Straight hair without heat damage? The AntiTeaser Clip

Mary J says…I saw a new hair clip to my straighten hair without heat damage. It just might work so I thought I would share it, but it is still in the development phase.

The Beauty Brains respond

The product that MJ is referring to is the AntiTeaser clip which is a crowd sourced innovation in development at Indiegogo. You attach a couple of these clips at the root end and a couple at the tips and then pull your hair until it’s taut. Supposedly it’s an easier way to straighten your hair.

It’s clever in that it attempts to avoid damaging heat from blow dryers and flat irons and also is easier to use “because one’s muscles will not be strained by lifting arms over the head for an extended period of time.” However, I’m skeptical about how well it work for two main reasons:

Why the AntiTeaser clip won’t straighten hair

1. It does nothing to restructure chemical bonds in hair.
How does it undo the structure of wavy hair without heat or chemicals? The only thing it can do is hold hair in a straight configuration while it dries, which will reduce some frizziness and waviness.

2. It does nothing to KEEP hair straight
Even if you use these clips to keep your hair straight while it dries, there’s nothing to prevent the hair from reverting to its curly/wavy configuration. ESPECIALLY one’s it’s exposed to humidity. This kind of setting is known as a “wet set” and it does change the salt bonds in hair which are the weakest type of bond. These bonds are what cause you to wake up with bed head.

I don’t think it’s very easy for any type of  clamp to hold enough hair tightly enough to prevent it from slipping over time, especially while you’re sleeping on it.

I love to see crowdsourced innovation succeed so if anyone actually tries this product please leave a comment and tell me  what you think.