Have the best hair straighteners on the market had their day?!

Today, there exist a variety of much improved and gentler permanent hair straightening systems, including Japanese systems like Yuko, that claim to actually nourish your hair as it straightens. These are bold claims indeed, so does this spell the end for the humble hair straightener?

What about damage?
Chemical hair straightening treatments certainly have their flaws. In order for naturally wavy or curly hair to be straightened permanently, strong chemicals need to be applied to the hair that penetrate the hair shaft and destroy the protein bonds that create those waves and kinks.

Hair straightener

This is a harsh process that will certainly cause some level of damage to your hair, even with the best permanent hair straightening treatments or when gentler formulations are used. Your hair can be left incredibly dry or fragile afterward, and will generally need a lot of TLC to keep it in good condition.

There’s no denying that hair straighteners also damage the hair by exposing it to intense heat, but the damage is nowhere near as invasive. The best hair straightener will have an adjustable heat control so that you only get it as hot as needed for each section of hair, and applying heat protection sprays helps to prevent any major damage.

Maintenance
One of the massive pros of choosing permanent hair straightening is that your hair will be incredibly low maintenance after the treatment. No daily blow drying or straightening – bliss! Brilliant, if all you want is super straight hair, but if you like to vary your look, then you’re stuck with it straight. You may need to spend more time and effort using hair straighteners, but you can choose to keep your hair’s natural wave one day, or opt for poker straight hair the next.

Cost
The cost of permanent hair straightening systems can vary, but they certainly aren’t cheap. The effects may be permanent, but any new re-growth is going to be as wavy or curly as ever, so you’ll need to keep heading back to the salon every few months for upkeep and necessary primping.

The costs can really add up, so this may not be a great option if money’s a bit tight. Although the top branded hair straighteners also certainly aren’t cheap, you can find perfectly decent straighteners that are much more affordable. They should last you for years too, so they are a worthwhile investment for the discerning consumer.

So, although there are obvious benefits to choosing a more permanent straightening method [the massively reduced time you'll need to spend on day to day styling], there are enough drawbacks to mean that even the best hair straighteners on the market haven’t quite had their days numbered yet. For versatility, price and to minimize damage, especially for those of us with dyed or chemically treated hair, there’s still a place for our hair straighteners.

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