How to Clean a Curling Iron

Does your curling iron have burnt on hair products, and hair stuck in the burnt gooey mess? And every few months you throw it away and replace it, because it is just too gross to look at?

After throwing away several perfectly good curling irons and hundreds of dollars, all because of that sticky burnt on mess. I figured out how much money I am throwing away, and thought, “there must be a better way” so I set out to find a way to keep my curling irons until they die of old age. After trial and error, I came up with the answer. It is a process, but it has never failed me.

About every two months I take a little time and clean my curling iron. The following is the process: Always unplug your iron before starting any cleaning process.

1) After use as the iron begins to cool down, take an old towel that you don’t want anymore, and wipe the barrel of the iron as hard as you can, since it is still semi warm, a lot of the gooey mess should come off on the towel.

2) Soak part of your towel in rubbing alcohol and wipe down the barrel. If it has been a long time that the mess has been building up, you may even need to use an old stiff toothbrush.

3) If this still hasn’t cleaned your iron to your liking, use 100% acetone on an old rag and wrap the rag around the barrel, let it sit for a minute, then wipe clean. This step may be repeated it need be.

On the other hand, if you have already thrown out the nasty curling iron and have purchased a new one, there are preventative measures you can take to insure that you won’t have the burnt on mess again.

1) Use your iron as usual.
2) At the end of every week, take 5 minutes and rub your barrel down with rubbing alcohol.

If you do this faithfully, you will never have to throw away another curling iron until it has lived a long life serving your hair styling needs. With the cost of living these days, every penny counts, so take care of that curling iron, after all, it takes care of you every day! These steps will also work on your straighteners, crimpers, and all your styling tools.

Betsy Cline

Betsy Cline has been a professional house cleaner for 15 years and also a mother of 4 amazing kids (who make lots of messes). She is the founder of How to Clean It and loves to share tips and advice for cleaning up anything life throws at you.

Recent Posts