- A hair straightener, also called a hair iron, is a hair-styling tool that uses heat to straighten strands of curly or wavy hair. Hair straighteners look like giant tongs with two flat plates facing each other. The plates are usually made of either metal or ceramic. When these plates become heated, strands of hair are placed between them and ironed straight. Most hair straighteners must be plugged in and heated using an electrical current; however, there are also some types of hair straighteners that are battery operated.
- Hair straighteners work by breaking the hydrogen bonds in the hair that cause the hair strands to bend and become curly. Once these bonds are broken, hair is temporarily straightened until it comes in contact with water or humidity and the bonds are restored. Hair straighteners are made in a similar way to regular clothing irons. A straightener consists of two metallic rods that are heated by an electric current. The rods transfer this heat to the two metallic or ceramic plates of the tong-shaped straightener. The rods are carefully concealed inside plastic shafts to prevent users from burning their hands or injuring themselves.
- Hair straighteners can cause a lot of heat damage to a person's hair. Infrequent use of these straighteners is recommended to prevent hair breakage, split ends and a thinning of the hair shaft. Hair straighteners should be used only on dry hair to minimize damage. Straighteners with ceramic plates are considered far less damaging to the hair, and they are often slightly more expensive than straighteners with metallic plates.
