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Elle
4 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Elle
Yes, Even Steam Can Straighten Your Hair—Here Are the Best Tools Experts Love
While traditional hair straighteners can have salon-quality effects on your hairstyle du jour—think sleek texture, enviable gleam, and tamed flyaways—the hot tools are not always beneficial for hair health, especially when it comes to maintaining moisture. What if we told you there was a one-step fix to straightening your hair while keeping moisture intact? Enter the best steam hair straighteners, which offer all the aforementioned perks without zapping the hair of moisture. 'Steam allows for a gentler, more hydrating straightening process compared to traditional dry heat,' says Min Kim, a celebrity colorist and the US and global ambassador of L'Oréal Professionnel. 'The water vapor in steam helps maintain the hair's internal moisture levels while smoothing the cuticle. This results in less breakage, reduced frizz, and a shinier, more polished finish.' Kim particularly recommends a steam hair straightener for anyone with frizz-prone, textured, dry, or color-treated hair. 'It's also fantastic for smoothing high-porosity hair and maintaining softness in blonde or sensitized hair that typically loses elasticity from too much heat exposure,' she says. When selecting a steam hair straightener for at-home styling, Kim recommends looking for models that support consistent steam output and have adjustable settings. She also notes that straightening tools with high-quality ceramic or anodized plates will pay off for long-term hair health. In short: 'You want a device that not only straightens, but also nourishes and protects the hair in the process.' Which tool deserves your trust? Ahead, browse our guide to the steam straighteners that earn the highest praise from industry pros and savvy home stylists alike. 'The L'Oréal Professionnel Steampod is an excellent example of steam technology in action,' Kim says. 'It uses continuous steam to straighten or style the hair while preserving softness and integrity.' As a plus, the coveted tool does more than just straighten the hair. Edgar Parra, a senior stylist at Benjamin New York, says that 'it's a great investment [because] clients can easily curl and straighten their hair with it for versatile styles.' Heat settings: 350 to 410 degrees Fahrenheit Plate type: Anodized aluminum Features: Leak-free water tank, detachable comb, intelligent heat control Ulta rating: 4.2/5 stars Our expert says: 'This delivers strong, even steam. It doesn't require much heat to get a really smooth, flawless result.' — Jill Turnbull, editorial and backstage hairstylist Designed to straighten the hair in 10 minutes flat, Wavytalk Steamline Pro performs multiple functions. The multitasking tool is a steamer, brush, and straightener all in one. It even comes with a silky scrunchie designed by influencer Danielle Athena, who helped develop the product and give it a moment of TikTok fame. And if you like your straighteners candy-colored, you're in luck: This model is available in white, baby blue, and ballet pink. Heat settings: 320 to 410 degrees Fahrenheit Plate type: Rather than plates, this has a straightening brush with patented 3D teeth Features: Anti-scald shell, automatically turns off after 30 minutes, universal voltage compatibility, comes with accessories including hair clips and a protective glove Amazon rating: 4.4/5 stars Our expert says: 'This three-in-one tool is great for all hair textures. It leaves the hair smooth, hydrated, and glossy. It's perfect for someone on the go seeking that salon-style blowout at home.' —Edgar Parra For a hybrid between a traditional flat iron and a steam straightener, this Steam Therapy Flat Iron comes recommended by the pros. Cheryl Bergamy-Rosa, a celebrity hairstylist and the founder of Contents Haircare, notes that this two-in-one tool has adjustable heat settings—five, to be precise—which makes it a practical choice for at-home styling. Designed to straighten the hair with or without steam, the tool has a base station reservoir that can refill its tank in 60 seconds. Heat settings: 338 to 455 degrees Fahrenheit Plate type: Titanium-cushioned Features: Removable comb, extra-long floating plates, sensor heat technology Amazon rating: 4/5 stars Our expert says: 'Look for soft or cushioned plates that flex under pressure, such as the titanium-cushioned plates in this Steam Therapy Flat Iron. These adjust to the hair's thickness and ensure even contact, reducing the risk of snagging or uneven straightening.' —Cheryl Bergamy-Rosa With an impressive six heat settings to choose from, which range from 300 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, Hot Tools' steam straightener gets a stamp of approval from Turnbull. Beyond its adjustable settings—with the lowest heat settings catering to fine and thin hair—the device offers plenty more room for a customized styling session. It's a steam-optional device, has steam-control settings ranging from high to low, and can also put out continuous or intermittent steam. What's more, it can help create straight, wavy, and curly looks. Heat settings: 300 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit