You are touching on two of my areas of semi-expertise.
Home hair color is super easy and there are many good choices. I highly recommend Loreal Feria, for great colors and easy to use product. Stay within a shade of your natural color for most fool-proof results.
Flat irons. I cannot say how much better the hotter (so usually more expensive) ones work. I love my Solano but I had a Chi at one time also.
A friend of mine just bought a ceramic iron at Overstock.com for 50% off - it arrived 2 days later. Might be an option if you don't want to spend too much money!
I second the recommendation of Natural Instincts for Melissa, especially if you plan on getting professional color in 6-8 weeks. I use Natural Instincts "Spiced Tea" when I can't get to the salon for more than 5 weeks, and it works great for blending away my blonde roots while only coating the shaft, so the hair beneath is not damaged or unable to properly pick up the permanent dye.
thanks, Real Girl!! and to the other readers for your good advice! Overstock.com, here I come. 
Thanks for the great ideas. I've never gone black or bleached but I like the Natural Instincts recommendation to tide me over without totally frying my hair!
I second that you should definitely stick to either L'Oreal or Clairol in terms of DIY hair colour - as well as Clairol Hydrience, their Nice n' Easy range is good too. As for L'Oreal, Preference and Feria are you best options. HOWEVER, don't make the mistake I did and try L'Oreal Couleur Experte, which is a two-part dye so you can give youself "multi-tonal highlights". Well, to put this bluntly - it turns your hair orange. Don't go there. I'm totally against other home highlighting kits I don't believe any of the brushes/wands included will give you the right look. So definitely stick to single-process dye.
I love my Sedu Iron. Expensive, but it's the best, and longest lasting, one I've had.
i get my hair dyed for free since i'm a tester for clairol, and i would suggest their nice 'n' easy line. tho, melissa, if you also have a crazy amount of hair, consider using more than one box - clairol uses at least two on my wild curls.
or find out if a salon around you looks for hair models - a little more work, but so much nicer to have it professionally applied! (for me, it's an imperative! since i am a total klutz and should NEVER again be allowed to alter my poor hair on my own...)
I started using Natural Instincts at the recommendation of a friend, who said that she never had roots show when she used it. And it's true. I dye mine a bit darker than my natural shade, so it lasts more than the 30 shampoos or whatever they say. But I've loved it! No roots! Not permanent!
Let me wholeheartedly recommend L'oreal Color Spa hair color. Perfect for covering grays, not permanent, hair still feels great.
I got this recommendation from Lucky magazine and have loved it ever since.
I can recommend the Desert Sunrise color-- i used it for about 9 months ina row, which is a long time with the same hair color for me. Not too Lifetime!
Hey - the Random Blog Oracle has spoken through this post today! Go ahead, click...
Sorry for no update last night!
I hope to wax lyrical over heat protectant tonight, but after walking 2.5 miles home from work (damn you, inert subway!) in the cold, I may just be too darn exhausted.
Oh, and my hair will be brittle, knotty crap.
Grumble.
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