I need help with hair straighteners

Years ago my sister gave me a hair straightener for my birthday. Possibly she thought it was about time I added one to my tools to assist with bad hair days.
There was nothing fancy about it, just a basic model and it worked ok - if you used it. Took me a couple of years to really give it a go.
I did use it for dance concerts and attempted to get a few curls with it but it just didn't work, the edges were too rough and it was too big.
Last year with yet another dance concert that needed Popps with a head of curls I sought out the help of my Mother in law. She is a big user of tools to get your hair under control and I tried out a few of her sleek and hotted up weapons of a bad hair day.
I couldn't get control of them at all, however she also had a new tool of mass frizz destruction.
The INSTYLER.

It had been a gift from Father in Law Huey. FiL Huey had seen this gadget and thought it looked pretty useful.
I couldn't get it to provide curls in Popps' hair but I was intrigued with this thing.
I wanted to see if I could get it to work for me. Surely this is the tool I have been looking for.
Let me tell you to save your money. The Instyler looks good but do not let this fool you.
The barrel is huge and it is hot, unlike on straightening irons, there is no plastic backing on any side so you regularly touch the edge of an ear or the back of your neck and you BURN THE SKIN FROM YOUR BODY.
I decided it was because my hair was too short so it couldn't get around the barrel, but as my hair has grown I have still burnt myself with this thing. I have also burnt the bathroom bench because when you put it down, the freaking hot over 400 degrees barrel just touches whatever it lays on. I have burnt face washers and melted plastic bottles with this thing.
Worst of all, the Instyler has made me develop OCD. It is so so hot and burns so quickly that I keep worrying about if I have turned it off. One day I actually made Mr H leave work and drive home to check it was off for me, I was so worried about burning the house down. There is no auto switch off on this thing, it is just a damn hot rod of stress. It also takes a really really long time if you want to style your hair with this thing. Apparently it takes you from damp to wet hair, but that is only if you are happy to take about an hour just to dry your hair.
So it is time I admit defeat, accept that I can not master the Instyler and return it to MiL Huey. At the same time I need to invest in my own decent hair straightener, because although I might have the straightest hair on earth, short hair needs assistance in the morning to make it work ready, as I barely have any skin left on my ears as it is, I need something a bit safer to use, and I would really like an auto safety switch too.
Do you have a hair straightener, is it safe for me to use? Would love your recommendations.