# The wonderful and amazing Ionic Hair Wand from Sharper Image! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2001, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonderful-and-amazing-ionic-hair-wand-from-sharper-image/51917 "2001-01-26T21:35:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonderful-and-amazing-ionic-hair-wand-from-sharper-image/51917/1 "2001-01-26T21:35:18Z")
Yes ladies and gentlemen, this revolutionary new hair brush is not your ordinary stick with bristles, no indeed. While it certainly can handle anything your old, outdated, ordinary brush does, the IHW does so much more. The IHW > [@](#): > > generates a stream of positive ions that smooth and tighten the cuticle’s protective sheath, making your hair look healthier and much more vibrant My sister bought one and I tried it but I can’t say I noticed any significant unusual effects. Admittedly, I wasn’t very scientific in my assessment so it certainly could’ve done what it claims to do without me noticing. What do you think? Any scientific basis? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonderful-and-amazing-ionic-hair-wand-from-sharper-image/51917/2 "2001-01-26T21:53:05Z")
There’s one born every minute… ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2001, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonderful-and-amazing-ionic-hair-wand-from-sharper-image/51917/3 "2001-01-26T22:40:49Z")
Um, I thought that it was negative ions that were supposed to be good, and positive ions that were supposed to be bad? [http://www.esdjournal.com/articles/ions/ions.htm](http://www.esdjournal.com/articles/ions/ions.htm) > [@](#): > > Many modern day researchers say that by controlling the electrical charges in the air we breathe, our health, mood and energy level can be improved significantly! The bad news is that they say negative ions are good and positive ions are not. And anyway, isn’t “positive ions” just another word for static electricity? [http://www.simco.nl/simco/static0.htm](http://www.simco.nl/simco/static0.htm) > [@](#): > > Static charge buildup is caused by one of two processes: either by friction between two surfaces (called triboelectrification) or by proximity to an electrostatic field (called induction charging). > > Triboelectric charging (a transfer of electrons) occurs when two materials are in contact and are then separated. One material acquires an excess of negative ions and the other an excess of positive ions. This site also has a description of three kinds of ionizers that are available. I don’t see any mention of hairbrushes. 😃 So you bought a hairbrush that generates static electricity? Dude. How much it set you back? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2001, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonderful-and-amazing-ionic-hair-wand-from-sharper-image/51917/4 "2001-01-27T01:15:35Z")
> [@](#): > > So you bought a hairbrush that generates static electricity? Dude. How much it set you back? 😃 > \*\* No, no, no. My _sister_ bought it. Let’s just make sure that’s clear from the get-go. I’m visiting my parents and saw it and she went ahead and explained it to me and showed me the catalogue. I was pretty certain that it was pure nonsense but, as she seemed to think it works, I told her I would keep an open mind and check it out. I’m not sure how much it cost but I’ll bet more than 10X a non-ionic hairbrush. I feel kinda bad having to tell her the reality of it. I’ll just try to avoid her for the time. Sorry sis. ---
**Author:** ![sethdallob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@sethdallob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sethdallob)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2001, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonderful-and-amazing-ionic-hair-wand-from-sharper-image/51917/5 "2001-01-27T01:44:12Z")
Hehe, I used to work across the way from a _Sharper Image_. If you wanted, you could have virtually everything in the world ionized…your pants press, your hairbrush, your shaver (!), your anti-lint brush, your toothbrush, and, of course, your air. I’ve learned a simple defintion: ion = load of crap It’s served me well so far. ---
**Author:** ![Zor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/848f3c/32.png) [@Zor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zor)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonderful-and-amazing-ionic-hair-wand-from-sharper-image/51917/6 "2001-01-28T05:29:13Z")
New information available at this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=57519). ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonderful-and-amazing-ionic-hair-wand-from-sharper-image/51917/7 "2001-01-31T04:36:49Z")
Not that I’m opposed to passive euthanasia, but I’m hoping someone can respond to **Zor’s** insightful post from the other thread before this one dies. From the other thread: > [@](#): > > I took a look at that older thread posted above, and I did not find the replies satisfactory at all. In fact, I found the general attitude of the replies to be somewhat disturbing in the context of fighting ignorance. So after doing some web searches, here are my findings: > > Hair is composed of the cortex and the cuticle. The cortex makes up the bulk of the hair, and consists of long strands of proteins called keratin. The cuticle is a layer of protective dead cells covering the cortex. When placed in contact with acids, cuticle cells will shrink and harden. This has the effect of making your hair stronger, shinier, bouncier, less likely to tangle, and more efficient at retaining moisture within the cortex. > > In the field of chemistry, acids are often considered oxidizing agents, and vice versa. Ozone is a fairly good oxidizing agent. Based on the information presented above, the claim that ozone is good for your hair cannot be dismissed off hand without further study. The same reasoning also applies to the ambiguous claim that positive ions are good for your hair. Many acids and oxidizing agents are in fact positive ions, and they may very well be good for your hair. The choice of wording is inadequate, but I would not be surprised to find a company advertising its hair products as containing positive ions instead of acids. ---
**Author:** ![Zor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/848f3c/32.png) [@Zor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zor)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wonderful-and-amazing-ionic-hair-wand-from-sharper-image/51917/8 "2001-01-31T22:07:37Z")
Ewe… looks like the other thread got locked up ☹ Anyway, I think those ionic/ozone hair brushes probably do work to some extent, except that you’re getting charged for more than they’re worth. You can probably get better results by purchasing any one of those _acidifiers_ commonly employed by hair stylists. Enter _hair_ and _acidifier_ into any search engine and you can find a long list of products to consider.