Why we cut heat loss instead of adding power

Heating speed had hit a wall. Here’s how a different approach took the Steam Magic iron to 230°C in about 30 seconds.

Straightener heaters have come a long way, from mica to PTC to MCH. Maximum temperatures rose from about 180°C to 230°C, and heat-up times fell from around three minutes to about a minute.

Then progress stalled. Past about 60 seconds, adding more heater power brought more safety risk without much more speed.

A different question

Getting heat to the hair quickly depends on two things: making more heat, or losing less of it along the way. Most designs focused on the first. We focused on the second.

Working with researchers at a university research centre for more than a year, our engineers redesigned the heating assembly.

What changed

In a traditional design, the aluminum plate is both the working surface and the bracket that holds it, so heat escapes into the bracket. We separated the two, with a heat-proof structure between the heater and the bracket.

The result is an iron that reaches 230°C (450°F) in about 30 seconds. See the full specifications.