TIGI makes shampoos with names like 'control freak' and goop with names like 'rubber rage' and 'bed head'...very trendy, cool packaging, can now buy it at CVS and Drug Emporium. I use almost nothing in my hair- well, except the cobalt-blue dye I streak over my patch-o-grays (that comes from Hot Topic, where the kids LOVE my take on 'blue haired old lady' but Tom's become a product junkie... he uses a wax pomade on his van dyke to keep it shaped, and the curl up, curl-refresher spray, and the curling balm by some no-name outfit for Wal-Mart. they're like $3 a jar, and they seem to work out just fine on our thick, course hair. I use the 'so straight' (again, I'm not looking at it, don't know who made it, but it's a silver squirt bottle) to tame my strays ( I get flyaways so bad they look like a halo) but only just around my face.... mine's more PMS than jeckyll and hyde- it's all things at once- mostly out of control. it's one of the reasons I wear it so long- and shorter, and I have to have nearly half of it to get the rest of it to lie sort of close to my head.

I have a flat iron, which I use on the lowest heat setting to give lift to the crown of my chin-length hairstyle and to flip the ends under, a final touch after applying gel and blowing almost dry. I comb out a thick section of hair, clamp it in the iron near my roots, tilt the iron down 180 degrees and gently pull the hair all the way through. My friend uses her flat iron to give a straight style to her curly hair, which I think is more common. Usually curling irons are used to give a curly style. With any of these heated tools, be very careful not to burn your fingers and remember to unplug them and put them away when you're finished (otherwise they could easily fall into the sink or bathtub and cause a shock).

I think seperate units are the way to go IMO. I have yet to find one that does a great job both ways. For a flat iron GHD is hands down the best one out there. Curling irons I don't use often enough to give an opinion. Enzo makes a nice one. Both of these are investments though that will last you years. I bought both of mine off folica online. Be sure you get coupon codes though. My hair is naturally curly and pretty difficult to straighten and the GHD makes it pin straight all day. I cannot say enough good things about it. I ad a CHI and a Solaria before it, both lasted less than a year. I am on 3 years with this bad boy and it is still ticking.

The only time I have frizz problems is when I use the tiny rollers because the curl is too tight. My hair is shoulder length and very straight so I usually use the medium and large rollers and make spiral curls. I absolutely love my Caruso. As far as holding up, mine have held up great. I bought my first on in like 1989. I was only 18 and didn't have a credit card so my mom ordered it for me off of TV. I still have it and it still works. I bought 2 more at Target a few years later (smaller travel sized ones) because they were on clearance for $5 and those still work great too. I would say that it takes me about 5 minutes to roll my hair and another one minute to take out the rollers and style it. I usually dry my hair first and put the rollers in, then let them cool/dry while I do my makeup. The only thing you have to be careful of is to not get the rollers too steamy because the steam won't evaporate as fast and will leave your hair wet. If I'm in a hurry, I roll then hit the rollers with my hair dryer to hurry up the process a bit. After I got my first Caruso my friend was so amazed that she made me try them on her hair. We used the large size on her hair and were amazed at the results. She has thick hair that is all one length and down to her waist and when I took the rollers out she had spiral curls that were shiny, springy, and curled her hair all the way up to her middle back. It was gorgeous. One other word of wisdom: when the rollers are in place, your head is HUGE, so don't try to get dressed or anything (unless you have zippers or buttons down the front) while they're on your head.