Flat irons or hair straighteners, are essential if you're looking for that sleek, ultra-straight look.  

There are two types of flat irons, those that have metal plates, and those that have ceramic plates. Ceramic plates spread the heat around more evenly, so there is less of a chance of getting a heat concentration in one area, which can burn your hair.  So for that reason, ceramic plates are the best option. Ceramic plates are also smoother and glide over your hair better. Metal or gold plates can sometimes tug at your hair, as a result it can damage or break your hair.  You can get metal plates that have a ceramic coating, but solid ceramic plates are the best, as the ceramic coating, on the metal coated ones, can come away over time.  One other important thing to be aware of, as I explain below, is that solid ceramic is not as durable as metal or ceramic coated plates.   

Solid Ceramic plates can break or crack if the irons are treated vigorously, so best to be gentle. They don't like being dropped. Many of the ceramic plated flat irons contain Tourmaline, which is a silicate coating that is applied to the flat iron.  The purpose of Tourmaline, is to emit negative ions during the heating process. Ceramic plates also do this to a degree, but the Tourmaline adds even more.  Negative ions will settle your hair down and give it that really nice slick, shiny look.

Sometimes your hair has too many positive ions, which happens when your hair is damaged, or gets 'static'  on a windy day, for example. This positively charges the hair and makes it want to push away from itself.  That's the reason for the frizzy look, it’s the same when you have too much static electricity.   Damaged hair has too many positive ions, and the hair cuticle opens up, which can make the hair dry, brittle and prone to breaking. 

Using flatirons that deliver negative irons to your hair will also lock in the moisture, provided you don't overheat the hair, by holding the irons in one place. 

Tips:  You don't want to see steam coming from the hair, or hear a sizzle as this is going to dry your hair out.  It'll be damaged and you'll have a really hard time getting that slick healthy look with hair straighteners again.  You want to ensure your hair is dried off 100% , before you get started.  You also don't want to apply any products (especially oils or serums) to your dry hair and then use flat irons.  Otherwise this could cause you to cook the hair in whatever the applied product is, unless you use heat-protector, which is a good idea if you're going to use any heating tools on a regular basis.    

Heat vs Time:  The more heat you apply to the hair, either through the irons or the amount of time you spend going over the hair is important to consider.  Too much heat will damage hair, but does make the process faster.  Coloured hair is also more sensitive to heat so be careful.   If your hair is damaged then I would recommend you put this product through it which is for damaged hair, as it will lock in moisture.  There are several other options to treat  damaged hair, so give us a call, and we can discuss a treatment that's best for your  hair condition. Having said that be aware that hair is essentially "dead"  it doesn't heal in the true sense of the word, so you don't want to abuse your hair and then rely on products to fix your hair.  Prevention is better than a cure in this case.

Thicker more course hair will require more heat than thinner hair. So you don't keep on going over the same area, take finer section instead, so the heat gets though the section of hair. 

Flat irons are like most things in life.  You can either pay up front for a good quality set, or you can pay afterwards in repair of damaged hair and frustration. 

Flat irons, like all heating tools, use heat to break down the hydrogen bonds in the hair cuticle.  This allows the hair to temporarily maintain an un-natural shape.  Moisture will allow those hydrogen bonds to reform and the hair will go back to its original shape.  Rain, humidity and even sweat will quickly ruin your hair day.  So be careful ladies…..no activities that will cause you to get hot a sweaty, unless for a very good reason.  George Clooney is one of those very good reasons.

These are very much similar to flat irons except they produce the reverse effect.  It might be helpful if you read the above section to learn about flat irons.  There are many types of curling tools, but generally the smaller the tube or rod the tighter the curl is going to be.  You can get curling tools with or without clamps.  A clamp will hold the hair in place and allow you to curl all the way to the tips without burning yourself or needing to wear a glove.

Some irons come with timers, to help you get the desired look and prevent you from overheating the hair.  I've kept this section short because I covered everything you need to know in the section above.  You also want to make sure that you get a curling iron that heats to an appropriate temp for your hair.  No need to get something that heats to a high temp if you have finer hair, in fact it could damage your hair so be careful. 

Hair dryers can be a large topic, but I'll stick to the things that you really need to know. If you use a hair dryer every now and then, you might be able to get away with purchasing a cheaper model.  If you going to use one regularly, then I recommend spending extra.  There are a few good reasons for this.  

Heating element:  some dryers come with ceramic technology,  what that means is the element that heats up for the air to pass over is either metal, metal coated with ceramic, or full ceramic.  There are some big differences.  A full ceramic element is more efficient, and uses less electricity, heats more evenly, and produces negative ions which helps to repair your hair essentially.  Damaged hair has too many positive ions, and it starts to behave like statically charged hair.  Negative irons help to close the cuticle and break down the water molecule so the hair drys faster.

On another note, metal heating elements produce lots of radiation or EMF ( Electromagnetic field ), about the same as holding your head right up close to a microwave when its on.  EMF comes from your phone and all electrical devices when in close proximity. EMF has been linked to some serious health concerns, read "EMF health concerns".  So is it worth holding your head next to a running microwave for 30 mins every day just so you can save $60 on a hair dryer?             

Wattage: Watts is a measurement used for all electrical devices that tells us how powerful it is.  More watts means more power.  Anything over 1800 watts is fine for most hair types, however if you have lots of thick hair, you might like something more powerful, as it will reduce the time you spend drying your hair.

Having said that, newer ceramic dryers have less power consumption for the output they produce.  So as an example, a 1000 watt ceramic dryer might produce the heat equivalent of 1800 watt dryer with a steel coil element. 

Tourmaline:  is a precious gem that is crushed up and used on the heating element.  The propose is, to flood your hair with negative ions, which helps to dry your hair faster.  It also helps to ensure your hair is silky smooth, as damaged hair is positively charged.  Negative ions help to "seal" the hairs cuticle and lock in moisture.  Negative ions is what you get after a thunderstorm, and at a beach with a surf break.  As you know both of these situations make us feel good, and there is some interesting research on how important negative ions are, read "Negative ions health benefits"  Worth the extra investment in m opinion.  

Make sure to invest in buying a quality hair dryer, as they will last you a very long time, and will come with all the attachments.  Also it's best to not use a dryer on really ( dripping ) wet hair.