This has been the best and most economical Curling Iron I have every used. I have medium thick brown hair, that waves past my bra line. In the past I thought it didn't hold curl, but with this iron my curls hold for hours. It also curls fast, you don't need to leave it on the same spot for long. I did a "ten second per curl" emergency fast curl the other day--and they held remarkably well. In that case, they didn't stay in beautiful ringlets obviously. But the waves they fell out into were wonderful and looked beautiful. I always finish with a light mist of hairspray, but the curling iron does its job on its own! :)