What do Ion's do in my hairdryer or flat iron?

IONIC TECHNOLOGY If anything's kick-started the high-tech revolution in tools, it's the application of ionic technology to hair care. The technology, used in blow dryers, flatirons and curling irons alike, takes advantage of the fact that damaged hair has a slightly positive charge. Activated by the heat of the appliance, these tools create negative ions that balance the hair's charge. The result? The cuticle lies flat, so hair looks shiny and feels silky. Clients can see the difference right away, which is why so many want to buy ionizing appliances for themselves. But what's truly fabulous about ion technology is how it improves the hair's condition from the inside. When you work on wet hair, those negative ions break water molecules down into micromolecules that can be absorbed by the strand. You hydrate the hair while you dry it's something that would have been science-fiction as recently as five years ago. So you can flatiron 80% dry hair, you'll need the mositure left in the hair to help break down the negative ions!!! FAR-INFRARED Far-infrared, a non-visible light at the end of the spectrum, has been getting a lot of attention from the medical community over the past few years. Far-infrared promotes healing, says Alternative Medicine magazine, and seems to support white blood cells in their efforts to defend the body against attack. Sources say far-infrared stimulates toxin renewal, increases blood circulation and has a cleansing, ionizing effect. It's used in saunas, in bedding, in lamps, in wraps for arthritic joints, even in the incubators used to keep premature babies warm. What makes infrared far? Since infrared is light, it's all a matter of wavelength, and far-infrared is further along the spectrum. Near-infrared waves bounce off a surface, which can then heat it up. Far-infrared penetrates to warm from within. On the practical hairdressing level, far-infrared used in a blow dryer dries hair from the inside out so that the surface of the strand does not overheat, dry or crack. When it's created by styling irons, far-infrared lets you use the tool at a high temperature without creating the damage usually associated with high heat.

TOURMALINE If you were wondering how the new miracle tools create those beneficial negative ions and infrared waves, look into a jewelry case. The gemstone tourmaline, used in the manufacture of heat appliances, naturally emits both ions and far-infrared. Since the ions speed up drying, tourmaline dryers allow faster results with less loss of moisture. Tourmaline flatirons use far-infrared to heal as they straighten. The tourmaline used in hair styling appliances is usually crushed, but sometimes it's part of the plate make-up of flatirons or is built into the interior of blow dryers. Either way, it's a natural substance that works beautifully with high-tech engineering.

CERAMICS Ceramics have been around the high-tech world for a long time. Used in some of the earliest computer microprocessors, these materials offered a stable, long-wearing base for delicate data components. Ceramics don't overheat, burn out or rust like metal, and that's also what makes them so great for hairdressing tools. Ceramics are used in the manufacture of heating elements. You'll see them in blow dryers, on the plates of flatirons, on the barrels of curling irons, even in the core of heat-styling brushes. In electrical appliances, ceramics offer great resistance to heat, so you can manufacture tools that are high-heat and high safety. And, like tourmaline, ceramics emit far-infrared naturally. In fact, many manufacturers combine both ceramics and tourmaline in their blow dryers and styling irons for super-conditioning. By Mags Kavanaugh