4 Best Ways to Clean Curling Iron

Where in the last century perms hit the trends in this century the definition has changed and instead of perms or straight hairs bouncy curls and luscious waves snatched the limelight. I must admit curling irons have made this trend so much easy to achieve. This magical wand takes the least time and saves heaps of your salon cost. Just wrap your hair around the wand and you are all set to rock every event with your fabulously styled locks. However, using a curling iron appears to be the easiest task but the maintenance can give you some serious troubles. Diurnal use of a curling iron creates some serious mess to the barrels. It is quite hectic to clean the barrels and time-consuming. However, as we know, “A smart mind can put into words a relevant solution to every problem”. I have summed up some solutions to clean the gunk in your barrels. The rest of the article will assist in evaporating the germs from curling iron barrels.

Methods for Vacuuming Curling irons: Say Goodbye to gunk

There are several ways of cleaning the curling iron barrels and you have to determine the remedy according to the mess in your barrel. The most efficient methods of cleaning the curling iron barrels are inscribed below:

Process 1: Regular Cleaning

Necessary Components:

• Water
• Dry Cotton cloth
• Spray Bottle
• Sturdy Paper towel

Procedure:

• At first, unplug your curling iron and make sure it is cool.
• Spray water throughout the barrel
• Now rub the barrel with paper towel
• When you are done with the rubbing process, wipe away the extra water with a dry cotton cloth. Make sure the barrel is completely dry as the damp barrel can be eroded easily.

This Process is for everyday cleaning. Whenever you use the curling iron just do these simple steps and you will never get your tool messed.

Process 2: Little Stain

Method 1: Rubbing alcohol

Necessary Components:

• Rubbing Alcohol ( you can use 90% Isopropyl and 10% water solution)
• Scrub Brush ( Normal clean toothbrush will do)
• Cotton Ball
• Dry cotton cloth

Procedure:

• Unplug the curling iron and wait until it is completely cool.
• Now soak the cotton ball in the rubbing alcohol.
• Now scrub the areas that have the hairspray spots. You will witness the spots are being vanished.
• If you have, stubborn strains just take the toothbrush and rub it well.
• Clean the handle and the clamp too.
• After the cleaning process wipes the tool with the dry cotton cloth and makes sure the curling iron does not have any moist.

Rubbing alcohol is well known for evaporating hairspray spots.

Note: that Rubbing Alcohol is Flammable. Therefore, while using just make sure the curling iron is cool enough.

Method 2: Ammonia

Necessary Components:

• Dash of Ammonia
• Cotton Pad
• Water
• Toothbrush
• Dry Cotton Cloth
• Ziploc Bag( according to the size of your curling iron)

Procedure:

• Turn off the curling iron and let it be cool.
• Dip the cotton pads into the ammonia and gently rub them through the barrel.
• Now splash some of the ammonia into a Ziploc bag and pour your curling iron barrel into the bag. Now zip off the bag.
• Let the barrel be there for 10 minutes.
• After ten minutes take the barrel out and clean the barrel with the dipped cotton pads.
• For tough burnt grime use the truth brush and rub the barrel well.
• Now spray some water to the barrel.
• Take the dry cloth and wipe away all the moist from the barrel.

Ammonia works well and highly recommended for ceramic or hybrid ceramic barrels.

Note: Do not let the barrel be into the Ziploc bag for more than 15 to 20 minutes. It can cause a reaction between ammonia and your barrel material.

Method 3: Goo Gone

Necessary Components:

• Goo Gone
• Scrub Brush ( Normal clean toothbrush will do)
• Cotton Ball
• Dry cotton cloth

Procedure:

• Unplug the curling iron and wait until it is completely cool.
• Now soak the cotton ball into the Goo Gone.
• Now scrub the areas that have the hairspray spots. You will witness the spots are being vanished.
• If you have, stubborn strains just take the toothbrush and rub it well.
• Clean the handle and the clamp too.
• After the cleaning process wipes the tool with the dry cotton cloth and makes sure the curling iron does not have any moist.

If you are running out of time, Goo Gone will be the right pick as it works very fast.

Process 3: Medium Stain

Baking soda

Necessary Components:

• Baking Soda
• Cotton pads
• Water
• Bowl
• Scrub Brush ( Normal clean toothbrush will do)
• Cotton Ball

Procedure:

• Make a 3:1 ratio paste of baking soda and water into the bowl and mix the paste well with a spoon. Add water if it is too sturdy and add more baking soda if it is too runny. The paste has to be a bit thick so it can stick to the barrels.
• Now apply the paste over the barrel with the help of the cotton pads.
• Let the paste be for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Then scrub the barrels gently with a toothbrush.
• Clean the barrels with water and dry them off with a cotton

This procedure takes the grime away most effectively.

Note: Do not let the baking soda be there in the barrel for a long time as it can harm your ceramic coating.

Process 4: Tough Stain

Oven cleanser

Necessary Components:

• Oven Cleaner
• Dry Cotton cloth
• Damp cotton cloth

Procedure:

• Splash oven cleaner throughout the barrels and let it stand for 15 to 20 minutes.
• After that take a damp cotton cloth and gently rub off the oven cleaner.
• You will see the barrel has got rid of the strains.
• Now, dry the barrel with a dry cotton cloth

This procedure takes the least time and is the most effective one. If you have stubborn stains that are not vanishing, you may choose this method.

Note: Do not use this process more often as it decays the barrel’s quality.

Conclusion:

This century has stepped ahead from the boring lifeless straight or dull wavy hairs rather 21st century is signified for the revolution of curls and waves in the fashion and trends. All the credit goes to the easy use of curling irons. However, Every time we curl our hairs, we are more likely to use hair spray or hair gel thus the curling iron barrels meet these chemical products. That is how the barrels are messed. Some easy steps can give you back the brand new look of your favorite tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How to clean hairspray off the curling iron?

Unplug the curling iron and allow it to cool. Take a cloth or cotton swab damped with alcohol. You can also use 3:1 baking soda and water solution. Rub this over the surface of the iron and wipe it off with a cloth damped with plain water. Wipe the iron dry before use. 

Q2. How to clean a curling iron rod?

For simple cleaning, use a damp cloth moistened with plain water or alcohol and wipe the rod clean. Wipe dry with a clean dry cloth. 

If the rod is stained or full of gunk, a slightly harsher method is required. Rub some ammonia on the rod or add some ammonia in a ziplock pouch and put the iron rod in it. Keep it for 10 mins and wipe it clean with a damp cloth followed by a dry cloth. If the grime is stubborn, spray some water and use a toothbrush to scrub it clean. There are also bottled solutions available in the market for cleaning curling iron rods. You can also try an oven cleanser for very tough stains. 

Q3. How to clean a curling iron brush?

First, make sure your iron is unplugged and totally cooled off. There are tools like flat end wands or thin small brushes that should be used first to pick out the big debris like hair strands and particles. The next step is to take some rubbing alcohol on a swab and work it into the areas between the brush teeth and scrub it out. Do not dip the iron in water or pour any liquid on it. Let it air dry out itself. 

Q4. How to clean a smelly curling iron?

Unplug the iron and let it cool. Add some lemon juice to a bowl and soak a soft cloth in it for 15 mins. Rub the barrel clean with this cloth for a refreshed clean fragrance.  

This can also be done with rubbing alcohol and you can find a scented one that could do the job just as well.

Q5. How to clean a sticky curling iron handle?

You can either use a few drops of rubbing alcohol or make a paste of three parts baking soda to one part water. Damp a cotton pad or soft cloth with any of these and rub over the handle to remove all stickiness. Wipe with a water-dampened cloth and then a dry cloth.