I was quite surprised to hear recently that 1 in 10 burns among children are caused by hair straighteners. This is such a large amount! Straighteners and other heated hair appliances are such a common part of many people’s daily routine nowadays that the amount of burns caused by these has actually doubled in recent years.
As a result of this, the Electrical Safety First are campaigning to raise awareness and encourage parents to keep their straighteners in a heat proof pouch after use. Straighteners stay hot for up to 40 minutes after use and this is a real danger time as it would be easy to think “oh they are turned off and unplugged, they will be okay.”
Straighteners can reach up to 220°C, more than twice boiling point and enough to cause very very serious burns. It’s pretty scary to think about the damage they could do, especially to young children’s skin which is up to 15 times thinner than our own.
The following video has been created by Electrical Safety First, and is not pleasant to watch but will definitely keep this reminder fresh in your mind!
If you use hair straighteners, follow our top tips to make sure that you, and your children, stay safe from electrical burns:
- Keep hair straighteners out of reach of children
Children’s skin can be 15 times thinner than that of adults so it’s important to keep them out of reach of little feet and hands. - Use a heat proof pouch
Hair straighteners stay hot up to forty minutes after they have been switched off. A heat proof pouch is the easiest and safest way to store a product after use. - Keep them away from skin
Do not allow the any of the hot plates to come into contact with the face, neck or scalp when using straighteners. - Seek medical attention
In the incident of a serious burn, seek immediate medical attention. If the hot plates comes into contact with the skin but it is not serious, run the affected area under cold water.
Visit the Beauty Burns page for more information.
Blog post brought to you in collaboration with Electrical Safety First. Hair straighteners image courtesy of John Kasawa Freedigitalphotos.net
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
I’m always neurotic about putting mine somewhere safe and out of reach from the kids after I use mine. Quite astounding statistics – makes you realise how careful you need to be.
I can remember when it used to be burns from kettles and hot pans on the cooker, in a modern world you might not think of hair straighteners, but I guess its better to be safe than sorry!
Really? That is completely shocking! My daughter is often around when I am straightening my hair and I always make sure she goes nowhere near them, constantly telling her they are hot! I am so conscious about turning them off properly and putting them out of the way whilst they cool down – in fact I usually check about 10 times before leaving the house that they are off!
so scary to watch that video. My straighteners are kept out of the way but it would be so easy to forget them
I’m always careful with hair straighteners but Mister B sat on my iron last year while it was cooling down on the floor under the ironing board!! He’s fine but we took him to A&E and they gave him a special burns plaster to stop it scarring.
I’m always super nervous when my partner uses her hair straighteners. I have nightmares that she’ll put them down and our little girl will pick them up 🙁
A friend’s daughter got quite a serious burn on her hand from straighteners so I’m well aware of the dangers. I don’t really use them much but I’m super careful when I do.