hair straightening gel?

i've tried the generic brand of hair straighteners for my blow dried shoulder length hair..i went to Sally Beauty, and feel i'm not really buying a quality product...everytime i buy something from them, i find there's something better..

i went out and bought the Joico K pak, and found out that Apoghee is better - stinky, but better, i got talked into buying a cheap flat iron from them that broke after the 2nd use, I also bought a hard bonnet hair dryer from them, the last time i was ready to use it, after about 1 year, smoke started coming from the fan unit..they don't sell apoghee at Sally Beauty...I also got talked into buying a generic hair straightening gel, but my hair starts going back to a curl pattern about a few hours after i've used this, plus flat-ironed..maybe i should buy the real Paul Mitchell product? or is there anything better?