Hair irons straighten and beautify hair, but if you think they are single-function appliances, they range in price from about 3,000 yen to 100,000 yen. In order to buy the right product for you, let's do a thorough research!
- Heat damage to hair
- Which plate is recommended, ceramic or metal?
- To minimize damage to hair
- Other Functions
- Recommended hair irons
Heat damage to hair
Both straightening and curling irons use high-temperature heat for styling, and this heat alters the amino acid composition. In other words, they cause so-called damage, resulting in dryness and breakage of hair. To maximize the effect of the hair iron without causing too much damage, the temperature of the hair iron should be around 190°C (190°F). (The lower the temperature, the better.)
Kinetics of the changes imparted to the main structural components of human hair by thermal treatment
Some manufacturers claim that using a ceramic-coated hair iron will moisturize your hair, but this is not true. This is because all the moisture in the hair evaporates at approximately 180°C.
Thermal damage of hair and its indicators
Imagine something other than hair, but whether the heated object is iron or ceramic, if you touch it with your hand, you will get burned, right? It doesn't mean that "because it was ceramic, the moisture in your hand is retained and you don't get burned. Let's not forget that hair, like other parts of the body, is made of protein.
Which plate is recommended, ceramic or metal?
However, this does not mean that ceramics do not have advantages. The plates of hair irons can be divided into two types of coatings: metal coatings such as titanium and ceramic coatings. The metal coating reduces the effect of heat on the underlying heat-generating components and is used in the automotive and aviation industries.
The ceramic coating is effective in transferring heat evenly and efficiently to the hair, allowing for even hair ironing.
Ceramic flat irons: Improper use leading to acquired trichorrhexis nodosa
As a result, the recommendation for ceramic-coated hair irons remains the same, but we have given an explanation as to why we recommend them.
To minimize damage to hair
Other than using a temperature of 190°C or lower, the best thing you can do to reduce hair damage is to apply a hair iron to hair that is thoroughly dried. Applying a hair iron to wet hair causes the same amount of heat damage but more physical damage.
The effects of water on heat-styling damage
Recently, some spray-type styling products are being sold that protect hair from heat from hair irons and other sources. We don't know about their scientific effects yet, but at least don't use anything that contains water.
The next step is to reduce friction. As you can easily imagine, friction damages hair. Be careful not to touch or move your hair unnecessarily. (There is no way to find out the difference in friction between different manufacturers of hair irons.)
Other Functions
The details are written in the following article, but since the results of the experiment show in the paper that Plasmacluster/Nano-e had no sterilizing effect, we do not think it is necessary to buy Panasonic and Sharp products with these functions.
By the way, as I wrote in my article on heating devices, it is safe to assume that the mechanism for heating the plates is the same for all manufacturers. The same 190°C cannot be gentle or bad for your hair depending on the manufacturer.
Finally, as detailed in our article on mobile batteries, we do not recommend cordless (rechargeable) batteries because lithium-ion batteries degrade.
Recommended hair irons
In light of the above, the following features should be easy to use.
- Ceramic Plate
- No plasma cluster, no nano-e
- with a code
As we have stated in this explanation and in previous articles we have introduced, there is no magic plate that protects hair from heat, nor is there a machine that emits heat that is gentle to hair. Rather, adding extra functions, such as air purifiers, may adversely affect hair and the global environment. Therefore, we believe that a cheap and simple hair iron with no extra features is the way to go.
I have introduced a variety of home appliances, but I would like to recommend Iris Oyama's hair irons because all of their home appliances are of very high quality and inexpensive for the price. It is easy to match your taste.
I hope the above is helpful.