Plate type: Ceramic Features: Center steam channel, dual voltage for travel Amazon rating: 4.1/ 5 stars An Amazon reviewer says: 'This is the best flat iron I ever bought for my wavy, thin, fine hair. I love it! Doesn't fry my hair or burn it. Great price, great product.' Offering eight to 20 minutes of continuous steam, Angelique's professional-grade tool is another one of Turnbull's picks. It can be used as a regular flat iron or a steam styler, and it has adjustable heat settings. The product is particularly recommended for those with thick or coarse hair, and the brand recommends adding a few drops of chia oil into the water tank for glossy, extra-smooth results. Heat settings: Multiple, ranging from 300 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit Plate type: Ceramic-coated tourmaline crystal Features: 360-degree swivel cord, dual voltage, heats up in 60 seconds Amazon rating: 3.8/5 stars An Amazon reviewer says: 'My hair is hard to tame, and I've got to say this works. It is the best straightener I've ever used. I think it's even better than the one my hairdresser uses.' With six adjustable heat settings, DoriSilk's easy-on-the-budget straightener has settings that cater to a range of hair types, including thin, curly, thick, and coarse hair. The tool is compact and relatively easy to use, and its floating, ceramic-coated tourmaline plates help boost the hair's shine. Heat settings: 300 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit Plate type: 3D ceramic tourmaline Features: Floating plates, lock and unlock function, fast-heating core, 360-degree swivel cord Amazon rating: 4.1/5 stars An Amazon reviewer says: 'I have always wanted to be able to straighten my hair with ease, but it always took me like 45 min to get my hair straight. With this steam styler, it takes me no time and my hair is shiny and straight for days! I'm obsessed!' 'Steam heat drives moisture deeper into the hair fiber while straightening, helping to maintain hydration and elasticity—two things traditional flat irons often take away,' Turnbull says. 'It's gentler on the cuticle and lowers the risk of breakage. Instead of drying the hair out, steam supports the hair's natural moisture balance.' She likens the process to ironing clothes, noting that linens and cotton smooth out better with steam. 'Hair reacts the same way,' she says. 'As with any heat tool, overuse or improper technique can lead to damage, especially if you're not protecting the hair,' Kim says. That said, she notes that the best steam hair straighteners are thoughtfully designed to reduce the risk of hair damage compared to traditional flat irons. 'The key is using a steam straightener on tangle-free, dry hair, and avoiding high heat on compromised or overly porous strands,' she says. It's also important to manage expectations. 'Steam alone just doesn't give the same results as a traditional flatiron,' says Vanessa Ocando, a celebrity hairstylist in New York City. 'If your hair already has a soft wave and you're just trying to tame frizz or get a bit more polish, they can work really well.' In short, she says: 'I wouldn't reach for one if I wanted super sleek hair, but it's great for someone who wants a natural finish with movement, not a flat, pressed look.' 'Steam straighteners are a godsend for those with thick, coarse, curly, or dehydrated hair types and textures,' Turnbull says. 'They're also a perfect match for color-treated or chemically processed hair, as they smooth without aggressively dehydrating. If your hair tends to need more moisture, is frizzy or dull, a steam straightener could be your new best friend.' When it comes to steam styling, 'Preparation is key to maximizing both results and protection,' Kim says. She reiterates that starting with clean, dehydrated hair is always best, as steam straighteners work best on dry strands. 'Use a lightweight heat protectant that complements steam technology and gently detangle hair before styling to prevent unnecessary tension,' she says. 'Additionally, sectioning the hair and working in small, even pieces also allows for a smoother, longer-lasting finish.' 'Go for a steam straightener with adjustable heat settings and a steady, diffused steam output,' Ocando says. 'Ceramic or tourmaline plates help keep things smooth and even.' She adds that if the straightener comes with a comb attachment, that's all the better. 'It helps guide the hair as you pass through while adding some tension to smooth out waves,' she says. Finally, when considering which steam straightener to buy, 'Keep in mind that steam straighteners are more about soft styling and frizz control than sleek, pin-straight hair,' Ocando says. 'They're perfect if you like a more relaxed, touchable finish.' Min Kim is a celebrity colorist and the US and Global Ambassador for L'Oréal Professionnel Vanessa Ocando, a celebrity hairstylist based in New York City Edgar Parra, a celebrity hairstylist and a senior stylist at Benjamin New York Cheryl Bergamy-Rosa, a celebrity hairstylist and the founder of Contents Haircare Jill Turnbull is an editorial and backstage hairstylist and the founder of Jill Turnbill Beauty As a leading publisher of fashion, lifestyle, and beauty content, is committed to highlighting the best products in various categories by personally testing the latest and most innovative products, interviewing countless experts, and vetting customer-loved items. For this piece, ELLE contributor Jenny Berg spoke to experts about the benefits of steam hair straighteners. Using expert insights, she searched the internet for the top-rated models on the market. 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Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's Why ICON Rebranded to SODAX and Abandoned its Layer-1
