Can you bring a hair straightener on a plane?

Hair straighteners and curling irons on flights in and from Japan

The rule for hair straighteners and curling irons comes from the Civil Aviation Bureau's list of restricted items. On international flights its liquids list applies as well.

Refill gas cartridges for a hair iron cannot be carried in either bag. A lithium-ion battery over 160Wh is not allowed at all.

Cordless hair irons: flight mode, removed batteries and gas

A corded straightener is ordinary baggage, but once the iron has its own battery or a gas cartridge the answer changes from country to country.

USB-powered irons count as plug-in

The hair-care leaflet from Japan's transport ministry starts with a single question: plug-in type? If yes, the iron is OK and non-hazardous, and the leaflet adds that USB cord types with no built in batteries are also OK. The main list agrees for irons fed from a power bank: they stay in the plug-in row, which is marked as not dangerous goods.

Flight mode can stand in for taking the battery out

For a battery iron the leaflet asks whether batteries and heating elements can be isolated. Separating them is one way; setting the iron to flight mode or an equivalent is the other. Japan's main list gives the same pair: removing the lithium-ion battery, or cutting the electrical circuit to the heat source. Narita Airport's FAQ mentions only detaching the battery.

How the removed battery has to travel

Once the battery is out, the leaflet requires steps against short-circuiting and gives examples: place it in a battery case, apply insulation tape to the terminals, and do not put multiple batteries or metal items in the same bag. A lithium-ion battery cannot be checked in, and the Japanese leaflet rules out carry-on as well above 160Wh.

Gas irons: carry-on only in the US, checked only in Australia

A gas curling iron gets opposite answers abroad. The TSA allows butane curling irons in carry-on bags only, with a safety cover over the heating element. CASA's entry for hair curlers containing hydrocarbon gas reads can be checked-in, can't be carried-on, and requires airline approval. Japan accepts 1 per person in either bag. All of them refuse spare gas cartridges.

A cover is enough for the TSA, not for Japan

The TSA lets a cordless straightener with a lithium battery into the cabin when a safety cover is securely fitted over the heating element and the device is protected from accidental activation. Japan's leaflet asks for more than a cover: a battery iron whose battery and heating element cannot be isolated is not permitted for check-in or carry-on.

Hair straighteners and curling irons: the rule country by country

The carry-on answer for hair straighteners and curling irons is the same in all 6 other places we checked. The limits themselves are not identical, so read the row for the country you fly from.

Each row comes from that authority's own page. Airlines can be stricter, and the screening officer has the final say.

If security in Japan will not let hair straighteners and curling irons through

What to do

Move hair straighteners and curling irons to the bag you check in before you reach security, within the checked-baggage limits above. Narita Airport states that anything given up at the checkpoint is discarded and cannot be returned.

Buying hair straighteners and curling irons in Japan

Where to buy

Electronics shops. Note Japan runs on 100V.

Related items

• Shampoo and conditioner
• Hairspray
• Hair wax and styling products
• Hair dye and colouring
• Hair tonic and hair growth products
• Hair dryer