Make Sure You Have Good Air Circulation While Styling Your Hair, Experts Say
Keep it cute and help ensure cleaner air with these useful tips, including using an air purifier
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Between the mist of a heat protectant and the sizzle of a flat iron, styling our hair can feel relaxing. But research shows that using these products can fill the air with harmful nanoparticles.
A recent study found that styling hair with products such as hair spray and with hot tools like flat irons, curling irons, and hair dryers releases tens of thousands of ultrafine particles into the air when the tools are set to temperatures above 300° F. While invisible, these particles can increase exposure to indoor air pollutants and have been linked to lung irritation and respiratory conditions. Black women, particularly, may be at high risk due to traditional hair styling methods.
Three Ways to Ventilate Your Space
CR’s air purifier testing lead Misha Kollontai suggests opening the door while styling your hair. “Chances are, the air outside of your bathroom door is cleaner than what is around the hair dryer/hair spray, so introducing that source of air into the equation will reduce the impact of the new particles being introduced,” Kollontai says.
“Another good bet is to turn on the circulation fan in your bathroom if you have one. People usually associate that fan with taking showers/baths as it is used to reduce the moisture content, but at the end of the day, it’s a fan that moves air out of your bathroom, so it would help with this as well.”
For a more efficient and reliable way to improve air quality, Nicole Backus, product and brand manager for home environment at Hamilton Beach and Clorox Home Appliance, recommends using an air purifier with a HEPA filter and an auto-sensing feature.
The most effective air purifiers in CR’s ratings utilize a fan that forces air through a mechanical (often HEPA) filter. “Some have supplementary technologies that build on this feature and claim benefits such as odor elimination (carbon filters) or antibacterial properties (UV light), but in general, the fan and filter base is really at the core of how effective a model is at reducing particle concentrations,” Kollontai says.
Whatever ventilation method you choose, Elissia Franklin, PhD, a scientist at Silent Spring Institute, says be sure to keep airing out your space even after you finish styling to get as many airborne toxins out as possible. “Using the over-the-stove fan or hood could help pull some of those chemicals out of your home as well, like when you are cooking.”
