Best Curling Iron for Fine Hair: 6 Picks Ranked by Low Heat and Barrel

Our top pick for fine hair is the Hot Tools 24K Gold Extended Barrel Curling Iron in 3/4 inch ($$, 4.2 stars, nearly 3,000 Amazon ratings): the small-barrel version of the iron hairdressers keep on the station, with a 280°F lowest setting you pick by button. A smaller barrel, a low setting you can trust, and a clamp or wand chosen for your length are the tool half of the answer; technique is the other half.

The headline from the r/finehair threads is that the iron is only part of the answer. Fine hair drops curls for two reasons that have nothing to do with brand: the strand is slippery and light, so it slides off a big barrel and relaxes fast, and it overheats quickly, so people crank the temperature and cook the curl out of it. The picks below are sorted on the three things that address that: a real low-temperature floor, a 3/4 to 1 inch barrel, and how the hair is held. Around the picks sits the buyer’s guide the generic roundups skip: where fine hair sits on the dial, which barrel size for your length, clamp or wand, and the four habits that make a curl survive past lunch.

Why fine hair drops curls, and what fixes it

Short answer: fine hair is slippery, light, and quick to overheat, so it slides off big barrels and relaxes when it is over-softened by heat. The fixes people with fine hair keep coming back to are second-day hair or a texture spray, small sections, a smaller barrel, and letting each curl cool before you touch it.

The most-upvoted “why won’t it hold” thread we read at comment depth is titled, more or less, “my hair won’t hold a curl for even 30 minutes,” and the top answers barely mention the iron. The first thing readers pounced on was that the poster brushed the curls out at all. A hot curl is soft; it sets as it cools, which is why the advice to pin or cup each curl and leave it alone until it is cold comes up in nearly every thread. The second was product weight: heavy hairspray and mousse pull fine hair flat, and the community’s swap is a light texture spray, applied before the iron, so the strand has some grip. The third was clean hair. Freshly washed fine hair has no texture to hold on to, and second-day hair with a little dry shampoo at the roots holds visibly better. None of that costs anything. Two more things trip up people new to a clamp iron. Feed the section in at the top and wind down to the ends; the most-upvoted correction in a “what did I do wrong” thread on r/finehair was that a lot of people clamp at the bottom and roll the hair up like a roller instead. And hold for seconds, not a minute: the beginner thread’s advice is five to eight seconds on a low setting, a wand loyalist says under ten, one regular who runs hers a little hotter than recommended holds for about fifteen, and the stylist who uses 400°F holds for about five. I kept seeing those four moves repeated across r/finehair before any product name came up, and that shaped how this page is built.

Then there is the tool, and here the fine-hair guide that r/finehair upvoted most makes the point bluntly: if your curls will not hold, the fix is almost always smaller sections or a smaller barrel, not more heat. Higher heat over-softens a fine strand and the curl drops faster. Small sections mean less heat is needed and the curl forms all the way through. The American Academy of Dermatology’s healthy-hair guidance points the same way from the damage side: excessive heat damages hair, so limit the iron, keep it on a low or medium setting, and use a heat protectant. Everything below follows from that.

Temperature: where fine hair sits on the dial

Short answer: start around 280 to 320°F and go up only if the curl will not hold, shortening how long you hold it as you go. A low starting point you can set precisely matters more than a high ceiling, and a fixed-temperature iron is the one design to avoid.

The community’s own range, from the fine-short-hair guide that r/finehair upvoted, is 280 to 320°F to start, with the rule to go higher only if the curl is not holding. Another reply, in Celsius, put it at 150 to 170°C, roughly 300 to 340°F, which overlaps the same band. Owners of fixed-temperature irons are the ones who complain: a popular salon iron locked at 365°F “can run hot” on very fine or color-treated hair, and on/off irons with no dial tend to sit near 450°F, which the guide calls permanent-damage territory for fine strands. The dissent is worth hearing too. A self-described hairstylist with fine 2A hair says she runs her iron at 400 to 410°F for about five seconds a section, with texture spray in first, and that lower settings do not hold on her. Another regular sits between 300 and 390°F and is not sure whether to go up or down. Our read: treat 300°F as the place to start, not a ceiling, and let a short hold at a higher setting be the exception you try last. The dermatology review Hair Cosmetics: An Overview makes two points that matter here: a hot iron only reshapes hair temporarily, and excess heat damages the fibre itself, which is why it recommends a heat protectant that spreads the heat and keeps the water inside the strand from boiling. The fine-hair part is our inference, not the paper’s: less hair per strand means less margin for error.

