows you to handle the tool much more easily and have a comfortable styling session, making it even more beginner-friendly.
It comes with an integrated counterrest to make sure that your hot tool doesn’t touch the surfaces while being used.
It’s important to note that Its cord is a short one with only 5 ft, while the average number in the market is 7.6ft. This can be a problem if your mirror is far from your plug. But otherwise, it’s still enough to be comfortable. It’s swivel which helps a lot with manoeuvring.
Price & Warranty
Conair offers a simple spring iron at a very affordable price. It actually is one of the cheapest tools on our list. While its material quality is not very inspiring, it has great speed and heating-up capacity for only $21. It also comes with a 2-year warranty which is the usual number in the market. For what it is, we think it has great value, but if you’re looking for a luxury tool, it definitely is not the right option for you. There are many alternatives in the market which are extremely durable.
Competition
If you have fine strands, a curling iron with a ceramic barrel and lower heat settings is probably what you need. Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron is one of our favorites for fine strands this year and provides a very gentle session with 245 °F minimum temperature.
