Heating system

An induction heating system 300 comprises an induction heating assembly 302 configured to generate varying magnetic fields and a heating target assembly 104 comprising a plurality of heating targets 104a-d, the plurality of heating targets being heatable by penetration with a varying magnetic field. A first subset S1 of the plurality of heating targets has a first resonant heating characteristic and a second subset S2 of the plurality of heating targets has a second resonant heating characteristic, and the first and second resonant heating characteristics are different. The system further comprises a controller configured to: control the induction heating assembly based on the first resonant heating characteristic to generate a first varying magnetic field to heat the first subset and control the induction heating assembly based on the second resonant heating characteristic to generate a second varying magnetic field to heat the second subset. The induction heating system may be used in a hair straightening appliance (figure 11).