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How to Clean Your Hot Styling Tools

How to Clean Your Hot Styling Tools How often do you clean your hair styling tools? Once in a blue moon? Even less often than that (i.e. never)? If we’re honest, most of us give little thought to the upkeep of the grooming tools we use every day. Professional stylists, who know a thing or […]

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How to Clean Your Hot Styling Tools

How often do you clean your hair styling tools? Once in a blue moon? Even less often than that (i.e. never)? If we’re honest, most of us give little thought to the upkeep of the grooming tools we use every day.

Professional stylists, who know a thing or two about their trusty equipment, are well aware of the need to keep straightening irons clean and hair dryers free from debris, but the rest of us are all to often oblivious.

What if we told you that a build-up of hair product residue on your tools can significantly hamper their performance and leave your hair looking seriously sub-optimal? Trust us, neglected styling equipment leads to burnt hair and split ends. And if that isn’t enough reason to get you busting out your cleaning products, you should know that dirty styling tools are likely to have a significantly shorter lifespan.

How often should I clean my styling tools?

To some extent this is dependent on frequency of use and how much product you tend to use. If you use your tools every day you should try to clean them once a week. For tools you use once or twice a week a bi-monthly clean is probably sufficient. Keep an eye out for visible debris in your hair dryer and take action whenever you spot a build-up.

Cleaning curlers and straighteners

If you want your straighteners and curlers to deliver polished results it’s important to regularly clean off the residue of whatever heat protective products, serums and sprays you use, as well as any dust and dirt that’s accumulated.

Cleaning them should be pretty straightforward. Start off by plugging the tool in for a few minutes so they warm up, then unplug and let it cool down to the point that they’re still warm but comfortable to handle. Wipe the tool down with a damp soft cloth.

If there’s significant build-up you may want to up the ante and use rubbing alcohol (surgical spirit), lemon juice or a bicarbonate of soda solution made by combining bicarbonate of soda with water to form a thin paste. Use a cotton ball to apply this to your straighteners and curlers.

De-clog your blow-dryer

It’s less immediately obvious when your blow-dryer needs to be cleaned because most of the debris build-up lurks inside, so you’ll need to open it up and gain access to the filter. The best way to do this varies from dryer to dryer – some can be popped or twisted open, while others will need to be unscrewed. Take a look at the instruction manual if you’re unsure.

Having opened up your dryer, you’ll probably see a load of lint and dirt covering the filter. Take out the filter and thoroughly clean it – an old toothbrush and some tweezers should come in handy – then rinse the filter and leave to dry. Before you pop the bits back together, ensure they are all throughly dry.

Once you’ve popped the filter back in you should notice that your dryer’s performance is noticeably improved. It’s a good idea to do this fairly regularly to ensure your dryer doesn’t overheat.

Now you know how to clean your styling products, one last thing to remember, keep your hairbrush’s clean too.