To Tourmaline, or not to Tourmaline...That is the question

A friend of mine emailed me today, and asked which I felt was better, a tourmaline or ceramic flat iron? As an industry professional, we are constantly being bombarded with marketing gimmicks on what is the latest and greatest, and sometimes it leaves us scratching our heads, because we have TOO much to choose from.

I decided to do a little research, and found another great blog called www.thebeautybrains.com. Cosmetic chemists run the blog, and they answer questions people have about what is really in products. What I basically gathered from what I read, is that a lot of what we are told is exactly what is sounds like....MARKETING GIMMICKS. Tourmaline irons are also made of ceramic, with tourmaline bits in it. And there is a lot of question on whether the tourmaline's "negative ions" actually do a darn thing for hair.

With that being said, it is more important that you invest in an iron that is either solid ceramic or is coated with a FEW coats of ceramic vs just one or two coats, and that the iron heats evenly and is dependable. Personally, I love the CHI, and I also have the Solano Saffire iron and I recently started using a Wet to Dry T-3. All are great. I have yet to be thrilled with any irons that do not come from professional hair care brands. (and that includes what you find at places like Sally's) Make sure if you're investing in a good iron, that you don't buy it in a place that sometimes gets diverted product, like a grocery store or store like Target. Truly professional irons are not distributed by manufacturers to stores like that, so they are often counterfeit, old, etc. Your stylist can recommend a good place to find one. (or he/she can get it ordered for you!)

Happy flatironing!