That is why the comparison table leads with the lowest published temperature rather than the highest. Ceramic or tourmaline-ceramic barrels are the fine-hair default, and the reason the community gives is heat behavior, not marketing: titanium gets very hot, which is why it is the professional and thick-hair tool, while ceramic heats more gently, which suits home use and fragile hair. If burning your hair is the worry, ceramic is the steer. Every clamp iron on this page is ceramic, tourmaline-ceramic, or gold-plated; none is titanium.

Barrel size for fine hair: 3/4 inch or 1 inch?

Short answer: 3/4 inch if your hair is chin-length to a lob, if your curls fall out fast, or if you want a curl that relaxes into a wave over the day; 1 inch for lob-and-longer soft curls and beachy waves. Anything above 1 inch is for loose bends on long hair, where a long barrel has its own following.

Barrel size does more for fine-hair hold than any other spec, and the thread evidence is unusually consistent. The r/finehair guide puts it plainly: short hair cannot wrap around a big barrel enough times to form a curl, so it bends a little and drops within the hour no matter how much setting spray you use. One commenter used a 1.25-inch iron on chin-length fine hair for two years, switched to a 3/4-inch ceramic barrel, changed nothing else, and called it a revelation. A bride with fine, very straight hair posted that her stylist waved her whole head with a 3/4-inch barrel and, with the colour and texture she had added, it was as if her hair had doubled in volume. Even the poster of the most-upvoted fine-hair styling video in our research says she uses a smaller barrel, a 1 inch, because it gives the curl “more of a chance to hold longer.” The logic is simple: a tighter curl has further to fall, so it relaxes into the wave you wanted instead of past it. Curl smaller than the result you want.

Where a 1-inch barrel earns its place is length. Past the shoulder, a 3/4-inch iron means a lot of sections and a springy result that takes brushing out; a 1-inch barrel makes the classic soft curl and a beachy wave in fewer passes. Two of our picks are 3/4 inch, three are 1 inch, and one tapers from 1 inch to 1/2 inch, so the lineup covers both. Past that, the long-fine-hair faction goes bigger still: one of the better-upvoted endorsements of a single iron in our fine-hair reads was for the Bio Ionic Long Barrel at 1 1/4 inches, which one commenter called great for long, fine hair and a stylist sub named as the one to want; it holds a slot in our best curling iron guide, and if your fine hair is well past the shoulder, it is the exception to the small-barrel rule. The other 3/4-inch ceramic clamp iron we shortlisted, the BaBylissPRO Porcelain Ceramic, clears our review floor, but its listing gives a 430°F maximum and no lowest setting, so it stays off a page ranked on the floor.

Clamp or wand on fine hair?

Short answer: a clamp iron first. Slippery fine hair needs tension to form a curl, and a clamp supplies it; a wand gives a softer, crease-free curl that some people with fine hair find holds longest, but you are holding the hair against the barrel yourself.

This is the split the stylist subreddit answered most clearly. Asked about fine hair that drops curls in ten minutes, the top r/AskHairstylists reply said to look for a ceramic or tourmaline iron with a clip rather than a wand, because being able to use tension while curling helps fine hair, and a wand is built to wrap with looser tension. A r/finehair owner said the same from experience: without a clamp her curls came out loose, wonky, and fell faster. That is the default we recommend, especially at chin-to-lob lengths where there is not much hair to hold. The wand faction is real, though, and it is not wrong. A clamp can leave a small crease at the ends, which shows on short hair. And the wand loyalists on r/finehair tend to curl tight on a small barrel; one, on a tapered Remington, stretches each curl as she releases it and says that is the only way her hair holds, for two to three days. So the lineup carries one wand, with the heat glove in the box, for people who already know a clamp creases on them or who want lived-in waves on longer hair. Start with the clamp if you are new to this.

