hair straightening

My flat iron at home lets me heat it up to all kinds of ultrahot temperatures, but according to trichologist Iain Sallis, you should never heat an iron up above 180 degrees Celsius (or 356 degrees Fahrenheit). Beyond that you can potentially damage your hair's cuticle. Cuticle damage roughens your hair, frizzes it out, and exposes the hair shaft's internal structure, leading to split ends and eventual breakage. But keeping your iron low isn't the only way to save your hair. Want to see more clever tips from Sallis and other professionals for keeping your hair in good condition when you're straightening? Then just keep reading.

Ever since Good Hair premiered at the end of last year, there's been much more open and positive dialogue about respecting and loving your natural hair texture. Lots of women were already going natural, but making the changeover has really gathered steam with the advent of the keratin controversy and a concomitant wave of support for natural hair's beauty, culminating in Sesame Street's adorable "I Love My Hair" song. While it seems that the number of women going natural, combined with the recession's ill effects, may be putting some African-American salons out of business, it's also heartening to see so many people embracing and celebrating the beautiful hair they were born with instead of trying to fit a narrow normative standard. Hair is still a hot-button issue for many women, regardless of their texture, but hopefully this is a signal of more self-acceptance to come.

Trouble for a popular hair straightening treatment, the Brazilian Blowout, started brewing back in September when Oregon's OSHA released alarming results of its study. While Brazilian Blowout products are advertised as formaldehyde-free, OSHA found higher-than-allowable percentages of the toxin in all samples tested. A similar study by the Canadian government also concluded the solution had "unacceptable levels of formaldehyde."

Everyone from the state of California to Cosmetologists Chicago has chimed in since then. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review is holding a panel to discuss the issue in the next few weeks. The makers of Brazilian Blowout, however, claim the testing methods were flawed. We're guessing this issue won't be straightened out before 2011.

File this under "bad hair news." The Brazilian Blowout, a popular hair-straightening treatment, has been found to contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. After stylists at Portland-area salons complained of symptoms such as nosebleeds and difficulty breathing, Oregon state officials tested the formulations in question. Even those advertised as formaldehyde-free contained from 4.85 percent to 10.6 percent formaldehyde. (Brazilian Blowout has released a statement.) We've long been wary of straightening treatments because of possible health risks, and this news is just one more reason we'll stick with the styling iron for now.