How to clean a flat iron hair straightener
If you use a flat iron to straighten or smooth your hair and you’ve noticed it’s not working like it used to, that means you need to clean it. Fortunately, this is remarkably simple, whether your iron plates are made of ceramic, tourmaline, or whatever other fancy material they’re using at the moment.
- Dampen a paper towel.
- Use it to wipe the plates. You may need to put some scrubbing action into it if there’s baked on crud from styling products and the natural oils of your hair. Go ahead and wipe any crud off the sides of the wand, too.
- Do this once a week if you don’t use styling products; do it every time you use it if you do.
Following these maintenance steps will keep your flat iron working like new.
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Posted in Featured Articles, Health and Beauty on April 11, 2008
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I have tried just using a damp towel and putting some scrubbing action to it. I have even tried using soap and a dish scrubbing pad. None of that has worked.
Is there visible “crud” on the plates? If so, is there any chance it’s actually that part of the plate has been scratched off? (This is a problem I encountered recently)
Does rubbing alcohol work as well? Or should I buy some flat iron cleaning product?
I haven’t tried alcohol because the damp paper towel works for me. Alcohol should work for cleaning, but it can cause surfaces to become brittle over time. I have no idea how various straightening iron plate materials react to it.
I just read where you get the iron a little hot but not too hot to burn yourself then wet a wash cloth with rubbing alcohol to clean. I haven’t tried it yet but plan to.
Thank you for posting this. Mine gets so dirty and i didnt want to ruin it.