1. Hot Tools 24K Gold Extended Barrel, 3/4 inch: our top pick

Best Overall Mid-range ($$)

Hot Tools 24K Gold Extended Barrel Curling Iron (3/4 in)

Best for: The fine-hair version of the iron stylists keep on the station: a 3/4-inch 24K gold barrel that grips more of each thin section, with a 280F digital floor and a 6-inch barrel that still handles long hair

4.2 (2,958 reviews)

3/4-inch 24K gold-plated 6-inch extended barrel with five digital heat settings (280F, 330F, 380F, 430F, 450F), a 2-hour auto shutoff, and a 7-year warranty

Pros

• + The 24K Gold line hairdressers have used for decades, in the smaller barrel that holds a curl longer on fine hair
• + A 280F lowest setting you select by button, not by feel, and a 7-year warranty that no other iron here matches
• + The 6-inch extended barrel wraps a full section of long hair in one pass even at 3/4 inch

Cons

• − Five fixed heat steps rather than a fine-grained dial, so if your hair wants something between 280F and 330F you round down and hold the curl a beat longer
• − A 3/4-inch curl is springy and needs brushing out for a soft wave; on long hair it is more sections than a 1-inch iron
• − The Amazon record is shared across the extended-barrel family and is much smaller than the older dial iron's 23,000 ratings (a model now unavailable on Amazon), with a 4.2 average

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Our top pick for fine hair is the 3/4-inch barrel from the Hot Tools 24K Gold line, because on fine hair the smaller curl is the one that survives the day, and Hot Tools lists five digital settings starting at 280°F. Hot Tools is also the line that comes up when people with fine hair compare notes on value. On r/Haircare, the reply to a chin-length-bob owner who hated her drugstore iron was to get the Hot Tools one and expect a huge difference; on r/finehair, another commenter said the newer Hot Tools irons work as well as a Bio Ionic or a T3 for less money; on r/beauty, a fine-straight-haired poster said her Hot Tools 1-inch works well with a thermal spray, though her flat iron still gives her the longest-lasting curl. It is the same 24K gold barrel in a 6-inch extended length, so long hair still wraps in one pass, and that 280°F floor sits right at the bottom of the community’s starting range and is selected by button rather than by feel. A 7-year warranty, against 2 years on the CHI and the T3, is the longest published on this page.

Be clear about what the endorsement is and is not. The praise above is for the Hot Tools line; no owner thread we found discusses this extended-barrel model in particular, so its slot rests on the line’s reputation, the spec, and a 4.2-star record across nearly 3,000 ratings that is shared across the extended-barrel family and is much smaller than the older dial iron’s 23,000, a model now unavailable on Amazon. The catches are the five fixed heat steps, which means hair that wants something between 280 and 330°F rounds down and holds a beat longer, and the springiness of a 3/4-inch curl, which you brush out for a wave and which means more sections on long hair. One r/finehair poster also reported an older Hot Tools coating going sticky after a summer in a drawer. At around $50 it is still the iron we would buy first.

2. Conair Double Ceramic, 3/4 inch: the drugstore pick a fine-hair thread names by size

Best Budget Budget ($)

Conair Double Ceramic 3/4 in. Curling Iron

Best for: Fine hair on a drugstore budget: the small 3/4-inch barrel grips more of each thin section and 30 heat settings let you start low, for the price of a couple of coffees

4.4 (9,982 reviews)

3/4-inch double-ceramic barrel with 30 heat settings up to 400F, a Turbo Heat boost, cool tip, auto shutoff, and dual voltage

Pros

• + A 3/4-inch barrel makes a tighter curl that tends to hold longer on fine hair than a 1-inch curl does
• + 30 heat settings are rare at this price and let you find a low temperature instead of choosing between scorching and off
• + Cool tip, auto shutoff, and dual voltage cover the basics; it is one of the most-reviewed small-barrel irons on Amazon

Cons

• − The 30 settings are numbered, not in degrees, so you learn where your hair likes it by feel rather than reading a temperature
• − A 3/4-inch curl is tight and springy on its own; you brush it out for a wave, and on long hair each section takes longer
• − Coated ceramic rather than solid ceramic, so the finish wears over a few years, and the 5-foot cord is on the short side

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If the goal is a small barrel for the least money, this is the pick, and it is one of the few products on the page someone with fine hair recommended by size. In the r/finehair beginner thread, a US poster said she uses a 3/4-inch Conair, dual voltage, and that it is very reliable for the drugstore price; the same thread’s advice to start with an affordable 1-inch ceramic iron from Conair or Remington with adjustable heat is as close to a default beginner answer as the threads give. Conair lists 30 heat settings and a Turbo Heat boost, a cool tip, auto shutoff, and dual voltage, and it carries a 4.4-star average across nearly 10,000 ratings. For fine hair the appeal is the small barrel and the fact that you can set it low at all, at a price where an on/off switch is common.

