It’s taken several years of dusty makeup bags, a dozen cracked palettes and one too many breakouts, but these days, most of us are wise to the need to wash our beauty tools on a regular basis.
And while you may have your six-step skincare routine and best brush practice locked down, there’s one everyday tool that’s flown under the weekly wash radar, and it’s sitting on your heat pad right now.
Yep, it turns out that hair straighteners actually need as much care and attention as our other makeup tools to keep bacteria at bay – and our hair in tip-top condition.
According to hair expert Jo Robertson, GHD’s Head of UK & Republic of Ireland education, neglecting to clean your straighteners could lead to a buildup of dirt and grime, which not only affects the quality of your straighteners, but could also damage your hair too.
Think about how many styling products are standing proudly on your bathroom shelf right now. Those same creams, serums, sprays and oils that you use on our hair every day are coating your trusty GHDs too – not to mention the natural oils from your own scalp.
The good news is that there’s a super easy cleansing regime to ensure your ceramic plates stay in perfect nick.
“Once you have finished styling, place the heat resistant plate guard on your styler and allow to cool on a heat resistance surface such as a heat mat,” Robertson explains.
“When the styler has cooled down, it should be stored without wrapping the cable around the styler as this will shorten the life of the product and damage the cable over time.
“To clean your styler, use a lightly damp soft cloth or a baby wipe or the plates and never submerse your styler in water.”
One last thing: remember to wash your hairbrush too!
