The past few years have shown many new developments in hair styling technology. One of the most popular up and coming technologies is tourmaline plated flat irons.

Metal plated flat irons are a thing of the past, and were replaced by ceramic flat irons several years ago. Ceramic flat iron technology has recently expanded to include the material known as tourmaline. Tourmaline is a mineral compound that is ground into a fine powder and then infused into ceramic, and then flattened and shaped to create the plates of a tourmaline flat iron.

When combined with ceramic, tourmaline has proven to be the best material available for flat iron plates. Tourmaline-ceramic (commonly referred to as just tourmaline) plates product much better results at less damage to your hair. The main differences between flat irons with ceramic and tourmaline-ceramic plates are discussed below.

There are not as many noticeable differences between ceramic and tourmaline as there are between ceramic and metal plated. The ceramic and tourmaline plates perform almost equally, but tourmaline does it slightly better.

The most notable differences between the two materials are:

Heat Damage
Flat irons with ceramic plates help to prevent your hair from the damage which is caused by heat (compared to metal flat irons) because they produce negative ions. Tourmaline flat irons work even better at preventing heat damage, because the material is designed to produce more negative ions. The negative ions protect your hair cuticle from damage by locking in the hairs own natural moisture, while reducing frizz and static electricity. This method of using negative ions is much safer for the hair and results in far less damage to the hair cuticle than competing flat irons that use metal plates.

Negative Ions
Tourmaline plates produce a greater number of negative ions than ceramic plates. Besides protecting your hair from damage, the purpose of the negative ions is to help to neutralize the positive charge in dry or frizzy hair, making it straighter and silkier. The negative ions diffuse all of the excess water in the hair into tiny particles, enhancing the moisture balance of the hair, while reducing frizz and static electricity, making hair smooth and healthy looking.

Selection
Most high end professional brands that manufacture flat irons have models with both ceramic and tourmaline plates, but the selection is usually limited. There are many more choices when it comes to ceramic compared to tourmaline, but tourmaline flat irons are becoming more and more popular, so there is a better selection of them now than there was a year ago.

Time
Most tourmaline flat irons take only 25 seconds to straighten a section of your hair, while the ceramic flat irons take a slightly longer time. The less time spent straightening your hair, the less damage.

Cost
Even though tourmaline flat irons are better for your hair and are more advanced, it is usually the case that tourmaline flat irons are cheaper than ceramic flat irons.