The catch is the dial. The 30 settings are numbered, not in degrees, so you never know what “level 8” is in Fahrenheit and you learn where your hair likes it by feel. People with fine hair complain about that on the same line’s 1-inch model, which one bob owner said went from barely warm to molten lava in a moment, and while that thread is about the 1-inch, the 3/4 uses the same 30-setting dial. Treat it as a low-setting iron you calibrate once, then leave alone. The coated ceramic finish wears over a few years, the 5-foot cord is short, and a 3/4-inch curl on long hair means a lot of sections. None of that changes the verdict: for the price of a couple of coffees it does the fine-hair job.

3. Remington Shine Therapy Tapered Wand, 1/2 to 1 inch: the wand slot

Mid-range ($$)

Remington Shine Therapy 1/2 to 1 in. Tapered Curling Wand

Best for: Fine hair that creases under a clamp or wants a softer, more natural curl: a clampless wand that tapers from 1 inch at the base to 1/2 inch at the tip, with a published 250F low setting

4.5 (3,335 reviews)

Clampless 1/2 to 1 inch tapered ceramic barrel with 10 digital heat settings from 250F to 410F, a temperature lock, 30-second heat-up, auto shutoff, and a heat glove in the box

Pros

• + No clamp means no crease and a gentler grip on the strand, and the taper makes a curl that is tighter at the ends than the root, which reads natural on fine hair
• + A published 250F floor across 10 digital settings, with a lock so the buttons do not creep mid-style
• + Heat glove included, which matters more on a wand than on a clamp iron

Cons

• − A wand means you hold the ends against a hot barrel by hand, so it is slower than a clamp iron and takes a few sessions to get right
• − The taper is a feature and a limit: every curl is tighter at the tip than at the root, so a uniform classic curl is not this tool's job
• − The argan-oil-and-keratin infused coating is Remington's marketing line; treat it as a ceramic barrel and nothing more

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For people who already know a clamp creases on them, or who want the lived-in wave a wand makes, this is the wand pick, and it is here on the strength of its spec sheet more than a fan club. Remington publishes the temperature range, 250 to 410°F across ten digital settings, which gives it the second-lowest published starting point on the page, and it has a temperature lock so the buttons cannot creep mid-style, a 30-second heat-up, and a heat glove in the box. That glove is not a bonus on a wand; the r/finehair guide’s line is that finger burning is a real risk without one. The barrel tapers from 1 inch at the base to 1/2 inch at the tip, which is close to the shape the wand faction describes: curl tight on the narrow end, then stretch the curl as you release it. It carries a 4.5-star average across more than 3,300 ratings.

The endorsement is for the shape, not this exact model. The r/finehair poster who says a tapered Remington wand is the only tool that has ever held on her, for two to three days, was using Remington’s Pearl ceramic 1/2-to-1-inch wand, and we found no owner thread on the Shine Therapy version; it earns its place on the published floor and its review record. A wand is also slower and takes a few sessions to get right, every curl is tighter at the tip than the root by design, and the argan-oil-and-keratin “infused” barrel is Remington’s marketing line. Treat it as a ceramic barrel with a good low end and a glove.

