Although hair products and hot styling tools typically go together, hairspray and curling irons don’t. If you regularly curl your hair, it’s important to know how to clean a curling iron because they collect dirt, oils, and gunk from gels and hairspray in addition to your hair. At least once a week, try to quickly clean your curling iron with items you likely already have in your house. Use something slightly more abrasive, like baking soda or a melamine sponge, if your curling iron has a layer of grime on it.
Table of Contents
Tools
• Hot Tools Styling Iron Cleaner
• Microfiber cloth or towel
• Gentle Scrub Sponge
How To Clean A Curling Iron
Method1 Removing Gunk
1. Baking soda and water mixed together make a natural cleaner that you can use to scrub the barrel. Mix 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water in a small bowl. Using a rag or paper towel, scrub the barrel after stirring the mixture with a spoon. This will have a mild abrasive effect. At the end, always wipe away the solution with a fresh, damp cloth.
- You only need a thick paste; precise measurements are not necessary.
2. Apply a fresh toothbrush to the barrel and scrub it down. Use a toothbrush to provide more friction if a rag or paper towel aren’t working well enough. Run it over the barrel in tiny circular motions after dipping it in your preferred cleaning solution to help remove the gunk.
- Make sure you don’t use the toothbrush for anything else!
3. For tougher-to-clean gunk, apply acetone and let it sit for 10 minutes. Utilize acetone-dampened rag to clean the barrel. To allow the acetone to dissolve the gunk, leave it on for 10 minutes. Avoid leaving it on for too long as this could harm the surface.
4. If there is dirt that won’t budge, try a melamine sponge or steel wool. Choose a steel wool pad for other surfaces or a melamine sponge for nonstick ones. Scrub the barrel from one end to the other while dipping it in your preferred cleaning solution or even just water. To help remove the gunk, scrub in a circular motion, paying particular attention to the dirtiest spots. Don’t forget to fix the handle as well as the clamp, if yours has one.
- Melamine cleans the dirt at a microscopic level without typically leaving a scratch on the surface. Steel wool has a stronger abrasive effect, but it can scratch nonstick surfaces.
5. Before using, thoroughly dry your iron. It can be risky to use a damp curling iron. Apart from the fact that electronics and water don’t mix, it could spit hot water at you, which nobody wants! Before using it, completely dry it with a towel.
Method2 Cleaning A Smelly Curling Iron
1. Rubbin’ alcohol is a simple cleaning solution that you can use to clean the iron. Rub some rubbing alcohol on a paper towel or cotton pad. Just dampen the cloth, don’t fully soak it. Make sure to go over and under the clamp as you run the towel over the barrel. Rubbish on your curling iron and other debris will be removed with the aid of the rubbing alcohol.
- Possibly more than once will be necessary to go over the barrel. Remember to also clean the handle.
2. A hands-free solution is to wrap the iron in a lemon-juice-soaked cloth for 15 minutes. If you’d prefer, you can use lemon juice from a bottle. Lemon juice can dissolve the grime and odor because it is acidic. Wrap the entire barrel in the rag, making sure it is sufficiently damp from soaking.
- Try vinegar instead of lemon juice if you don’t have any.
3. When you are done using the cleaning solution, wipe the barrel clean. The barrel should be opened and set aside. Rinse the rag thoroughly, or get a new one and wet it with water. With the damp rag, wipe any residue left on the barrel from the use of acetone, vinegar, lemon juice, or vinegar.
- By no means submerge the barrel in water. Your curling iron might break if water gets where you don’t want it to.
Method3 Keeping Your Iron Clean
1. Clean the iron once a week. This will stop other products, such as hairspray, from sticking to the iron and posing a risk. Additionally, if you keep the curling iron as clean as you can, it will work better!
2. If you’re not using it, keep your curling iron in a drawer. As a result, you won’t splatter your curling iron with products or batter it with makeup, which would cause more gunk. Place the iron in a drawer free of toothpaste tubes and other substances that might leak and get on the iron.
- Alternately, clamp the iron to some metal shelves and hang it there.
3. When not in use, keep the curling iron unplugged. In particular when you’re cleaning it, it’s not sufficient to simply flip the power switch (if yours even has one). You must completely unplug the curling iron because you’ll be applying liquid to it. Liquid and electricity are incompatible.
4. Before storing or cleaning the curling iron, let it cool completely. While some instructions advise cleaning an iron while it’s still warm, it’s best to wait until it’s completely cooled. Using cleaners on a warm iron could damage the surface, especially if it has a non-stick coating, but you don’t run the risk of burning yourself.
- Hold your hand close to the iron and feel for warmth. If you are unsure of whether it is still hot, don’t attempt to touch it.
5. When your curling iron starts to exhibit wear and tear, replace it. If there are tangles in the cords or a burnt smell (not coming from your hair!), it’s definitely time to get a new iron. In a similar vein, you might want to visit the shops if the plates begin to dent or scratch. Finally, you might want to choose a new iron if your current one isn’t heating up the same way it used to, either getting too hot or not hot enough.
- It’s possible that you’ll want a new iron if you can’t clean the gunk off your old one.
