CHI vs FHI

ok my lovely bag ladies. this is what im pulling out my bag today.
the flat iron battle. DUM DUM DUM(did that sound scary enough? lol). today i want to talk about the importance of a good salon quality flat iron and the difference between the CHI and the FHI when it comes to my hair.
lets begin class.
ok for years i was using the same gold n hot chunky flat iron. i didnt mind the hair snagging and pulling, didnt mind the burnt smell and didnt mind the fact that i was damaging my hair. i didnt mind because i didnt know any better. i was using this flat iron every single day to get my thick hair straight and then bend the ends. but thats my fault. now that i know the differnece between cheap flat irons that push their coat plates and real quality ceramic irons i will never go back to gold n hot.
ceramic irons do not have to be pricey to give salon results. im sure you could find a good flat iron for $60 bucks but i chose to spend a little more because i wanted to get it right the first time. i did my internet research before i made a purchase, to put my mind at ease. ceramic flat irons are supposed to be less damaging on the hair. and some of these name brand irons even clame to lock in moisture. while the coated plates of a less than great flat iron only flatens the hair(instead of smoothing) and possibly causing dryness.
the first salon flat iron i purchased was the pink FHI technique. it was cheaper than the CHI and i heard they were made by the sme company so i figured, what the heck go fo it. the first couple of times i used it my hair was so silky smooth and soft. then i noticed over time my hair would have that dry ashy look to it. this was the case even though i would moisturize and seal 2x daily. this flat iron was drying my hair out. o dont know how or why but over time i could not retain moisture using this iron. with that said i decided to use it on my mom's hair, which is a type 4b(and thick as nails) and it worked amazingly. her hair was silky and NOT ashy. i have been using it ever since and her hair seems to love it.
the second quality flat iron i purchased was a CHI original. i had been wanting this flat iron for a while but knew that my pj-ness(product junki-ness lol) was getting out of control. well when Beauty First had a 20% off sale and i had a coupon i ran to the store and came out with a pretty gold cylinder shaped bag with my flat iron inside along with 2 CHI nail polishes. who knew CHI made nail polish???? any who i couldnt wait to get home to do my hair. i instantly noticed how the CHI just sliped down my strands so easily. no snagging at all. and my hair wa straight with the FIRST pass through. that was back in November of 2008. i have been using this flat iron on my hair once a week ever since and i have not experienced any dryness, breakage nor split ends from this iron. i love this iron so much that if it decided to be a butt hole and break i would run to the store and repurchase. i guess i should also tell you that my hair is a 3b. i am relaxed but have been transitioning for a long time so that may help some of you if you are considering getting a flat iron.