How To Clean Gunk Off Of Hair Straightener Plates

Ladies, I'm sure that you can all relate to looking down at your hair iron and seeing some weird kind of gunk and funk all over the two plates. You probably just assume that it's normal wear and tear, and burn marks from the extreme heat of your hair iron. However, little did you know, all that gunk and funk is actually built up and needs to be taken off of your hair iron plates... Like yesterday. It's hair products that have been burned onto it, dry skin particles and all kinds of things that you probably don't even want to think about. In fact, don't think about it - Just clean it. Before you go and grab soap and water, there are some things that you should know to ensure that you're properly cleaning your hair iron plates. Don't worry. It's fast, and simple!

Step One: You can purchase a hair straightener cleaner, or you can use rubbing alcohol and get the same results.Once you are absolutely sure that your iron is completely cooled down,  spritz the cleaner onto the ceramic blades of your hair straightener and allow the liquid to soak into the gunk that has built up on the ceramic blades. This will begin breaking it up so it's easier to remove.

Step Two: Wipe the blades clean with a paper towel or cloth. If you are eager to get in between the tiny crevices, use a cotton swab, tooth pick or Q-tip to get in the hard-to-reach places.

Step Three: After the majority of the gunk is removed, you may still see the stains on your ceramic hair straightener blades that are anything but attractive. This is when a little more tedious cleaning needs to come into play. Continue to spritz the cleaner onto the blades as you allow the gunk to break up more and more. Wipe off what you can and continue as needed. You can always use an old tooth brush and with circular motions, you can scrub your ceramic blades without doing damage. Be sure to use a soft bristle tooth brush and lightly brush it as you do not want to put any nicks into the blades as these can tug on your hair and create split ends.

If you still notice gunk build up after several repeats of allowing the cleaner to soak in, and brushing with a toothbrush, you can go to the extreme and use a steel wool pad that you may even have under your kitchen sink. However, it is absolutely imperative that you brush the blades very carefully with this pad and constantly check for scratches and nicks. If you are doing damage to the blades, discontinue this method immediately or proceed much lighter than what you were.

In order to deter this problem from occurring moving forward, decrease the amount of product that you use prior to using your hair straightener. However, this isn't always easy or realistic as heat protection products are highly recommended and hair spray often comes into play with any hair straightening style. At least now you know how to clean the plates effectively and efficiently.

Photo Credit: http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-a-Hair-Straightener