Hair straightening
When straightening hair , frizzy and curly hair is straightened with aids.
hair straightener
The straightening of curly or wavy hair is done by thermal ironing with a hair straightener - also called a straightening iron. The straightening iron used to be made of bare iron using the old scissors-like construction. Its cheeks were moderately heated by placing them on a stove. Today hair straighteners are electrically heated. The set temperature of 80 to 230 ° C is achieved by an adjustable thermostat, but mostly by a self-regulating heating element that accepts a mains voltage of 100 to 240 V. The heated surfaces are from 15 mm × 60 mm in size, the heating output is 25 to 170 W, depending on the size and control. Switches and possibly existing thermostat buttons can be housed in the pliers gap so that they cannot be adjusted, and the power cable is hinged to pivot.
In most cases, the device is designed like a pair of pliers, with the pliers jaws being elongated, flat, hot surfaces made of metal (anodized aluminum, possibly also coated with a lubricant) or ceramic. The functional principle is as follows: You put a strand of hair in the “pliers” and, under the pull of the friction force, guide the straightener to the ends of the hair. The straightening while heating has a smoothing effect on the hair.
There are pliers jaws that have to be pressed against the hair strand by hand against a delicate spring. On the other hand, self-closing pliers have a reversed and stronger spring that presses the hair's cheeks together and a lever button that protrudes at an angle, which opens the jaws when pressed with the index and middle finger to pick up a new strand.
For the gentle function - noticeable at the hair roots - a low coefficient of friction between the cheek surfaces - rounded at the edges - and the hair is important, as well as the manual release of the pressing force when the hair strand contains much less hair towards the hair ends.
Wave attachments for the flat jaws have the opposite effect. Some hair straighteners are provided with comb teeth and heated arched outer surfaces that allow hair to be curled.
In addition to the ordinary straightening iron, there is the straightening brush. It is also known as a hair straightener brush. The main advantage over the straightener is its ease of use. You can use it to brush your hair like an ordinary hairbrush, while at the same time straightening it.
- See also: Ondulation , curling iron
Hair care systems
In addition to the hair straightener, hair care systems are also used for straightening. These use water-repellent silicones or lanolin substitutes as components , which are supposed to smooth the hair.
Web links
- Test magazine issue 6/2011 of Stiftung Warentest Subject hair straighteners: hot irons; Online at [1]
Individual evidence
- ↑ Straightening brush versus straightening iron - What are the advantages? In: Smoothing brushes . February 25, 2017 ( glaettbuerste.net [accessed August 1, 2017]).
- ↑ Less freaky magazine test 03/2008 issue of the Stiftung Warentest .