The smell of burning can be normal: all our curling irons have a protective coating around the heating elements. When curling irons are first plugged in and put to use, in some cases there may be a momentary burning smell due to the coil coating being heated for the first time. This does not constitute a danger and does not indicate a malfunction of the appliance. When the iron is used for the first time, it should be left running until the smell disappears. This happens in about 30 seconds.