Curling Iron Purchase in London
 

We will be traveling from the US through England and Scotland in a month. I need to use a curling iron. After researching several posts on the forum, it sounds like it would be much less complicated to purchase a curling iron in the UK than to bother with butane or adaptors. Where would I have the best luck making the purchase? I would like to take care of that as soon as we arrive. We will be staying near Kensington Gardens. Thanks!!

Pam,<BR><BR>Where, near Kensington Gardens????? (the gardens are rather large).<BR>I stayed at the Millenium Gloucester (near Kensington Gardens, 1/2 mile away) a couple of years ago. "Booths" the chemist sold hair dryers & curling irons etc.<BR>What is the address of your hotel? That might help others to be more specific about where you can purchase...

I think you can get one at Boots all over London. However, I'd like to hear from anyone who has purchased a bigger diameter one than the standard size in Europe. Each time I go, I try to find one to no avail. I'm talking about 3/4" -1" diameter. Tried in France, UK, and Italy. Ran into another American trying to find the same thing.

I purchased a curling iron in Boots in Galway City, Ireland. But Boots is all over the UK. I bought a Braun, I believe it's 3/4 inch, and instead of electric it's gas. It worked great for me and I am bringing it with me when I go back to the UK this June. I found I can by the gas ( I don't know what you call them) refill here in the US

Does that mean you can buy the gas refills in the United Kingdom as well? I have been concerned that I would not be able to obtain the butane refills in the UK if mine were to be confiscated at the airport.

You can buy that kind of stuff anywhere you can buy it here..in a Drug store, called "chemist" there, or a department store. If possible, get one with dual voltage. Be sure to also buy a set of universal plugs, as each country, (France, England, Spain, etc..) use a different one with different voltage.

Pam--I recently went to Italy, and was going to wait to buy a curling iron there, but happened to find one that is dual voltage before I left. It is marked "Dual voltage for worldwide travel". It does not have a switch, but adjusts automatically for the correct voltage. You will need a plug adapter, available in every Walmart. The curling iron is by Vidal Sassoon, and I paid $7.99 at a store called Big Lots, but you should be able to find it at Walmart, Walgreen's, CVS, etc. I bought the 1" barrel, I think there were a couple of choices of sizes. There is a website on the package: WWW.HelenofTroyUSA.com

Pam -- I needed to purchase a curling last year while in England (I blew up the one I brought with me!) and found them in all the stores you would think to look in (department stores, drug stores, etc.). However, I had a TERRIBLE time finding one that had the right size barrel and that did not have hairbrush-like bristles on it. Finally had to compromise and make do with what I could find. If you are particular about barrell size, you might want to reconsider and go the adaptor route.