Child Safety Around Hair Straighteners

Hair straighteners are all the rage and many parents love the ability to straighten their hair with ease. However, there are serious safety issues surrounding the use of hair straighteners, especially as they remain very hot even after use, and children are particularly at risk of burning accidents involving hair straighteners. We explore how you can use hair straighteners at home, but still keep your children safe from harm.

Safety conscious parents have long been aware of the danger that home gadgets such as irons and electric sockets could pose for young children, but it’s modern gadgets such as hair straighteners that need to be taken note of. They may serve a great purpose for helping mum straighten her hair, but they can pose a major risk for young children – mainly due to the hot temperatures they reach.

How Big a Risk Are Hair Straighteners?

The Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) recently released figures relating to the number of accidents that caused under five year olds to be admitted to hospital in the UK. Worryingly they found a high rise in the number of burning accidents in this age group – in fact, the numbers had risen by 50% in the last 10 years.

The rise in accidents correlated with the rise in the use of hair straighteners and a large proportion of burning accidents were found to be due to children coming into contact with the hair straighteners. Although parents may think they’re being careful in using the straighteners with children out of reach, it’s often when they’re put down after being used that the accidents occur.

The temperatures reached by hair straighteners are typically very high, in the region of 220C and they take a long time to cool down. Even if you’ve put down your straighteners and unplugged them, they can still burn a child up to eight minutes after they’ve been switched off and unplugged and the burn can be as bad as that produced by an iron.

Accidental burns from hair straighteners are bad enough for adults, but children’s skin is 15 times thinner, so the burns are more severe. In fact, burns caused by skin straighteners may well result in permanent scarring.

Protecting Children From Hair Straightener Burns

Although hair straighteners can be dangerous for children, this doesn’t mean you have to stop using them completely. But is wise to think carefully about how and when you use them and where you leave them to cool down.

For example, as children often want to copy what you’re doing or investigate an item for themselves, it would be wise to use your hair straighteners in a room on your own, without them around to see you using them. If this isn’t feasible, then always ensure your children are well away from the straighteners as you use them (one young grab could result in bad burns to the hands) and that you put them down on a safe surface out of their reach.

When you’ve finished using your straighteners, always turn them off and put them somewhere high up to cool down. The cables are often long, so be careful not to let them dangle down where they could be pulled.

In the same way that you’d tell your children about the dangers in the kitchen, or with an iron, be careful to warn them about the dangers of your hair straighteners. Don’t let young children try them out, however much they may yearn too, and always store your straighteners safely away from eager young eyes.

By being aware of the potential dangers of hair straighteners, you can hopefully help protect your family from their dangerous burning potential and keep your children safe.