The last time ICON (ICX) was making headlines, it was at the height of the ICO bubble when it was competing with Tron and Filecoin to buy BitTorrent in a high-profile bidding war. ICON, once heralded as the 'Korean Ethereum,' peaked early in 2018 but later struggled to retain relevance amid fierce competition and a changing narrative. Now, ICON is back in the news, as it recently announced that it has rebranded to SODAX and is migrating its entire DeFi infrastructure from its own Layer-1 blockchain to Sonic, an EVM-compatible network focused on high-speed, low-cost transactions. Sonic itself is a product of a rebrand, shifting from the name Fantom in 2024. In an interview with CoinDesk, ICON founder Min Kim explained the logic behind shifting from running an independent blockchain to effectively outsourcing that part of the operation to Sonic's Layer-1 infrastructure. 'Back in 2017, we had to build our own Layer-1 because there wasn't any other infrastructure available,' Kim said. 'Today, buying and maintaining your own Layer-1 property just doesn't make sense anymore because there are cheaper, better options available.' According to Kim, outsourcing infrastructure to Sonic allows his team to streamline expenses and sharpen their strategic focus on DeFi products. 'It significantly cuts our operating expenses by millions of dollars,' Kim told CoinDesk. 'There's less inflation for our tokens, and all of this just makes financial sense.' This isn't all that dissimilar from the manufacturing world. Foxconn and Taiwan Semiconductor are billion-dollar companies because firms like Apple and Nvidia don't have their own factories. Similarly, ICON no longer needs to bear the high fixed costs and risks associated with running an entire blockchain. 'Maintaining a decentralized network with validators around the world is a huge undertaking,' Kim explained. 'We have eight years of experience running our own Layer-1. It's tedious, costly, and very stressful. Outsourcing to Sonic allows us to focus on innovation and delivering products that people actually want.' Kim also highlighted the risk reduction benefits, noting that ICON's DeFi layer can remain unaffected by infrastructure issues at Sonic, creating a valuable risk separation. 'There's de-risking,' he explained. 'If Sonic gets hacked, obviously it's bad, but it's not directly our fault. Sonic focuses solely on security and validator infrastructure, so we and other DeFi builders can focus on creating applications closer to end-users.' The strategy comes as ICON seeks to reinvent itself amid diminished market influence. Once a top 20 cryptocurrency, ICON's ICX token crashed nearly 99% from its all-time highs by late 2018, and has since not recovered, according to CoinGecko data, as investors moved toward platforms better able to capitalize on the rise of DeFi and NFTs. 'Layer-1 infrastructure just doesn't make sense for most projects,' Kim argued. 'Many underestimated the effort, the capital expenses involved. There's been a misguided premium investors placed on Layer-1 projects, thinking an ecosystem would naturally build itself. But that's costly and rarely sustainable.' Now rebranded as SODAX and focused on cross-chain liquidity products, the project is migrating ICX tokens to a new token, SODA. While Sonic and SODAX's tokens remain distinct, Kim emphasized that Sonic's fee-monetization mechanisms will channel transaction fees back to SODA holders. 'Sonic allows 90% of transaction fees to flow back to SODA token holders,' Kim noted, underscoring the economic incentive of their strategic pivot. Asked if this outsourcing model represents a broader trend, Kim predicted that many projects currently running Layer-1s will likely reconsider as market cycles shift. 'Ethereum and Solana are great examples as they're fully focused on validators and network security," he said. "We're at the forefront of reversing the trend of launching your own Layer-1s. It's just not viable for most projects long-term.' As the era of premium valuations for proprietary Layer-1 platforms ends, more projects, Kim said, are going to just focus on the product and not the infrastructure with ICON – now SODAX – leading the way on this. 'We're going back to basics, lowering our costs, streamlining operations, and doubling down on what we originally wanted to do: put financial products directly into people's hands.'Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
ICON Project Rebrands as SODAX, Migrating DeFi Infrastructure to Sonic
