Hair Styling Tools

It seems that no matter how together we feel when we leave the house for work, school, hanging out with friends, or wherever we are going, our hair is subject to the elements outside.  Whether it be the rain, the wind, humidity, the cold, the heat, all can wreak havoc on our hair.

 The thing that is most annoying to me is the time it takes to straighten my hair and then if it is the least bit damp out there are certain hairs that decide to frizz out or curl back up. 

I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to do is to haul around my flat iron.  Even if I have a big purse, the weight of the flat iron that I use  can add to what is already bordering on exceeding luggage limits.  To remedy the situation I went out and bought a mini flat iron.  It was probably the best thing I have ever treated myself to.  This little mini flat iron weighs next to nothing and fits conveniently in the zipper pouch inside my purse.   

The mini flat irons come in both 1/2 inch and 1 inch plate sizes and usually are no longer than 6 inches in length.  They all come with ceramic technology and some have additional features such as nano titanium plates, ceramic tourmaline plates as well as  ionic technology.  They usually range in price from$25.00 to $40.00 with some pricier brands costing more.

Ever since hair straightening hair has become popular, there has still been this overall concern that your hair is going to be damaged by this process.  If you are not taking precautionary measures, this could very well be a true statement. 

Naturally, those of us with curly hair have been in lust for our hair straighteners, and probably do it more than we should.   According to the experts, if you take into consideration the following recommendations, your hair should maintain a healthy looking appearance.

1)  Do not straighten your hair more than twice a week.

2)  At a minimum use a flat iron that has ceramic plates.

3)  Keep the flat iron moving while straightening your hair.  Don’t hold the straightener in one spot.

4)  Consider switching from chemical straighteners to a keratin treatment.

5)  Do not have your hair treated with the “Brazilian” keratin treatment if it contains formaldehyde.  Don’t get dooped by a stylist telling you that his/her keratin product will actually straighten your hair for weeks at a time.

6)  Apply a protective hair care product prior to using your flat iron to straighten your hair.

7)  Do get your hair trimmed at least once a month.

When you need a flat iron, the first thing most professionals will tell you is to make sure that whatever you buy has ceramic plates.  Well, what about tourmaline?  What is significant about having tourmaline in the plates of  flat irons?

First of all, whenever the term tourmaline is used with regard to hair straighteners, the reference is really in conjunction with ceramic.  Tourmaline and ceramic go hand in hand.  Both tourmaline and ceramic produce negative ions.  With the addition of tourmaline you are getting more negative ions.

Negative ions are what protect your hair cuticle from damage.  Tourmaline, which is a semi-precious gem, is crushed to a fine powder and then infused into the ceramic plates of the flat iron.  When tourmaline is heated, it becomes charged and generates far-infrared energy.  This penetrating heat passes through the hair cuticle going directly to the cortex to dry it first.  As a result, the hair cuticle does not become over-dried and is resistant to brittleness and cracking.  The natural oils of your hair are sealed and thus this process is what helps your hair maintain its shine and softness.  Tourmaline also destroys odors like smoke, pollutants and perfumes. 

Tourmaline flat irons are available in the marketplace but are not as prevalent as just ceramic flat irons.  You still can’t go wrong with a ceramic flat iron but if you are really concerned about the health of your hair, try to find one that has tourmaline.  Some brands of tourmaline flat irons cost more than just ceramic, but in some cases you will find they are less.   Who knows exactly why that is?

With the holiday season behind us and the New Year well under way, for many of us January can be a very depressing month.  The parties have taken a dramatic drop-off and the weather can be at its bleakest.  New Year resolutions are in place but are we sticking to them?   

I say that sometimes the simplest change can make a huge difference in one’s outlook.  What about a new hairdo?  It doesn’t have to be as drastic as cutting off your long locks.   So, instead of just looking at your collection of styling combs and styling brushes, use them to create that new look.  It actually could be as simple as changing the part that you wear on the left side of your head to the right side of your head.  Or, perhaps you always wear your hair straight.   Take your curling iron or your hot rollers out and curl away.  And, if you have curls, there are these hair styling tools called hair straighteners (lol) that you can use to straighten away.  What about wearing hair styling accessories such as beautiful barrettes?  Lastly, if your hair is long and you always wear it down, why not pin it up?

While these are not monumental ideas, it doesn’t always take money to make a change.  Just look in your bathroom or dressing area and see what is already there that you can use to make that simple change to your current hairstyle.  You  just might receive some unsolicited compliments and it certainly will bring a smile to that face of yours.

Why is it that individuals who have curly or wavy hair want it straight, and then there are those of us who have straight hair and we want to have our hair curly or wavy?  It just goes without being said , but I’m saying it anyway, it is just human nature to want what we don’t already have.  Well, when it comes to hair, we are all in luck as there are hair styling tools to accomodate just about any style that we desire. 

All one has to do is to go online or go to a local beauty supply store or hair salon and you will find just about any kind of tool necessary to straighten, curl, flip, wave, crimp, and the list goes on and on.  We all definitely take for granted what modern technology has done for us.   Just in the last 10 to 20 years, there has been a marked increase in the variety of styling tools available to buy.  For many of us who have been around a lot longer, we can reminisce about the days when we had to have our hair chemically processed to straighten our hair, or even try to iron long hair on the ironing board.  If we wanted our hair to be curly, we sat under a dryer with curlers in our hair and waited for our hair to dry and curl.  Thanks to the inventors of hot rollers we just plug them in, put them in our hair and within minutes we unroll, brush through, and we’re done.   And, best of all, no more sleeping on rollers!  Oh, how wonderful it is to live in the 21st Century!!

