THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE
The Christmas holidays are known for many things. Office parties, shopping for presents, the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center, the clanging of Salvation Army bells and people’s homes decorated with bright lights, wreaths and holly. Recent research also shows that Christmas is the peak time of year for accidents with hair straightening irons – yes, hair straightening irons — as women go to special lengths, at home and in beauty salons, to tame and straighten their otherwise unruly hair in time for holidays.
According the British journal Burns, handling these heated devices poses the greatest risk to children. But Christmas is the season for children of all ages and experts recommend that anyone using one of these hand-held metal torches to bake their hair into submission, slip the straightener into heat-resistant pouches once the desired results have been achieved to reduce the risks of burns.
To be effective means that the metal plates on the straightening iron must reach temperatures as hot as 450, which is 50 or more degrees hotter than than the temperature required for a clothes iron. And, the hotter the device, the longer it takes to cool. For straightening irons, it takes up to 15 minutes for the plates to cool off after use, which adds to the risk of burns.
We don’t have figures for the U.S. but we assume ownership of straightening irons tracks closely, in terms of percentage increase in ownership, the growth in use of hair straighteners In the UK, where the number of consumers owning straighteners rose from 4.6 million in 2007 to 5.3 million in 2010. Further, according to the report, nowadays one in five men own a hair straightener.
If you are badly burned by a hair straightening iron either at home, or at your beauty salon, you may want to contact The Ashley Law Firm, New York City’s top hair and nail salon injury lawyers. You may be entitled to substantial compensation.
