It is a reflection of the modern woman ? a figure on the hunt for perfection - that the need and desire for glossy and straight hair has become so popular that the humble hair straightener has now developed a fashionista following. Fact seems to be that the modern woman desires her hair to cascade in long, glossy, smooth locks that drop without deviation towards the shoulders. Au Natural is out ? styled is in.

However, there is more to be done with the humble hot tong than people think. Whilst the majority of customers will want to be getting rid of the kinks in their hair by flattening them out with these items, if you are feeling adventurous you can also use hair straighteners to make your hair as kinky as possible.

With a quality product, preferably ceramic, such as GHD hair straighteners or ?stylers? as they are more frequently branded, you can put curls in your hair that you never thought you had. Experimentation knows no limits: crimped fringes, in 90s-block party fashion; one massive raved-up diagonal ridge across your hair; a pile of ringlets on top of your head as if you were an extra in Pride and Prejudice.

Just as with the preparation needed before straightening your hair, you have to ensure that you have washed and fully dried your hair. Further, even if you are curling it, you want to brush the hair as straight as possible, as this will make it easier to style, and get rid of any knots or tangles which were missed during washing and drying.

Once the tongs are warmed up, which only takes a matter of minutes, you are good to go. Use a mirror at the back of your head to angle your vision towards the difficult-to-see areas (and to save you charring your hands and fingers?) or alternatively, get a friend over to help. Despite some hairdressers expectations that all of their customers are practise-at-home semi-professionals you can't be expected to do it all yourself.