Iron Straightener Safety Features You Should Be Looking For

Your flat irons are one of the most important tools in your beauty routine, but you need to use caution when handling them. Anything that can heat up so hot can cause damage, and that especially goes for your hair. Of course, we'd never ask you to give up your ceramic iron, but we do want to give you a few pointers on the safety features you need in your flat irons. Here's what you should be looking for.

The safety features you should be looking for in your flat irons

When it comes to safety features, there's three main things you should be looking for when shopping for a new ceramic styling iron:

• Auto shut off: This feature is more for the safety of your home than your hair, but it's essential. You know how your mom would always worry about leaving the stove on when she left the house? We're betting you worry about leaving your flat irons on by accident. It's understandable if you're in a rush to get ready in the morning.

When you go shopping for that flat iron, have a look for one that has an auto shut off feature. This will make sure that your flat iron is turned off once you're finished using it, whether you check it or not. That way, you can leave the house safe in the knowledge that it isn't still on in your bathroom.

• Adjustable temperature: Cheaper flat irons will just have an 'on/off' function, where you switch it on and then it heats up. Others will have a basic heat setting where you can set it to a low, medium, or high heat. These aren't good enough when it comes to keeping your hair safe from damage, though.

• Instead, look for flat irons that have a dial that lets you set the temperature exactly: This is essential because everyone's hair needs a certain temperature before it will flatten out. When you use them, you need to experiment and find the lowest possible temperature yours needs, to avoid damaging or even frying your hair.

• Good quality plates: A professional straightener isn't made with any old material on the plates. You need a good quality material that will lessen any damage that's done to your hair with the heat, as well as helping distribute heat properly.

The best flat irons to buy are ones that have plates made of ceramic. This is because it's the best material out for distributing heat evenly. If you can, go one further by getting a ceramic tourmaline flat iron. The tourmaline coating goes one further to protect your hair, meaning you'll have smooth and silky hair without the burning.

Other tips for using your hair straighteners safely

• Use a heat protectant: When you use a heated styling tool, you're putting a seriously hot object directly onto your hair. Of course, that's going to cause damage. Mitigate that damage by using a good heat protectant. They usually come as a spray or a serum, and using it on your hair means you're putting a protective layer between your hair and the flat irons. It'll make the process of straightening your hair much safer.

• Don't flat iron wet hair: We've all been tempted by the idea when we were late for school or work, but it's never a good idea to flat iron your wet hair. You'd think it would simply dry your hair as it irons it, but instead all it will do is fry it from the inside out. There's no quicker way to damage your hair. Make sure your hair is bone dry before bringing any flat irons near it.

• Section your hair out: Sectioning your hair out before you straighten it has two advantages. Firstly, you'll find it's much quicker to style your hair, as you're going a section at a time and will know exactly which sections are done. Secondly, because you know which sections are done, you won't go over and over them again. This means you won't accidentally burn your hair by over straightening it.

HSI hair straighteners

Here at HSI Professional we have every ceramic styling iron you could possibly need. They all have the three features we listed above, so you know that your hair is safe with our products. They also have our patented heat balance technology. Sensors on the flat iron plates constantly check the temperature and balance it out if they're too hot or cold.

That way, you'll get the top performance from your flat irons with none of the heat damage. As you can see, with a little care and attention you can buy a pair of flat irons that will keep your hair safe, as well as making it look great. Pick the right set and they'll look after you.