Problems with Flat Irons: Dangers, Risks and More

Problems with Flat Irons: Dangers, Risks and More

Flat Iron Dangers

Flat irons are a staple in many homes these days, with most women considering them to be an essential part of their beauty routine. Few hair tools can change your hair as quickly and as drastically as a flat iron, which is why they are considered to be such essential tools.

But these hair care tools are also causing serious injuries to many people around the world, and these seem to be on the rise.


There are more and more burn cases being reported ever year from these products. The products themselves are getting safer and the regulations tighter, but the issue stems from the fact that they are becoming more popular. Kids as young as 10 and 11 are being bought them by their parents and those parents are also leaving their own flat irons lying around.

This is a recipe for disaster, which is why so many burn accidents are reported every year in the United States and the United Kingdom. According to some reports, flat irons are responsible for as many as 1 in 10 burn incidents in the home. When you consider that many of these victims are as young as 18 months old and that the majority will need skin grafts and life-saving surgery, that’s serious risk and a very serious problem.

The problem is not just that they are being left on, or that the parents are being distracted. A lot of the issues stem from the fact that they can take as long as 40 minutes to cool down and are dangerous and even life threatening for at least half of that time. So, even when you have finished and have unplugged, those irons could still cause serious harm if found and touched by a child.

Electricity Fires

Flat Irons
A lot of popular branded products are big made cheaply in China, before being shipped over to the US and being branded with big names. These are sold on the black market for the most part, but they can make their way into the retail marketplace where they are bought by people who don’t realize they are getting a fake product.

The wiring is not as good and the product is cheaply made, but the real issue stems from the fact that they don’t stop heating up and the parts are not strong enough to retain this heat. This is how electrical fires can start and how deaths and other serious issues can result.

If this happens to a legitimate product, then you have a lawsuit on your hands. You can make a product liability or personal injury claim and you stand a good chance of getting a lot of money. However, these cases are rare because the products are usually able to withstand a lot of use and abuse. When it comes to the fake ones that’s less true, but because you’re buying a counterfeit product you don’t have a case unless you bought it from a major high street retailer and it was advertised as being a legitimate product.

Hair Injuries

It goes without saying that excessive use of direct heat to the hair can damage your hair. We have discussed this many times on this site, including our Hair Loss in Women and Hair Loss in Men articles. This is an issue that many are either oblivious to or are ignoring completely. They don’t want to believe that they are damaging their hair in the name of vanity because admitting this would mean sacrificing that beauty regime.

You have probably seen the Youtube videos of youngsters using flat irons on their hair and then pulling their hair out with horrified expressions on their face. The fact that they are more available than ever and that they have become so common means that there is a false sense of safety and this leads to excessive use.

But hair is thin, vulnerable and susceptible to high heat, so it goes without saying that you are going to damage it if you use these excessively. Experts recommend occasional use, which is perfectly acceptable and safe, but every day use and prolonged exposure is not recommended.

Are They Safe?

You might want to give these tools a miss and focus on a brush instead of a flat iron. Or you could just be very careful with what you do, make sure you buy a quality product and get a guarantee that it is real and not a cheap counterfeit.

That’s what it all boils down to. Any product that is designed to transfer a lot of heat and to retain that heat without malfunctioning or blowing up requires a lot of testing and quality control. There are restrictions and regulations in place to make sure all of this happens and that the end product is perfectly safe. As mentioned above, if that turns out not to be the case then you have a lawsuit on your hands.

However, these regulations do not exist for black market/counterfeit products. So, if you want to stay safe then don’t buy cheap, don’t take a chance and make sure you get a product that abides by regulations.

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