# 410 vs 450 degrees for flat iron?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/410-vs-450-degrees-for-flat-iron/655666>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 14, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/410-vs-450-degrees-for-flat-iron/655666 "2013-04-14T05:56:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/410-vs-450-degrees-for-flat-iron/655666/1 "2013-04-14T05:56:11Z")

</div>

I have a couple of flat irons now that max out at 410 farenheit. I have thick, very curly hair and always use them at the max setting. I recently have been shopping around for new ones and have found some that go up to 450 farenheit. My main concern is speed . . . when I use the 410 degree I still have to make several passes through each section of hair to get it straight. I know that 450 will be more likely to damage my hair, but I use heat protectant and overall have pretty resilient hair.

So, does anyone know if the extra 40 degrees will make an appreciable difference with regards to speed?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/410-vs-450-degrees-for-flat-iron/655666/2 "2013-04-14T14:45:41Z")

</div>

I know nothing about it, but since paper burns at 451F, 450F seems awfully hot. Not sure how much, if any, protection a “heat protectant” affords.