Andrew Thompson

Fair point. Curly here and I ran into the same tugging. What helped was prepping the shape before heat. Let your that model dry fully, then stretch the curls a bit first with your hands so each section lays flatter. When you straighten, start a fraction below the roots, keep a light tension on the ends, and move at a steady pace. One slow pass is better than two quick ones. Hurts less and looks smoother. Watch your wrist so the plates stay parallel to the strand the whole way down. If the corners angle in, they bite. Drop the temperature until it just barely gets you straight and resist twisting at the ends. If it still nips even with careful technique, inspect for rough edges and stop using it if you find any. Not worth a snapped strand.

Small apartment trick that helped me was to make the fronts look like a wall of spines. keep them packed end to end and align them with the shelf edge & then I lower each shelf so there is enough headroom which means less dust lands on the top edges and I noticed less cleaning overall. I also moved the whole case a bit away from the HVAC and that stopped the constant dusting cycle. I wipe the shelves and spines once a week with a clean cloth. For page edges I hold the book closed and use a soft brush from spine out to the fore edge. Shiny jackets can handle a cloth barely dampened with water then a dry wipe right away. Paperbacks with matte finishes only get dry cleaning. If you have leather, a tiny bit of pH balanced leather cleaner after a spot test is the safest route and household solvents are a hard no. Dust hates a routine.

Look at the mechanism first... The easiest folds use a single obvious motion that pulls the frame inward and catches an auto lock without needing a second hand. If you have to press two tiny buttons in sequence or kick something near a wheel & that will get old fast. Too many steps. Test it one handed while your other hand stays busy. Fold while walking a few steps, then open without setting it down. The action should be smooth with a firm stop when it locks. Point the front wheels straight before folding so it closes cleanly, and compare another floor unit if the hinge feels sticky.