SODAX introduces seamless cross-chain swaps, lending, and borrowing across 12+ blockchains — deploying the first chain-agnostic Unified Liquidity Layer on Sonic. ZUG, May 12, 2025 (Bitwire) -- SODAX, the DeFi-native successor to ICON, one of the earliest and most recognized blockchains from the 2017 era, has officially begun migrating its core infrastructure to Sonic, a high-speed, EVM-compatible Layer 1. The milestone follows a successful validator vote to decommission the ICON chain, marking the first full L1 migration into the Sonic ecosystem. SODAX introduces a new intent-based execution that enables seamless swaps, lending, and borrowing across 12+ chains, all routed through protocol-owned liquidity and delivered via a composable SDK stack. Unlike most DeFi apps, SODAX lets users move between assets and blockchains seamlessly. Intent-based execution handles any need to bridge or wrap tokens in the backend. 'Our mission has always been to empower individuals by putting financial products directly in their hands - not just to store digital assets, but to actually use them independently of traditional financial institutions,' said Min Kim, founder of ICON and SODAX. 'With SODAX, we believe we've finally brought together the essential elements: lower fees, an improved user experience, and a platform designed from the ground up for self-custody and genuine financial utility.' Access the Press Kit: SODAX Brings Unified Liquidity Layer to Sonic 'ICON/SODAX brings something to Sonic that doesn't exist today — an intent-based execution layer spanning more than a dozen chains,' said Michael Kong, CEO of Sonic Labs. 'Done right, this can significantly improve the DeFi user experience. It's a meaningful addition to the Sonic builder ecosystem.' The move arrives as Sonic's momentum accelerates. Since rebranding from Fantom in late 2024, the network has gained ground as a serious DeFi-native L1, offering sub-second finality, EVM composability, and a Fee Monetization (FeeM) model that redistributes gas fees to builders. SODAX's arrival adds a high-utility product layer that complements Sonic's infrastructure focus. Unlike bridge-based protocols or rent-a-pool aggregators, SODAX routes native assets through Protocol-Owned Liquidity (POL) — enabling persistent, low-slippage access without relying on mercenary TVL or third-party bridges. Its Solver SDK uses intent-based routing to optimize every transaction across chains, abstracting gas, wrapping, and slippage. For users, assets stay native and costs stay low. For builders, SODAX offers a composable foundation that unlocks protocol fee streams and faster integration across wallets, DEXs, and DeFi apps. ICON Evolves from Infrastructure Layer to User-Focused DeFi ICON launched in 2017 with a bold vision to connect blockchains through interoperability standards like Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP) and xCall. Over time, however, its focus shifted from infra-first development toward DeFi usability — led by projects like Balanced and Hana Wallet, which helped validate real user demand. 'We built a layer one because we had to,' said Kim. 'Back then, there was no infrastructure for what we wanted to do. But the industry's matured, there are now plenty of options available, so we don't need to build everything ourselves. This allows us to focus where we have an edge: innovating and delivering products that people actually want to use.' SODAX is the result of that shift: modular execution that integrates directly with Uniswap, Cetus (Sui), Raydium (Solana), and other key dApps — Its Unified Liquidity Layer routing native assets with minimal slippage. 'The heart and soul of ICON is still very much the same. We're just focusing all our energy and attention on a goal that's still aligned with the interoperability infrastructure we've always believed in,' said Elise Shin, SODAX head of growth. ICON ($ICX) to Migrate Token to $SODA As a decentralized network, the validator vote formalizes ICON's evolution into a fully product-driven platform. $ICX token holders will be able to migrate to $SODA, a new governance and utility token with a fixed supply cap of 1.5 billion (changed from unlimited supply) and built-in deflationary mechanisms. 'There's a tremendous sense of excitement from our loyal community members who have supported us throughout our journey, and for good reason,' said Kim. 'Over the years, we've assembled a world-class team of experts across multiple disciplines from over a dozen countries, forged robust partnerships with industry-leading projects and companies, and, most importantly, developed technology and products that truly resonate with our partners and users. On top of that, we're extremely well-capitalized where we are better positioned than most top projects at a similar stage. All of this gives us every reason to feel confident and optimistic about what lies ahead.' About SODAX: Cross-Chain DeFi Platform on Sonic L1 SODAX is a cross-chain DeFi platform built on Sonic, enabling seamless swaps, lending, and borrowing across 12+ blockchains — all powered by the unified liquidity layer and intent-based execution. Built by the makers of the ICON public blockchain network, SODAX focuses on unified, user-facing products that simplify DeFi across ecosystems like Arbitrum, Stellar, Sui, and Cosmos. With integrations across Uniswap and Cetus (Sui), SODAX turns fragmented DeFi into a single, scalable experience. Learn more at Press Contact: Elaine Ramirez, [email protected] Twitter/X: @gosodax Press Kit:
