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There’s tons of heat-protective serum or hair spray on the shelves that shield your hair from thermal styling damage. But what many don’t realize is that heat damage to your tresses can also come from build up on your ceramic flat irons. The ultimate key to keeping your hair healthy and shiny, whether relaxed or natural, is to clean your flat iron after every use.
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After each use?! I know, such a pain but this makes cleanup easier and less product buildup to remove. Make a habit of cleaning it regularly with these tips and techniques on efficiently cleaning your styling tools.
1. Turn off and unplug your flat iron. Allow it to cool for about five minutes on heat-resistant mat or a wash towel. Don’t place directly on your countertop. How many times have we burned the sink? I’m guilty too.
2. Wipe down the plates on the flat iron with a damp paper towel while it’s still warm. This will help remove a lot of the hairstyling product from the flatiron. If you’ve used the flat iron a million times and this is your first time cleaning, you will need to use a professional cleaning solution made for hairstyling tools.
3. Use a cotton swab to get into those tiny spaces you may have missed with the towel.
4. If you don’t have a professional cleaning solution handy there are some household items that will do the trick. Nail-polish remover, ammonia, spray-on oven cleaner and rubbing alcohol can each break down hardened styling product on your flat iron. Just be sure to use a damp towel to wipe down your flat iron–you don’t want to damage your hair residue.
This should literally take no more than four minutes and the first two are for cooling time. Happy Hair!
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