Not that there’s any real reason to be bashful about one’s curls, but occasionally a gal just feels like switching to straight hair. As they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. If you need to experiment with a straight ‘do in order to better appreciate your own curly locks, then so be it. First of all, you should know that there are a number of ways to bring out hair’s potential for rigidity.

Straightening shampoo and conditioner will simplify the process, and you should be careful to detangle each strand before applying hair balm. Then use clips to separate the hair into sections. Blow dry each section thoroughly and then go over them with a Tourmaline flat irons. Keep a round brush at the ready so that you can keep the process running smoothly – don’t make any sudden movements or you’ll put a kink in the hair.

How many times do we keep hearing that we need to protect our hair from the heat that our hairdryers, hair straighteners, curling irons, etc. inflict on our hair?  This obviously is a concern because there are a great majority of us who do use a hair styling tool at some point in our daily regiment of working with our hair. 

In particular, I was looking for something that I could spray on my hair after my hair was dry.  Throughout the week, I find myself restyling my hair with a hair straightener or a curling iron.  Since I’m talking about styling my hair at any given time, it is usually when I am getting ready to go out at night and it doesn’t involve washing my hair.  So, it was a requirement that whatever product I was looking for, needed to be applied on dry hair.  Another requirement was that it wasn’t too costly so that I wouldn’t feel bad about spending the amount of money on yet more haircare products. 

My search did not take me long.  I had always seen CHI haircare products in salons and beauty supply stores and wondered how they would work.  When I saw the CHI 44 Iron Guard on the shelf, and also saw that it was something that I could afford, I decided to try it.  Needless to say, I love it  and decided that I needed to write about it.  I will pass along however, at first I was skeptical because my hair felt sticky and stiff after using it.  I talked to my hair stylist and she said that I’m probably using too much because she had never had that problem.  When I cut down on how much I was spraying on, I then saw the difference.  The time it takes to straighten or curl my hair was cut down by about a third of the time it usually takes.  Also, my hair looked shiny and silkier after using the product.

For all of you who already use this product, please let me know what you think about it.  You can never get enough information about what others think about a certain product and this is the perfect time to comment.

I was recently visiting a local mall and like I always do I check out the beauty stores and kiosks to make sure I am up-to-date on what is new.  As I was standing next to this particular hair styling tool kiosk,  a young man walked up and asked if they sold flat irons for men.  The sales associate quickly responded, that in fact they did.  Well this naturally raised my curiosity so I moved in closer.

The sales associate pointed out a small box which contained what appeared to be a mini flat iron.  The particular flat iron that she had selected was made by Le Angelique and it had 1/2 inch plates.  The young man seemed very interested as he was asking all of the right questions.   He told the sales associate that his hair was naturally curly and after using  his sister’s  flat iron just to see if it would work on his shorter hair, he decided it would be worthwhile pursuing.  Although his sister’s flat iron had wider plates, he wanted to see if there was one in the marketplace that was smaller in size since most of his hair was on the shorter side.   After the sales associate and the young man chatted a little more, he bought the flat iron and was on his way.

It makes sense that guys need a change in their appearance just as much as us girls.  The fact that a man has curly hair and doesn’t want it necessarily always kinking up, shouldn’t require him to keep his head shaved.  

The Le Angelique Men’s Flat Iron heats up to 400 degrees, which is more than enough heat to straighten short hair.  The ultra-light slim design of the iron makes it easy to handle and the ceramic tourmaline plates will protect the hair and keep it healthy.  Way to go Le Angelique!!!

While many of us are always concerned with keeping our clothes up to date and wearing the latest fashions, it appears that hair styling appliances are now making a fashion statement.

It isn’t just the technology anymore that calls our attention to new items in the marketplace.  If an item appears sleeker, shinier, or even more colorful, the consumer is attracted to it like bees are to honey.  This isn’t a bad thing.  In fact, it makes sense.  Change is good and why not take advantage of the fact that many of us like to try something different.

So, what is out there in the hair appliance world that will catch the eye of the fashion conscious?  Le Angelique hair straighteners have a wonderful assortment of animal prints, camouflage, and even a tattoo print for those who like a little style while their styling their hair.  While Le Angelique offers the traditional black flat iron, they also have pink, lavendar, fuchsia, a zebra print, a tiger print, a gold leopard print, a white leopard print, and a red leopard print.

For those who don’t know anything about the Le Angelique hair straighteners, you really should check them out.  They offer a 3/4″ turbo styler which has tourmaline plates.  This iron is also dual voltage and can be taken internationally as long as you buy the adaptor for it.  The 1 inch professional model comes with advanced ceramic heat technology.  This tool also straightens, flips, and curls.  The extra added bonus to purchasing a Le Angelique straightening iron is that they offer a lifetime warranty.  Both flat irons are extremely affordable and available online.

Some people are a hassle to buy gifts for, and no matter how hard you try you just can’t find something they’ll like: my mom is not one of those people. She begins making her list months before her birthday, and her biggest problem is that she wants too many things. When her birthday rolled around last month, I decided to get her a flat iron that she had been wanting, which I figured would be a simple enough task.

I went to a department store and was alarmed when I found an entire aisle devoted to ceramic flat irons. The task of choosing a model was daunting, and I eventually closed my eyes and chose one at random. If you are looking for a new flat iron, I recommend looking around on the internet to find a model that meets your needs, because there are definitely more than a few options out there.