You can take hair dryer in hand luggage, so It’s a good idea to take a personal hair dryer with you when traveling abroad.
However, here comes another question:
Can you use your hair correctly in other countries? For example, in European countries. Let’s go through it together.
#1. Will My Hair Dryer Work in Europe?
Yes, but you need to pay attention to a few things. Otherwise, you might find your hair dryer can not be able to function at all in Europe.
1. The Power Plugs / Sockets in Europe
If you take a look at the American plug of your hair dryer, you will find it is a 2 flat blade plug, which we call it plug type A.
However, in most of the European countries, type C plug is commonly used. And that makes the American hair dryers with a type A plug can not be plugged into a European outlet.
But it does not mean that we can not use our hair dryer in Europe. What we need is a power adapter, which can change the shape of the plug so that we can have a plug that is compatible with European outlets.
So, to get your hair dry work in Europe, the first thing is to get a power adapter.
2. The Voltage of Your Hair Dryer & The Voltage in Europe
The second factor that determines if your hair dryer can work in Europe is the voltage.
The Voltage in Europe is 220 volts. You should check your hair dryer’s label to see its voltage as well, and you can also see the wattage of your hair dryer too. Usually, American hair dryers run on a lower voltage, which is about 120 volts. There are also hair dryer can work on dual-mode, those hair dryers can be switched, which enables you to use the hair dryers in different countries. After checking the product lable, if your hair dryer can work on voltages from 110 volts – 250 volts, you are all set to go with just a power adapter.
What if your hair dryer only works on American voltage?
If your hair dryer says it only works on 120 volts, then you need a power converter to make your hair dryer work in Europe.
A proper converter can convert the voltage and make your American plug working in European countries.
#2. How to Know If My Hair Dryer Will Work in a Country?
Since we’ve known there are two things that should look when taking hair dryers abroad, then using your hair dryer in other countries becomes easy.
The steps are exactly the same.
1. Check the plug type
You can go to https://www.iec.ch/worldplugs/typeA.htm to check what types of plugs/outlets the country uses, and see if you need to carry a power adapter with you.
Setting an example is always straight forward:
If you are going to Asia, let’s say China, and China is on the list of the countries that use type A plugs, so you don’t need a particular adapter to change the shape of the outlets.
2. Voltage in that Country
The next step is to check the voltage of the country uses.
We assume your hair dryer only works on 120 volts voltage in the US, and we can also see China use 220 volts in the list above. Therefore, you need a 120v to 220v converter/transformer if you need to get your hair dryer work when traveling in China.
Okay, I hope you have already known if your hair dryer can work anywhere in the world and what should you take. The final step is to hit the road & have a good trip!