This article was co-authored by Jenny Tran. Jenny Tran is a Hair Stylist and the Founder of JT Hair Lab by Jenny Tran based in the Dallas, Texas metro area. With over seven years of professional hair styling experience, Jenny specializes in hair coloring, haircutting, and hair extensions. JT Hair Lab is an authorized carrier of R+Co and of Milbon and is committed to using products with quality ingredients.
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Flat irons are a great tool to use for straightening your hair, but hair products and oils eventually build up on the ceramic plates, resulting in a gunky mess. In addition to looking unsightly, this can cause serious damage to your hair. First do a general cleaning and then remove buildup and stains to get your flat iron looking and working great again.
Steps
Doing a General Cleaning
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1Plug in your iron and turn it on. Plug in your flat iron, put it on the lowest heat setting, and let it heat up for a couple of minutes. The heat will help loosen up any buildup or grime that may be on the iron, which will make it much easier to clean effectively.[1]
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2Unplug your iron and turn it off. Let your flat iron cool on a heat-resistant mat or hand towel for about 5 minutes after you’ve turned it off and unplugged it from the outlet. Don’t set your flat iron directly on the counter or on the edge of the sink because it could burn these surfaces.[2]Advertisement
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3Wipe the flat iron down with a damp cloth or paper towel. While your flat iron is still cooling down, hold your hand about an inch above the flat iron to determine if it has cooled off enough to touch safely. Once it feels slightly warm to the touch, lightly dampen a washcloth or paper towel with warm water. Wipe all surfaces of the iron to complete a basic cleaning.[3]
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4Use a professional cleaning solution if you've never cleaned your iron before. Beauty supply stores carry many different professional cleaning products created specifically for hairstyling tools. If you’ve used your flat iron hundreds of times and this is your first time cleaning it, you may want to use a professional cleaning solution in order to complete a more general cleaning successfully.[4]
Removing Buildup and Stains
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1Rub down the iron with alcohol and a cotton ball. First, make sure that the flat iron is completely cooled off and soak a couple cotton balls in rubbing alcohol. Wipe the flat iron with your cotton balls and use a q-tip to clean nooks and crannies. After doing this, lightly moisten a clean cloth with water and wipe your flat iron again.[5]
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2Make a baking soda and hydrogen peroxide paste. Put about ¼ cup of baking soda in a bowl. Then, squirt in hydrogen peroxide and mix the two until the mixture resembles paste. Rub the paste onto the flat iron with your fingers to remove gunky buildup of hairspray and other hair products.[6]
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3Scrub your flat iron with a toothbrush or Magic Eraser. Using a gentle abrasive, such as a toothbrush or magic eraser, gently scrub tough spots, including the lip between the plastic and the plate.[7] Magic erasers contain a combination of melamine, formaldehyde, sodium bisulfite, and water, which make easy removal possible.[8]
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4Apply relaxer to your flat iron. Cream relaxers are typically used to chemically straighten curly hair, but they can be used to clean your flat iron as well. In order to clean your flat iron with a relaxer, do the following:
- While the flat iron is unplugged, apply an even layer of the cream to the flat iron plates.
- Plug the iron in and leave it on for about 10-15 minutes.
- Turn the flat iron off, let it cool completely, and then remove the relaxer with a washcloth moistened by water.[9]
Expert Q&A
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QuestionHow do I clean the gunk off my flat iron?
Jenny TranJenny Tran is a Hair Stylist and the Founder of JT Hair Lab by Jenny Tran based in the Dallas, Texas metro area. With over seven years of professional hair styling experience, Jenny specializes in hair coloring, haircutting, and hair extensions. JT Hair Lab is an authorized carrier of R+Co and of Milbon and is committed to using products with quality ingredients.
Professional Hair StylistYou should be able to clean off buildup with water and a cloth. For tougher buildup, you can use an alcohol-based cleaner.
Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.
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QuestionHow do I clean a clothing iron?
Community AnswerIf you want to know how to clean a clothing iron and not a flat iron for hair, check out wikiHow's article on how to clean an iron. -
QuestionHow do you clean curling irons?Community AnswerTake a cotton ball, put a pea size amount of rubbing alcohol, and clean the iron. When finished, wet a different cotton ball with water and then rinse with that.
Warnings
- Keep the plug away from liquids and never immerse a flat iron in water.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Never put alcohol on your flat iron when it is on or plugged in. This is unsafe because alcohol is flammable.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Avoid aggressive scrubbing to prevent scratching the ceramic plates.⧼thumbs_response⧽
- Do not use abrasive chemical cleaners on your flat iron because they can cause damage to the coating on the plates.⧼thumbs_response⧽
Things You'll Need
- Small cloth or paper towel
- Warm water
- Flat iron
- Cotton balls
- Q-tips
- Rubbing alcohol
- Baking Soda
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Magic Eraser
- Toothbrush
- Relaxer cream
References
- ↑ http://www.byrdie.com/how-to-clean-a-flat-iron/slide4
- ↑ Jenny Tran. Professional Hair Stylist. Expert Interview. 19 May 2020.
- ↑ Jenny Tran. Professional Hair Stylist. Expert Interview. 19 May 2020.
- ↑ https://hellobeautiful.com/2584467/how-to-clean-your-ceramic-flat-iron/
- ↑ Jenny Tran. Professional Hair Stylist. Expert Interview. 19 May 2020.
- ↑ http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/how-to-clean-your-flat-iron
- ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/purewow/how-to-clean-your-your-cu_b_8580908.html
- ↑ https://www.wired.com/2015/09/whats-inside-mr-clean-magic-eraser/
- ↑ http://beautyhairguide.com/how-to-clean-a-flat-iron/
About This Article
To clean a flat iron, first plug it in and let it heat up for 15 minutes. This will make any grime on the ceramic plates easier to remove. Unplug your flat iron and let it cool for 5 minutes. Then, pour a little rubbing alcohol on a clean towel and gently wipe the ceramic plates to remove any debris. Use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to clean hard-to-reach spots around the plates. Finally, wipe down the body of the flat iron with rubbing alcohol and a towel to sanitize it. Let your flat iron air dry completely before using it or putting it away. Keep reading to learn how cream relaxer can help clean your flat iron!