4. CHI Tourmaline Ceramic, 1 inch: the lowest published floor

Best for Color-Treated Premium ($$$)

CHI Tourmaline Ceramic 1 in. Curling Iron

Best for: Fine hair that needs a low starting temperature you can trust: CHI publishes a 160F minimum on this digital 1-inch iron, the lowest floor in our lineup, with a 410F ceiling that is plenty for fine hair

4.5 (3,766 reviews)

1-inch tourmaline-ceramic barrel with digital temperature control from 160F to 410F, 30-second heat-up, 1-hour auto shutoff, 9-foot swivel cord, and a 2-year warranty

Pros

• + A published 160F minimum with digital control, so a fine-hair user can start far below the 300F rule of thumb and work up only as far as the curl needs
• + The highest star average among the clamp irons in our lineup, at 4.5 across more than 3,700 ratings
• + A 9-foot swivel cord and a 1-hour auto shutoff on a salon-brand build with a 2-year warranty

Cons

• − A salon-brand price for a spec sheet that, floor aside, is close to the budget irons, and no fine-hair owner thread on this exact model turned up in our research; it earns its slot on the published floor and its review record
• − It tops out at 410F, which suits fine hair but is below what thick or coarse hair sometimes needs to set
• − A 2-year warranty against Hot Tools' 7-year cover at a lower price

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CHI is here for one number. Its spec sheet lists a 160°F minimum with digital control up to 410°F, which is the lowest published starting point of any iron we compared, and a 410°F ceiling is plenty for fine hair. For someone whose hair is fine and also bleached or color-treated, and who wants to start far below the community’s 280°F band and creep up in small digital steps, that range is the whole argument. It heats in about 30 seconds, shuts off after an hour, has a 9-foot swivel cord, and carries the highest star average among the clamp irons on this page, 4.5 across more than 3,700 ratings.

We could not find a fine-hair owner thread on this model, so the pick stands on the published floor and the review record, and we would rather say that than imply a following. The other catch is price. It sits in the premium band for a spec sheet that, floor aside, is close to the budget irons, its warranty is 2 years against Hot Tools’ 7, and a small r/beauty thread about a different CHI iron was lukewarm and pointed back to Hot Tools. If the 160°F floor is not the thing you need, the Hot Tools above does the job for less.

5. T3 SinglePass Curl X, 1 inch: the premium the community names

Best Premium Premium ($$$)

T3 SinglePass Curl X 1 in. Extra-Long Barrel Curling Iron

Best for: The premium pick the fine-hair community names: nine digital heat settings, a clip designed not to crease, and an extra-long 1-inch ceramic barrel, for people who curl often and want the most precise heat control money buys

4.2 (1,426 reviews)

1-inch CeraGloss ceramic barrel, 6.5 inches long, with nine digital heat settings, T3's ProGlide no-crease clip, and a 2-year warranty

Pros

• + Nine digital steps give the finest heat control in our lineup, and the r/finehair guide praised the previous SinglePass Curl's 260F floor and T3's adjustable heat
• + The ProGlide clip is built to grip without creasing, which is the one clamp complaint fine hair raises most
• + The 6.5-inch barrel wraps a full section of long hair in one pass

Cons

• − T3 does not publish the lowest setting: its own page lists nine settings and no temperatures, and Amazon's spec table shows only a 410F maximum, so the exact floor is something you confirm in the box
• − The extra-long barrel is awkward on a pixie or very short bob, where you are wrapping two inches of hair around six inches of iron
• − Several times the price of a capable ceramic iron, a 2-year warranty against Hot Tools' 7, and a community durability report of an earlier T3 dying at nine months

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When fine-hair threads name an expensive iron worth its price, T3 is the name. The r/finehair guide’s verdict on the older SinglePass Curl was that its heat settings start at 260°F, which the writer called safe for fine hair, with consistent hold and real temperature control, unlike a fixed-temperature competitor. A self-described hairstylist in another thread singled out T3 for adjustable temperature, and a stylist on r/hairstylist said her co-worker’s T3 heats fast, with a tight spring and a smooth barrel. The Curl X is the current version: an extra-long 1-inch ceramic barrel, nine digital heat settings, and a clip T3 designed to grip without creasing, which answers the one clamp complaint fine hair raises most. It carries a 4.2-star average across about 1,400 ratings and a 2-year warranty.

