Lawsuit Investigation: Did Your Hair Dryer Catch Fire or Spark?

If your hair dryer melted, smoked, sparked or caught fire, attorneys working with ClassAction.org want to hear about it.

They’re investigating which, if any, hair dryers have a higher likelihood of catching fire and whether a defect may be to blame. If so, they may be able to file a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer.

Which Hair Dryer Brands and Products Are Under Investigation?

Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer Recalled Overseas for Overheating Hazard

The Revlon One-Step hair dryer and styler came under particular scrutiny in 2020 when two overseas recalls warned that the blow dryer could overheat and cause burns.

In the United Kingdom, Electrical Safety First, a charity that works to “reduce deaths and injuries caused by electricity” in the home, stated that the SM-5250 model of the One-Step hair dryer suffered from inadequate heat protection. As a result, the organization said, the product could overheat, causing some parts to melt or even catch fire.

A recall issued by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in Ireland similarly stated that the Revlon One-Step dryer “ha[d] not been designed in a way” that ensures “excessive temperatures cannot be reached.” The CCPC noted that the blow dryer and styler could overheat and cause users to sustain burns with normal use.

Hair Dryer Complaints: Sparking, Overheating, Catching Fire

Consumers who complained online about their hair dryers, including the Revlon One-Step, have reported a number of issues, including sparking from the blow dryer, overheating and even fires that caused burns. A sample of these complaints can be found below [sic throughout, emphasis ours]:

PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE ALL THE 1 STAR REVIEWS SAYING THIS THING BLEW UP OR CAUGHT ON FIRE. I was like you and bought it because it had 4000+ reviews and 4 stars and I just assumed it was great/fine…I had been extremely happy with its performance up until last week when it unexpectedly began sparking and smoking and within a fraction of a second burst into flames in close proximity to my skull…I've used cheapo drugstore hairdryers my entire adult life, so I've definitely had my share of $12 dryers sputter out and die on me but nothing involving flame like this…HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED that my head almost got torched off…tldr: IF YOU BUY THIS THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE YOU MAY GET BURNED WITH FLAME." — Jenny B., Revlon 1875W Fast Dry Lightweight Hair Dryer buyer, Amazon.com

This really threw me for a loop. I NEVER write reviews and I feel as if I needed to write one for this product. I bought this in late May of 2019 and it is now mid November 2019…this morning I was surprised and shocked. It started working fine, but then mid-styling, it started sparking and then COMPLETELY set ablaze! It was on fire... I had to throw this out IMMEDIATELY. What if it exploded right next to my head? What if my hair caught on fire? What if something worse had happened?...This WAS a good product until now. I saw the reviews before I bought this, warning about the fire - but thought that there might have been faulty ones. Now I’m convinced that this happens with all of them…” — Eleanor F., Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer Hot Air Brush buyer, Amazon.com

I have been using this hair dryer for almost 1 year now and suddenly out of nowhere it started giving this spark from inside the hair dryer while I was blowing my hair. I then put the hair dryer down and as I was pulling the plug out of the socket, it just exploded right in front of me. Luckily, I threw the hair dryer before, I was trying to pull the cord out of the socket so nothing happened to me. So, unless you want to cause serious injuries to yourself or a fire hazard, I don't recomend this product." — Maahi, Conair 1875 Watt Full Size Pro Hair Dryer with Ionic Conditioning buyer, Amazon.com

I was using my Revlon 1875 ionic hair dryer this morning when it sparked loudly and started on fire. It was like a scary 4th of July! I threw it and unplugged it. It could have started my hair, clothing, hand or house on fire. If not for my ceramic tile I'm sure there would have been damage. I think Revlon should take another look at this product for safety." — Revlon (Helen of Troy manufactured) 1875 Ionic Ceramic Hair Dryer complaint, SaferProducts.gov

FIRE HAZARD!...This morning, while using this hair dryer for less than 5 minutes, I started to see smoke come from my outlet. I quickly unplugged the dryer. Now I have my bathroom vent running to get rid of the burned plastic smell. I pulled the outlet out of the wall. The wiring is fine. The plug on the dryer melted around one of the prongs and melted my outlet, and almost started a fire. Now I'm out the cost of this dryer and will have to replace my outlet. I noticed when using it previously that the plug was hot when I unplugged it, but I didn't really give it a second thought. I should have." — Martha S., Hot Tools Pro Signature Ionic 2200 Turbo Ceramic Hair Dryer buyer, Amazon.com

How Can a Class Action Help?

Class action lawsuits could provide consumers the chance to get back some of the money they spent on their hair dryers. They could also force the manufacturers to recall or redesign their products or provide updated instructions or warnings.

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