Straight Off, Straight Away

“Straight Off, Straight Away” is a campaign that RoSPA and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are involved in to raise awareness of hair straightener burns to children.

The campaign urges parents and carers to turn straighteners Straight Off, and put them Straight Away. RoSPA teamed up with NHS GG&C, The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Electrical Safety First to produce “Straight Off, Straight Away” posters to be placed in GP surgeries, hospitals, pharmacies, early years centres and other key places around the NHS GG&C health board area.

The poster informs people that hair straighteners can reach up to between 210-230°C – nearly six times the temperature of a household hot water supply, three times the temperature of a freshly-made cup of tea, and hotter than a domestic iron. The extremely high temperature can have devastating effects for anyone who touches hot hair straighteners and leave life-long scars, particularly for young children whose skin is thinner and more fragile than an adult’s.

Parents can help protect their children from these burns by using a heat resistant bag if they have one or by purchasing one either from shops or online. Health visitors and teams working with families in the area are being briefed to discuss hair straightener safety when carrying out home visits with families of young children.

The campaign was launched in Glasgow on March 9, 2016.

The poster for the campaign