Nothing is worse than getting yourself ready... makeup done... feeling glam... then picking up that old rusty looking curling iron covered in hairspray.
It is important to take care of your hair tools just like you take care of your makeup brushes! Using hot tools covered in burnt-on product make them both less effective and also hurts the health of your hair.
Here's how to get it shining once again!
What you'll need:
- Rubbing alcohol
- Cotton balls/ pads
- Baking Soda
- Old Toothbrush
- Old rag or clorox wipes
Warning... this DOES take some elbow grease on your end. Don't get frustrated. A good idea is to do this while watching a movie or studying... there's a lot of waiting time. Start with making sure the curling iron is completely unplugged and not hot/warm.
Soak the cotton pads (I used ones I have for nail polish removal) with rubbing alcohol. Wipe down the entire curling iron. If you are like me... even the handle was gunky. (NOTE: alcohol is flammable! Again make sure the curling iron is OFF!).
Then, on the worst spots, take a few soaked pads and leave them on the curling iron for about 15 min (or more, depends how much is built up). The alcohol softens the residue. I used my fingernails to help get a lot of the gunk off.
Once this is done, don't lose faith! It won't appear to do much.
Make a thick baking soda paste. Add just enough water to the baking soda... don't make it watery.
Rub this on the curling iron... now work with the toothbrush and clorox wipes/rag rubbing the curling iron down. Keep rinsing off the toothbrush as you work. This will get a bit wet and messy. However, try to keep the curling iron out of a lot of water as it is still an electrical appliance...
You might need to go back and forth with an alcohol pad soak and a baking soda paste rub.
Soon it will finally it chip off in bigger chunks.
Eventually you will have this! TADA!!! It actually works.
The clorox wipes really help! The ridges seem to be more effective than the toothbrush in certain areas - so don't be afraid of a little trial and error.
It is important to take care of your hair tools just like you take care of your makeup brushes! Using hot tools covered in burnt-on product make them both less effective and also hurts the health of your hair.
Here's how to get it shining once again!
What you'll need:
- Rubbing alcohol
- Cotton balls/ pads
- Baking Soda
- Old Toothbrush
- Old rag or clorox wipes
Warning... this DOES take some elbow grease on your end. Don't get frustrated. A good idea is to do this while watching a movie or studying... there's a lot of waiting time. Start with making sure the curling iron is completely unplugged and not hot/warm.
Soak the cotton pads (I used ones I have for nail polish removal) with rubbing alcohol. Wipe down the entire curling iron. If you are like me... even the handle was gunky. (NOTE: alcohol is flammable! Again make sure the curling iron is OFF!).
Then, on the worst spots, take a few soaked pads and leave them on the curling iron for about 15 min (or more, depends how much is built up). The alcohol softens the residue. I used my fingernails to help get a lot of the gunk off.
Once this is done, don't lose faith! It won't appear to do much.
Make a thick baking soda paste. Add just enough water to the baking soda... don't make it watery.
Rub this on the curling iron... now work with the toothbrush and clorox wipes/rag rubbing the curling iron down. Keep rinsing off the toothbrush as you work. This will get a bit wet and messy. However, try to keep the curling iron out of a lot of water as it is still an electrical appliance...
You might need to go back and forth with an alcohol pad soak and a baking soda paste rub.
Soon it will finally it chip off in bigger chunks.
Eventually you will have this! TADA!!! It actually works.
The clorox wipes really help! The ridges seem to be more effective than the toothbrush in certain areas - so don't be afraid of a little trial and error.