Can I use my American flat iron in England?
S. writes:
I’ve been reading your beauty blog for about two years now, and really love it! You give great advice and your honesty about bad products make your rave reviews even more trustworthy. Thanks for all the tips. I have a question for you: my mom is traveling to London for the first time ever (she is so excited!) and is worried about her hair styling tools working abroad. I lived in Spain for a year and had no problems just using a converter with my American curling iron, but she has heard England has higher volts or some such nonsense, and she doesn’t want to fry her (very expensive) Chi flat iron. Any advice? Do you use a converter when you travel abroad, or do you use tools you purchased in England? Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!!
Oh, dear God, S., do not let your mom use her American tools in England! I have fried the hell out of my hair twice this way; the voltage is indeed screwy (something I can never understand) and not only will she be at a higher risk of burning her hair, but she may break the flatiron, too. She’s better off going to Boots any buying a “cheap” (I say this with quotes because of the exchange rate) English version. I’ve had the misfortune of both ruining an expensive flatiron and frying the bejeezus out of wide swaths of my hair while in London, so I speak from very traumatized experience! Of course, she could always embrace the crappy English weather and try to rock a wavy look while there, but in that case, I’d recommend she bring grooming creme and anti-frizz lotion (the John Frieda Frizz Ease line works well), as well as some hair elastics, a chic skinny scarf or headband, and a damn-the-torpedos attitude!
Tags: Chi, England, flatiron, John Frieda, traveling with beauty products
May 28th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Bonjour, Nadine! Just so you know, the voltage here in the US is between 100V-125V. In the UK, however, and in many parts of the world (including Asia), the voltage is 220V or 240V. That means that you have DOUBLE the electricity coursing through your appliance in the UK as you do here, causing any US-made appliances made ONLY with 110 V plugs to basically fry themselves.
You needn’t buy another UK-based appliance to replace yours. First, check to make sure that your flatiron will ONLY take 100-125 V power supplies. Most of the time you’ll find the info on the handle or somewhere else on the appliance. It’ll be all that little text engraved on the surface, right where it says where the item was made, the UL number, the DANGER warning, etc. It should say something like 120V or 110V somewhere on there. If it’s 125V or less, you only need to buy a POWER CONVERTER. Otherwise, when you get to the UK, their 220V will screw up your poor 120V flatiron.
However, many, many appliances made in the last few years (especially those meant for travel) have now been manufactured with dual-voltage capabilities. Nearly all laptops have that option, for example, as does my mom’s curling iron. It’ll then say something like 100-240V on the appliance. (On laptops, it’ll usually say it on the adapter itself.) That means that your appliance will work just fine with UK’s power supply.
Sometimes, the appliance itself will make the adjustment automatically between the two voltages. Other times, you’ll need to flip a switch. (It’s easy enough to do — just flip the switch to either the 100~ or 200~ V, depending on what the local voltage requirements are.)
If you do have a dual-voltage appliance, you’ll probably just need a POWER ADAPTER. UK plugs are the round-pin type; American appliances have flat pins. Your appliance’s voltage requirements are fine, but you won’t be able to fit the plug into UK outlets.
You can get power adapters at most travel stores, either online or off-. You can also try home improvement stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot; Target; and hardware stores. Power converters can be found at travel stores and possibly home improvement/hardware stores.
Hope that helps!
Salut,
Marjorie
May 28th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
All of the previous comment is correct, with the small caveat that I have had more than one appliance die even using a converter. Neither was a dual voltage one, but I have had to bid adieu to a hair dryer and a straight iron using a converter, so if it’s a longer trip than a few days, I’d spring for a British version.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
A hair dryer is too powerfull to be used with a normal converter. You would probably need a 1500 Watts converter not to kill your beloved hair dryer. And maybe the same could be said about the straight iron (no experience for that…).