Frozen Hair for the Future? Discover The Frozen Hair Smoother

Contents:

• Frozen Wand Tool
• How it Works
• Talking Points
• How did it stack up?
• Final Considerations
• Further Reading

It’s that time of year again when we’re thinking of ways to combat the frigid temperatures and keep our tresses safely tucked away under some type of protective style or gear; the time when we ease up on the wash and goes because who wants to deal with wet hair in below zero temperatures, right? So imagine my shock when I came across a Facebook post about frozen wand hair straightener that is being marketed as the next big thing in hair care.

I thought it intriguing, to say the least, and immediately the childhood episodes of the Jetson’s with their futuristic technology came to mind. I had to check out the possibilities of this new hair wand, vicariously of course.

Frozen Wand Tool

So the wand is an innovation by Inverse which seems to be a toast to the ice age. It promises remarkable results in elevating the levels of hydration in hair fibers. The marketing copy on their site states that:

if you treat hair at icy cold temperatures, the fibre itself changes; locking in moisture improving strength and elasticity within the hair. As a result you get healthy, soft, shiny, naturally gorgeous hair.”

We have seen the damage that sub-zero temperatures can do; what with freezer burns and incapacitation of limbs exposed to frozen temperature for too long (yes the imagery is scary I know). With this in mind it is plausible that ice could be an alternative to altering the structure of the hair shaft with heat to allow for the straight look, but what piqued our interest is not so much the ability of this frozen wand to straighten, but its promise of repairing damaged hair by changing the fibers through elevated levels of hydration.

How it Works

In the directions for use, you are asked to freeze the detachable frozen plates, then reattach them when you are ready to use the tool. You are encouraged to use the company’s specially formulated hair mist and conditioner on damp hair then glide the tool from root to tip on sectioned off portions of the hair until you’re done with the whole head.

Talking Points

Science supports the claim that heat styling tools like flat irons* and curling irons* can damage the hair. In fact, some of us have had unfortunate experiences with heat damage, so if there is something that can straighten the hair minus the heat damage it would sure grab our attention.

In Greenaway’s article here, we saw how trichologist and founder of The Hair and Scalp Clinic in Hendon, Shirley McDonald, explained that: ‘Icy temperatures could also help smooth the cuticles and lock in any conditioner that’s been applied to the hair.’ This seems to support the following claims by the developers:

• Improved moisture
• Shinier hair
• Improved hair strength
• Enhanced smoothness
• Better definition
• Lasting effects

How did it stack up?

We watched a few videos to see if the frozen ice wand straightener was any good. A particular journalist’s initial experience was disappointing since she did not get the silky smooth finish that was in the marketing copy on the packaging but after several uses, she did notice a difference in the feel of her hair and had this to say:

Despite doing a very good impersonation of straighteners, the Inverse definitely does not straighten the hair and when I go back to user guide and read between the lines there are promises of sleek, silky, smooth hair, but removing kinks is not listed among its virtues.

After having watched a few videos we can’t say we saw any real evidence that it straightens hair at all, in fact, the use of a blow dryer* seems to be imperative so it doesn’t appear to be great for straightening thick wavy hair and since there were no afro-textured tutorials using it we can’t say how it would work on our particular hair type. You know how for some of us even a flat iron* doesn’t do much unless it is on the highest setting, well, I’m not convinced that frozen straighteners would do much of anything either.

This left us with a few questions:

1. How effective would this be on afro-textured hair?
2. If this does work, would we still need to worry about reversion like we would if heat was used?
3. Would afro-textured curlies need to use the recommended ice mist and conditioners sold by the company or could we use our homemade or over the counter curly-girl stuff?
4. Can we get the equivalent to heat damage using this tool? Imagine the hair getting so cold it just breaks off like an icicle.

Final Considerations

We see the attempt to set up this frozen tool as the one that is preferable to harmful heat styling, and while we concede that irresponsible use of heat can lead to damaged tresses, we cannot see how this tool would replace straighteners so it appears heat is still in the game.

We also have proven on this platform that heat does aid in deep conditioning our fragile kinks and coils, especially for those with low porosity hair. In fact, we have cited credible sources and studies which have shown heat to be best at helping to deep condition hair and that is one critical part of a regimen for afro-textured haircare. All we really have on the sub-zero aspect is what the sellers of this gadget claim.

In addition, we noticed that on some platforms it has been marketed as a straightener; however, in the curly hair video tutorial on the inverse site, it was said that the ice wand is NOT a straightener. That video also recommended that it be used to get more defined curls. I suppose that it freezes your style in place?

In our research we found no evidence of the product being tested on afro-textured hair, but given the nature of afro-textured hair, we need all the help we can get as it relates to keeping our kinks adequately moisturized; hence, if this frozen wand could really help our strands retain moisture by repairing damaged fibers so our hair can be hydrated- especially after our silk presses and hot curl sessions – we may very well be ready to welcome the ice age.

Further Reading

You can use heated use safely without causing heat damage to your hair. Here are some articles and videos with great pointers.

• Prevent Heat Damage By Knowing What Really Works As A Heat Protectant
• How To Straighten Thick Natural Black Hair Without Heat Damage
• 7 Steps To Flat Ironing Relaxed Hair Without Heat Damage
• Hair Reverting Too Quickly? Here Are 10 Top Anti-Reversion Products
• HOW TO STRAIGHTEN CURLY HAIR W/O HEAT DAMAGE! | Curly to STRAIGHT [Video]
• Straight Hair to Curly Hair Routine | Watch My TYPE 4 HAIR Curls Revert (ZERO DAMAGE) [Video]
• Managing heat damaged or relaxer damaged hair