Rediscovering the Flat Iron

The other day I was stumped by a client who inquired about a “heat-less” flat iron she saw at a hair kiosk in Chicago’s Shops at North Bridge.   I love these conversations because they are humbling, and often educational, but missing pertinent details.  These moments allow me to play detective and discover new products; or simply explore a deeper level of material I so arrogantly dismissed as nothing special.  The latter was the case this time around.

The heat-less adjective was throwing me off my flat iron adventure.  Infrared technology was what I could come up with as an alternative, but that source would only go so far and is not very time efficient.  How could a flat iron perform its magic without heat?  The answer is: it can’t–at least not yet.  I was close with the infrared idea.  Here’s what I found out about flat irons.  They are not just a mechanical form of straightening.  The technology has come a long way, and the benefits are significant.  Of course there are lots of models and makes; but therein lies a secret–they all work to do the same thing.

The template for the majority of flat irons on the market today begin with either aluminum or titanium plates.  Layers of ceramic coating are added to the plates to minimize breakage and damage to the hair.  Sometimes the tourmaline mineral is baked in or added to those ceramic layers to maximize protection on the hair.  The more layers of ceramic equal better protection against heat damage, shine, softness, less frizz, and a higher quality of iron.

Flat irons with 100% ceramic plates do exist and tend to be more costly (prices ranging from $200 to $400).

In order to distinguish one flat iron from another, marketing teams exploit and pose features as categories of mechanical hierarchy.

• Ion/Ionic Flat Iron
• Infrared/Far Infrared/Far Inferred Flat Iron

These “types” of flat irons are really all just ceramic irons dressed up in feature-outfits.

I was never good in chemistry, math, or physics–that’s why I’m a beauty writer, so I’ll try my best to make this explanation “simple-stupid.”

When ceramic is HEATED it produces negative ions and infrared heat as part of its innate quality–hence the scientific names.  Hair that is damaged, color-treated, or naturally dry produces positive ions.  Just like magnets, opposites attract, and when the negatively charged flat iron glides over the positively charged hair the results produce a smoother hair shaft and a closed cuticle.

Hot ceramic radiate thermal infrared rays and heat the hair from within.  We feel and receive heat from the sun, a fireplace, or a radiator because of infrared rays, not because we are literally touching the sun, a fire, or a radiator.

Tourmaline intensifies the hair’s shine and smoothness received by ceramic plates.  Tourmaline-covered ceramic plates also work the exact same way as titanium plates.

Is your head spinning yet?  I hope not.

The next bit of information was the best take-away I got from my research.  Nano technology.

The nano prefix used to describe this feature on a flat iron suggests a smaller molecular coating which is added to the iron’s plates.

• Nano-ceramic models have plates covered with a small amount of ceramic coating.
• Nano-titanium plates disperse heat evenly over the hair.
• Nano-silver plates kill bacteria and eliminate scent or odor on the hair.  These are ideal for hairstylists who use their irons on multiple clients.

I hope I was able to shine some new light on flat irons for you.  I know I was happy to rediscover a genius straightening tool with all its features and benefits.

The flat iron that started this journey was the “Classic Straightener by Royale USA.” It is sold at the Royale Beauty kiosk at the Shops at North Bridge mall in Chicago.  A super helpful sight to learn more about every major flat iron on the market is the Misikko (miss-see-ko) Web site.  The Misikko site also has great tutorials (sample below) as well as articles–one of which breaks down the same material I discussed today called “The Truth About Flat Irons.”