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 Can Hair Straighteners
Damage Your Hair?
Author: Andrea Simpson
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One of the most common questions
I get asked on my website is whether using hair straighteners
will cause any short or long term damage on my hair. You don't
need me to tell you that placing anything hot in close proximity
to your sensitive hair is going to have some affect. However,
what I would like to provide you in this article are some of
the facts and figures around the use of hair straighteners which
come in to very close contact with your hair as opposed to most
hair dryers for example.
The temperature ranges
In order for hair straighteners to work effectively they must
be used at high temperatures. A typical hair iron will operate
in the range from 100-180+ degrees C. Bear in mind that around
100 degrees it is only hot enough to dry your hair whereas at
the top end of the temperature scale it needs to be this hot
for especially thick and curly hair. Here is a more detailed
breakdown of the temperatures typically used on varying types
of hair: |
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- Drying hair: 80 degrees
- Completely hair: 100 degrees
- Partly damaged hair: 120 degrees
- Slightly damaged hair: 140 degrees
- Ordinary curly hair: 160 degrees
- Curly hair: 180 degrees
- Very thick curly hair: 200 degrees
As you can see the temperature
ranges do go to very high levels and without the correct usage
or in fact the correct hair iron you can in fact end up damaging
your hair are repeated use. However, all this can be avoided
by following a number of very simple tips.
- If you are planning to use
your hair iron on a regular basis then I suggest you use good
ceramic hair oil. This will help lock in additional moisture,
which is normally lost through the application of high temperatures.
- Purchase one of the top end
hair straighteners which has Infra Red radiation produced from
high temperature ceramic plates or Tourmaline. These special
plates can help seal the moisture in your hair so that you hair
does not loose its condition. Ionic technology breaks down the
size of the water molecules on the hairs surface making the molecules
smaller and easier for the hair to absorb. As and additional
bonus it can improve the condition of you hair.
- Always purchase a hair straightener
with exact temperature control settings. Some of the cheaper
models may only have a few pre-set temperature settings, which
does not help, as you need to be as precise as possible.
- The most expensive hair straightener
may not always be the best. Always checkout the many reviews
on some of the most popular hair products shopping sites.
- Likewise don't always go for
a cheap deal on auction sites. Some of them are totally useless
and you can end up doing real damage to your hair in just a few
uses. This tends to happen when straighteners with cheap plates
"stick" to your hair during the straightening process.
To put your mind at rest the
technology behind hair straighteners has improved significantly
over the years. In fact nowadays the use of Tourmaline, which
is a precious stone, possesses unique ionic and infrared properties
which not only help reduce any heat damage risk but they also
leave you with shiny healthy looking hair. This magical material
is now used in many of the top-end, and medium price range, hair
straighteners. These latest generation hair irons are certainly
much more capable and are less likely to do any, short or long
term, damage to your hair.
The bottom line is that your
hair is very sensitive and you should try and reduce the amount
of times you submit it to high temperatures. However the latest
generation of hair irons let you straighten your hair in a shorter
time and leave your hair straight for longer. This can only be
good news for your hair.
Andrea Simpson is a self confessed
hair straightener fan. She runs her own website devoted to Sedu Flat Irons and other hair straightening
devices.
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com
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