The reasons it is fifth, not first: T3 does not publish the Curl X’s lowest setting: its own page lists nine settings and no temperatures, and Amazon’s spec table shows only a 410°F maximum, so the exact floor is something you confirm in the box; the 6.5-inch barrel is awkward on a pixie or very short bob, where the guide calls the long barrel unnecessary and one commenter put it as wrapping two inches of hair around four inches of iron; and it costs several times what a capable ceramic iron does. Durability is the other caveat, since our generic curling-iron research turned up a T3 that died at nine months, and one owner with fine straight hair of T3’s interchangeable kit says her hair gets stuck in it. If you curl often, want the finest heat control, and have lob-length or longer hair, it earns its keep. Otherwise the money is better spent higher on this list.

6. Beachwaver B1: the rotating iron, with the fine-hair split stated

Premium ($$$)

Beachwaver B1 Rotating Curling Iron (1 in)

Best for: Anyone who cannot hand-wrap a curl or feels nervous around a hot barrel: you clip the section and the motor rotates the hair around the barrel for you, and its 290F low setting is a real fine-hair starting point

4.4 (7,580 reviews)

Motorized rotating 1-inch ceramic barrel with three heat settings (290F, 350F, 410F), auto shutoff, and dual voltage

Pros

• + The barrel rotates the hair for you, which helps if hand-wrapping a curl has never worked or a hot barrel makes you nervous
• + A 290F low setting is a real option for fine hair, and there is auto shutoff plus dual voltage
• + A recognized brand (the rotating original) with a real following, not a generic listing

Cons

• − The rotation has a learning curve: clip on the wrong side or fight the spin and you get tangles, and some owners give up in the first week before it clicks
• − Fine-hair owners on Reddit are split on it, and the recurring complaint is that the ends get curled first and drop by midday while the top holds; the clamp is also short, which slows things down
• − It tops out at 410F and costs more than a manual iron that makes the same curl once you have the technique

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The Beachwaver is here for a specific reader: the one who has never got the hang of wrapping a curl by hand. You clip the section at the end, press a button, and the barrel rotates the hair up for you, slowly and only while you hold the button. Beachwaver lists three heat settings starting at 290°F, which is a real fine-hair starting point, and it has auto shutoff. Some people with fine hair love it, and one owner, whose hair has natural curl underneath, says the curls stay for days.

This is also the most divided pick on the page, and fine-hair threads lean against it. A four-iron owner says flatly that she hates hers. Another is selling hers because the ends get curled first, so by noon the bottom section was straight while the top held. Others report a gross texture on soft, slippery hair, curls that looked great and did not last, and a clamp so short that curling takes far longer than it should. It tops out at 410°F and costs more than a manual iron that makes the same curl once you have the technique. Buy it if the motor solves your actual problem, and treat the first week as a learning curve; if you can wrap a curl by hand, the Hot Tools or the Conair above will serve you better.

Is a premium iron worth it for fine hair?

Short answer: money buys precise low heat, a numbered readout, even heat, and a warranty. It does not buy hold. People with fine hair who own premium irons still lose curls in an hour when the technique is off, and the community’s consistent value line is that the current Hot Tools irons do the job of the salon brands for less.

The threads do not flatter the expensive irons. One fine, bleached-hair owner uses the Bio Ionic long-barrel iron and says the curls never last past an hour; another tried an expensive air styler and the curls did not last; a stylist’s blunt summary of air stylers on fine hair is that the style lasts an hour if you are lucky. What the premium irons do give you is the thing this page is built around, a low floor you can set exactly and trust to stay put, plus a build that should outlast a bargain iron whose coating wears and whose element can drift hotter with age. Whether that is worth it depends on how often you curl. If it is daily, the digital control and the warranty pay for themselves; if it is date nights, a $20 to $50 iron with a small barrel and a low setting, used with the four habits in the first section, gets you most of the way there. The generic version of this question, for all hair types, is in our best curling iron guide.

Or skip the iron some days

Heat is still heat on fine hair, and the AAD’s advice to use hot tools less often applies most to the hair with the least mass to spare. A surprising number of r/finehair regulars get their longest-lasting curl from a flat iron, ribbon-style; it is a technique to learn, not a tool to buy. And one of the most-upvoted posts on r/finehair in our research, with more than a thousand upvotes, was someone with fine hair whose hair would not hold a hot-tool curl and shockingly did hold a heatless curling set overnight. Keep the iron for the days you want a faster or tighter curl, put a heat protectant on every time, and give a texturizing spray a try before you reach for a hotter setting; grit is what fine hair is missing, not heat.