Sigh.

Chi flat irons are the best there is. I love using a Chi on my hair... it makes such a difference. Gee, I sure wish I had one.

I got an email today saying that the flat iron I got a while back was a counterfeit.

I was surprised -- not that the iron was fake, because I already knew (I kept it because although it's not as good as the authentic, it's better than the one I had before, and I didn't pay much for it anyway).

The email was actually from the seller himself -- so that's why I was surprised. Usually if you buy a fake then you're doomed because the seller goes MIA after you figure it out.

I suppose that guy didn't know. He sounded embarrassed. He probably bought a whole bunch from a counterfeiter and then unknowingly sold a majillion fakes. Poor guy. I'm really impressed that he contacted his buyers to let them know and to extend them refunds.

Just in case you ever are looking into buying a Chi flat iron -- DON'T buy it online. 99% of them are fake. Plus I discovered today that it's illegal to sell them online. Farouk only allows them to be sold in professional salons -- anything is against the law. So if you didn't buy yours there, it's probably not real. Lame. Even worse, because the fakes are more likely to be shoddily made -- they can be dangerous.

I'm probably going to keep the fake flat iron though because... well, I don't have another one. And even with the refund I won't have anywhere NEAR the amount of cash I need to go buy myself a real one. So I'd just have slightly more cash and zero flat iron. Bah. I'll just keep the dang thing.

So... if you want to drop by a professional salon and buy me a real Chi flat iron (almost $200... dismay!), I'd appreciate it. Don't buy from anywhere else or you'll almost definitely be scammed. Just fyi.