A hairdryer is the single most dangerous thing most people pack. It combines a heating element, a motor and a high current draw in one cheap plastic shell — and unlike your phone charger it is usually built for one voltage only.
Read the label before you pack it
Turn the dryer over and find the small print. There are only two possibilities:
- 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz — dual voltage, safe anywhere with the right plug adapter. Many travel dryers and some modern models are built this way, sometimes with a small 125/250 V switch you have to set by hand.
- 120 V 60 Hz or 230 V 50 Hz — single voltage. On the wrong grid it will either run slow and cold, or run far too hot and fail within seconds.
Why a plug adapter is not enough
An adapter only changes the shape of the pins. A 120 V American dryer plugged into a 230 V Thai socket through an adapter receives roughly twice its design voltage. The heating element overheats, the thermal fuse blows — sometimes the casing melts first. It is not a subtle failure.
Sizing a converter
Hairdryers draw between 1000 W and 2200 W. Converters are sold by wattage, and the rule is to buy at least 1.5× the device rating: a 1600 W dryer needs a 2500 W converter, not the 50 W "travel converter" sold next to the adapters. Those small units are for shavers and toothbrushes.
| Dryer rating | Converter you need | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1200 W | 2000 W step-down | ~1.5 kg |
| 1600 W | 2500 W step-down | ~2.5 kg |
| 2000 W+ | Not practical — buy locally | — |
Also check the type of converter. Resistive loads such as heating elements need a transformer (heavy, reliable). Cheap solid-state converters are rated for short bursts and overheat quickly on a dryer.