No bad hair days :)

Boy that's a lot of hair things. ;)
Are you going to stay at hôtels? They almost always have a hairdryer. I take one because sometimes I stay with friends who do not.
I only take a small travel hairdryer. I got it at Walmart and works in Europe.

Without looking at all your stuff, sounds like only your curling iron has the dual voltage. I have used a cheap dual voltage Conair hair dryer and straightener in Europe many times with just the adapter to make it fit in the outlet. I'm just not a big fan of the wall mounted hair dryers that many hotels have installed and my Conair is pretty powerful and has a handle that folds up to make it easy to pack. But many hotels and B&B's will have a hair dryer available for guests (you can always email to ask if you don't feel like packing one and you aren't picky and would rather save your Euros).

If you know you are going to be traveling overseas again at some point in the future, then you may want to spend the money and purchase those things when you are over there. I travel overseas a lot, but just can't justify spending money on things I already own that are dual voltage and can be used with plug adapters - I would then also have to justify taking up closet or drawer space storing all those duplicate hair styling tools until my next trip.

But there's always the option to just leave it all at home and do the fail-proof ponytail, loose braid or chignon to hide the fact your hair might not look as "done" as when you are at home and have full access to all of your stuff.

vero,

As it sounds like only your curling iron is designed for dual voltage operation, you should be able to take that. Does it have a switch to select the operating voltage? If so, don't forget to change it before first use in Europe.

As the others have mentioned, virtually all hotels provide hair dryers these days, either in the room or on request at the front desk. In my experience, they've worked reasonably well, so I wouldn't bother packing along a hair dryer.

That only leave the straightener problem. The easiest solution would be to buy an inexpensive model when you arrive in Europe, unless you can find a dual voltage model at Wal-Mart or wherever.

Thank you all so much!! I feel ridiculous worrying about something like this, but I forgot to mention I have a teenage daughter that I'm thinking will want to look perfect on our first trip to Europe :)

After several trips trying to make do inadequate hair appliances, I decided I was tired of photos that made me cringe. I use hot rollers at home daily, so I invested in a dual voltage set. All of the hotels we've stayed have hair dryers that I can make work. In my opinion, if you think you will travel more in the future,get a dual voltage straightener. I just google "dual voltage ..." And then read the reviews. People recommend getting a cheap one over there, but that can take time. If you get one ahead, it gives you time to work with it before the trip.

Enjoy your trip!

Yes, I know I am a man, so can't understand these things. But I have been married nearly 40 years, and have seen the arrival of all these various gizmos.

Just one small word. You pay a lot to get to Europe and your time is precious. Every extra minute spent in the hotel bathroom in the morning is one more minute that somebody else is getting that perfect chocolate filled croissant (so you are left with the cream filled one ... boo hiss) and one more minute after breakfast that eats into (see what I did there?) your precious sightseeing time.

Look good, just don't spend all morning doing it (or teenager).

I've heard that blow dryers can fry easily, even with the adapter. My plan is to take my dual voltage curling iron. Go to Italy, and see how the hotel blowdryer are. If they are inadequate, then I will buy one there, knowing it won't fry, and now I have one I can take when I go back.

Nigel - 100% agree. As many times as I've been to Europe and all of the touristy places most tourists visit I don't ever remember thinking how beautiful someone's hair looked ;-) I don't even remember thinking how AWFUL someone's hair looked. Going to extreme lengths with multiple apparatuses for hair is just going overboard.

Our first trip to Europe in 2001, the hairdryer fried, even with a converter. Bought a small, cheap one there. We use it approx. 10 days every other year :) Buy cheap ones there.

Nigel and Tim: It's a woman thing.

I cringe when I think of the time and extra weight with all those appliances--and I'm a woman. I'm with Nigel--do the minimum then go experience. On the other hand, one of the first things I do when I arrive in Paris is get to a salon for a good haircut. Treat yourself and your teen. Stylists are trained differently and give wonderful cuts.

You know, it's just a personal thing. I don't have wash and wear hair. I don't go to extremes, but I like my hair to look pretty in the evenings when dressed up with my hubby. I like my husband to think I'm pretty, too, and a ponytail just ain't gonna cut it in the evenings. During the day, touring with a hat..sure. Also, hate to break it to you men, but most women don't get dressed up for other men to look at them...women dress for women. Seriously. Why do you think when a group of married women go out for dinner together they are all dolled up? To attract men? no.

On a somewhat related topic, does anybody iron their clothes while on their trips? I have seen totally wrinkled clothes on folks and it doesn't look good. It's a pain, but I do iron sometimes.

A good haircut before or during the trip should cut down on all the "gizmos" because if your hair is neat, you shouldn't need to put a lot of effort styling it (hopefully).

I am also fussy about my hair and it needs a certain amount of attention paid to it in order to not look a fright--there's a lot of it and it's curly. Fortunately it doesn't need washing but every 3 days (and I plan it so that I wash on a morning when I don't have to be somewhere at the crack of dawn) and can be worn down or up in a sort of cascading ponytail--that's for days when I'll be outdoors or it's windy or hot or I've stretched it to 4 days. I use the hotel hair dryer and have a dual voltage curling brush for the ends. My problem is transporting the hair dressing I need to keep it under control, fills 4 of the 3 oz travel bottles for a 2 week trip. I travel solo so no one else is bothered by my routine, thankfully!

