If you're like me and you love your job, the days always seem to fly by, but now it seems the weeks are rushing by too. This year seems to be disappearing fast and we've now entered the final weeks of 2009.

The Christmas countdown has begun and that means we're all hastily writing and rewriting our list of presents to request from Santa. One of the top presents on many people's lists, as it has been in the past couple of years, will be a new pair of straighteners.

It's amazing to think that until just a few years ago the only place that you would find a good pair of straighteners was at your local salon. The home versions that were available paled in comparison to the professional ones and sales of straighteners were limited.

But over the past decade there has been a huge movement towards making professional level products available for use at home. And this high street boom has seen straighteners and stylers being sold by the truckload.

These days you'd be lucky to find a household that doesn’t own at least one pair of straighteners (or more if you have teenage daughters). But if you currently don’t own a set of straighteners, or think that they're not for you, then you might be surprised at the number of styles you can achieve using them.

Far from just being used to straighten hair, as their name would suggest, a good set of straighteners can be your ticket to hot hair in a matter of minutes.

Girls love curls

Girls love curls If your hair is flat and lifeless, you can use your straighteners to style sexy curls in seconds.

Firstly, blow dry your hair and apply a product that will protect your hair from heat damage and help you achieve your style such as Redken Medium Control Spray Starch 15 Heat Memory Styler.

Gather your hair into a high ponytail and clip up this section of your hair, before separating it into three sections. With each section, begin with your straighteners at the roots of your hair and slowly rotate them while gliding them through your hair from root to tip.

For the top and front sections of your hairstyle, start the style lower down your hair to create flatter roots with soft curls at the ends.

Finally, apply a serum or defining spray to provide extra hold, using your hands at the roots, give your hair a quick ‘zhush’ to finish off the style and give it that slightly dishevelled look.

Licks and flicks

A hairstyle that is just as sexy but a lot easier to do is a simple flick. Reminiscent of icons such as Jackie Kennedy Onassis in the 1960s, and Farrah Fawcett in the 1970s, the flick hairstyle is heading back into fashion.

To begin, apply your protecting spray such as Tigi Catwalk Fashionista Smooth & Shine. Blow-dry your hair while using a brush to add volume. Again you need to section your hair into a high ponytail and place the straighteners at the roots.

Now glide them from the roots until you’re nearly at the tips, at which point you need to gently flick out away from your head.

Repeat across your head for each section and finish off by applying a fixing spray to hold your flicks in place. I'd recommend L'Oreal Tecni.Art Fix Design Spray.

Both hairstyles will take a bit of practice to perfect, and their success can also depend on how good a pair of straighteners you have. But like everything in life you pay for what you get – so if you want good straighteners that give you excellent results, make sure you butter up Santa with plenty of pies and sherry this Christmas!