cali88

I need to buy a flat iron for my trip to rome and paris.. i live in california, america and i was wondering if anyone can recommend me a brand thanks!

alihutch

If you are staying in a hotel I owuld have thought that they would have one that you could use and staying in an apartment there should be one too....

cali88

flat iron for my straighing my hair

alihutch

oh, hair straighteners! Where i come from flat iron is the old fashioned name for a iron!....as in the Flat Iron building......how funny!

hetismij

As others have said in your other thread why not wait and buy one in Europe? It will heat to the right temperature and will not blow all the fuses of wherever you are staying.
You can get them for anything from €15 upwards.

cali88

Just buy a dual voltage one in the US (110-240V). It will be much cheaper, and then also buy a plug adapter in the US. Then you'll be able to use one anywhere in the world if you have the appropriate plug adaptors.

.. someone said that is that true?

sap

Yes. Most small appliances like a hair straightener are now dual voltage & you will only need the adapter.

Ackislander

Strongly second hetsmij's advice. Dual voltage electronics work really well. Dual voltage heating appliances, not so. Very embarrassing to blow the fuses for the whole floor in your hotel. They are cheap at Monoprix, and the plug will fit anywhere on the continent.

avalon

You can get one at wal Mart!

kybourbon

Most flat irons aren't dual voltage. I've noticed Marshall's and TJ Maxx have some small travel flat irons that are dual voltage (about $12), but I wouldn't expect them to work very well. I seem to recall some posts a few years back about people buying Wigo brand online that worked ok. Buy one in Europe, it will work better.

Christina

I don't think most are, but there are plenty of brands easily bought for a cheap price in the US that do have dual voltage. I know Revlon makes one as I have it, and I think COnair does also, there are plenty out there. They say right on the package if they are or not, as I was specifically looking for that.

Ohiobarbara

You can find some at magellans.com. I bought a lightweight hairdryer from them since many in the hotels don't have much power. Thanks for reminding me that I need to get a flatiron, too. I blew out a curling iron in London so also bought one of those. The price of beauty!

susanna

I'm a hairdresser. If you buy an iron in the states do not use it turned on to the max, start with it about halfway..ex. if the iron goes to 410' start with it at about 300. For some reason many clients have blown out duel voltage irons. I agree with buying one there, which I did, for about 50E

That said, to all of you that use an iron, you have got to check out the latest straightening services, with no chemicals. We infuse keratin to the hair with a flatiron, it lasts from about 3-6 months, absolutely no frizz, dries in half the time. There were many problems when this was first introduced, some had too much formaldehyde, some broke the hair, but it has all been worked out. I use the Coppola method and I haven't experienced anything bad, only beautiful shinny frizz free hair. The down side is it costs a fair amount($350+ in sf) and it takes about 3 hours. I traveled to Paris in the winter, with my iron, and never used it, I won't be taking it this summer to St Tropez, no need any more. It's the best new service I've seen in 20 years, ask your hairdressers!

jrjcolllins

I just bought a dual voltage flatiron by Revlon.....cost was about $20. It came with two flatirons, one being very tiny, which I wanted for traveling.

marcy_

I've tried a couple of different dual voltage flat irons for travel in Europe- a Revlon, and another brand that I can't remember, and they weren't good at all compared to my Chi that I use at home.

FInally I found this one, and it's excellent:

http://www.folica.com/Sedu_Ionic_Cer...cid=fgl_001411

It's not cheap, but for me, since I travel to Europe often, it was very much worth the cost. I don't have to worry about blowing fuses or frying my hair.

Sidny

cali88- IME, dual voltage curling irons don't work in Europe. I toted mine along on a couple of trips before giving up b/c I never got to use it. I never knocked out the hotel lights, but it was a useless appliance. Definitely agree with the suggestion to make a Monoprix (or the equivalent in Rome), one of your first stops to pick one up.

kybourbon

I've never had a problem with my dual voltage curling iron. I didn't have a problem with a non-dual voltage curling iron years ago either. I just used a small converter that could handle 0-2000w, but since the converter weighs about 12 oz, I was glad to ditch and just carry the curling iron.

>>If you buy an iron in the states do not use it turned on to the max, start with it about halfway..<<<

I think that may be true of many dual voltage heat appliances. I think the dual voltage hair dyers work better on low in Europe. On high, they can sound like they are going to blow up.

cali88

can someone recommend a brand, i saw one at the mall for 60 bucks.. at a travel store i'm not sure what brand it was but if anyone has any reviews let me know

susanna

I recommend: Chi, Infrashine and Hai...they are all good brands that work well and are duel voltage.
In my area Costco often has these for $59 which is a great price, you can even order them on line and they have free shipping.

bellalinda

Wait until you get there - the best flat irons are Italian!! Ask your hairdresser. My US one blew out in Italy and I bought a G.A.M.A. from a little pharmacy hole in the wall in Bellagio - it is such a good machine . You will never buy Revlon again. You also do not need a voltage converter when you get back to North America - only a $2 plug adapter.