I'm in the middle of packing our stuff for shipping. Please, could you let me know if your UK hairstraighteners, curling irons, epilators, etc. work in Canada. I started a 'small electricals' thread a while ago and some said not to bring them over. I really don't want to part with them.

Has anyone been using these without a transformer (i.e. only with a travel adaptor)?

Didn't bring any. Easy enough to get replacements, but then all I have is a hair dryer and shaver and someone told me that anything with a motor won't work anyway.

You would probably need a voltage transponder as well as an adaptor, but check your hairdryer etc as some of them are dual voltage - I have a travel one that is.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Compat...f_Goods-Canada

http://www.contiki.com/community/dis...-work-overseas

For some reason, I can't find irons that really work over here so I use my English ones. Only the dual voltage ones really work...invest in a set of dual voltage GHDs and then a canadian plug adapter and you're golden, don't need curlers either - they do both

Foreign girl....just because my packers got to 'em before I did, I brought them all. Gingerly tried plugging them in to a travel plug they have all worked with the exception of a set of big heated rollers, which went binwards. I have some straighteners, a curling tong, some sort of wiggly foam covered wire things and another set of heated rollers (yes, when bored I buy small electricals!) and no excuse not to go to the ball. The CD player worked too, as did my wandy kitchen blender thing...and I still have small electricals that I'll get round to plugging in one day!

My straighteners and hairdryer both work but they don't heat up to the usual temperature so I got new ones eventually. Keep the old ones to pack for visits home

They don't work with a travel plug, mine is taking up room in the garage!
just like England you can buy all types here

My GHDs mark IVs work perfectly well with a travel adaptor. They heat up to the same temp as the UK and just as fast.

Hairdryer was rubbish out here. Got a cheap one from Walmart for about 20 dollars.

Don't men ever worry about their small electricals?

My husband did when I cut his hair with British clippers.... and they took a great big lump out of the side of his hair and then stopped working....he had to get his hat out and take a quick trip to London Drugs to get a new set.

I was quite amuzed....

The consensus seems to be that many things may work but simply not as well as in the uk. I will need a hairdryer with correct voltage and new straighteners as I currently have mark 3 ghds-which are single voltage. All models after these are dual voltage! I have had them in north America with me and they do heat up but just dont work well at all on the different voltage. Sharing a bathroom with three other girls who all had single voltage hair styling kit when at a conference was not a fun experience!

I once bought someone I'd never met, but knew from a talkboard (no one you know), a small hand held electrical appliance. It amused me to do so.

I rather wish I'd left it at that.

totally bring your straightners (although you can get some amazing ones here). When I plugged mine in the travel adapter, they started smoking and got twice as hot as they did in the UK and made hair straightening time down by 50%.

I fondly remember the first time I tried using my hairdryer in Canada and got little more than a gentle breeze out of it.

It still might be worth hanging on to your UK straighteners for any trips back to the UK, since blasting your 110v Canadian straighteners with the 230(ish?) the UK uses is very likely to destroy them. (At least that is my understanding of things?)

But I suppose you could get around all that by choosing a dual voltage model in Canada. Just sucks to get rid of a faithful old straightener!

+1

You'll find the English ones much less powerful over here. I use straighteners rarely but they infuriate me when they heat up so slowly and seemingly to a lower temperature, then I take them on a trip back to the UK and 'bam' hot hot hot in an instant!

But keep them, if anything just to save you shelling out for stuff like that one arrival.