Be careful with the curling iron and straightener, I've read horror stories of hair getting fried due to voltage differences using a converter. If I were you I'd use the hotel dryer and buy the other 2 once you're there--or figure out an easier hairdo for travelling.

You could do as I have.... get a really short cut - my hair dresser calls it a professional wash and go. I don't HAVE to dry it, but usually hit the crown and back of my neck if I have time because my hair is so heavy and thick. And short dos are coming back into fashion right now. Or get a perm and don't worry so much. I think many women just over do it when it comes to hair.

That "perfect chocolate filled croissant" was snagged by me. :)

Or me :-) because I have taken an early walk to the boulangerie with combed out, half wet hair.

I get the hair thing. At home I either blow dry it straighter ( I do not like bone straight hair) or I let it dry naturally for the day( its somewhat curly, think " beachy") and then if I want to fancy it up for evening I use a curling iron to " organize the curls".

I never bring a blow dryer , every hotel I have stayed at has suppiled one, but my hair is not super thick, hotel dryers sometimes suck at super thick hair).
My curling iron is dual. My 19 yr old daughter brings a dual voltage straightener, but this last visit she ended up using it twice in 9 days! Waste of space. She noticed most local girls her age wear their hair natural, and yes, pony tails and losse buns are very common.

I would suggest you buy and bring from home a dual voltage straightener, they are not as popular or cheap in Europe. I would bring curling iron if dual, or buy one there. I would not bring a dryer.

Suggest a short hair cut right before you leave. That's what I do. Easy to wash and dries quick too. Never needed a hair dryer, curling iron, or straightener when traveling. Also cuts down on the need styling products as well. That's a man's view on the subject. Might just shave my head this year ;-)

You will be outside a lot. There will be wind, rain, possibly snow. Your hair will get blown all around. Don;t worry about it. I have never noticed anyone's hair having issues on trips. Maybe was too busy looking at the sites to pay attention. :-)

Norma - it used to be a "woman" thing in our household too until we hit our 4th or 5th time (and now we're probably up in the 20s). Now nobody cares. The most that happens is blow dry...and ponytails are A-ok anytime of the day :-)

I love Bets' suggestion to get a haircut/styling in Europe, even if you do decide to take all these things with you. It's the first thing I do once I am settled in, and the last thing before I fly back to the US (my trips are long. my hair is short).

Me too, Zoe, one on arrival, same day even, and a cut just before leaving. Our trips are long, too.

I would rather eat dirt then get a "short haircut".. sorry.. not helpful to suggest someone change their entire look just for a vacation .

And as a hairdresser ( retired) I would be leery of wandering in anywhere and getting a new style without being FLUENT in the language.. most of the time even when you are in your own country.. with no language difficulties miscommunication is often the cause of unhappy hair clients " when I said just a small trim I actually meant about 2 inches " " I meant looser waves, you know, beachy " "I was thinking more swishy ".. etc..lol

People with smart short cuts ( they do not suit everyone,, and to some people it DOES matter, its not just about being "practical") are lucky and cute, or they may look bad and not know or care.. lol

On one of our European tours I met a very nice lady who ALWAYS had good looking hair, and because of that, always seemed to have nice photos taken. Upon closer scrutiny, I realized she was wearing a wig. I don't know whether it was medically needed, but at the time, I thought it was a great idea. She was a solo traveller and the tour was a week long. I don't know much about wig care, but if she had it on her head all the time (sleep time aside), she probably need not carry so many electrical hair appliances. Or so I thought.

I do not have the face and skull shape to pull off a short haircut. So it's shoulder length that is washed at night (Considering everything that gets touched, sat on, etc. during a vacation day, I want the residue of the city or countrysidewashed off before going to bed) hair is air-dried and then I've got a seeming infinite number of things I can do with it- side part and a little gel, a headband/thin scarf, pulled back with a barette, or pulled back into a ponytail or neat bun for windy days- which all take me five minutes or less.

I'm in the camp that finds life too short and vacation time too dear to mess with all kinds of hair tools every morning.

I love when men (who probably have about a dozen strands of hair on their head in total) comment on questions pertaining to packing hair dryers, curling irons or hair straighteners! The OP states she forgot to mention she is inquiring about this for her teenage daughter. As such, recommendations to chop hair off in a short wash 'n go, get a perm, wear a hat or a pack a wig, aren't going to fly with a teenager. Wall-mounted hair dryers probably won't fully dry her hair if it is thick (my own hair is thick and I have a tough time with these little hairdryers which is why I pack my dual-voltage Conair).

I have a number of young female relatives in their teens & 20s that live throughout Europe and I will say that I rarely (if ever) see any Facebook photos where they are styling their hair stick straight anymore. They (and all their female friends in the photos) definitely go for messy buns/chignons, loose braids and beachy waves (for the last one, they may be using some sort of wide barreled curling iron). As time goes on, I am getting lazier about packing and carrying around extra cosmetics or hair tools, so I'm actually getting more into wearing ponytails when traveling - but not the kind you slap together with a Scrunchie - more like the kind you see in a runway show. I find that with a little bit of product, a couple of pins or a cool barrette, I can look polished in less than 5 minutes - and it doesn't matter if I can't fully dry my hair. It's also a look that goes from day to night, so I don't need to spend time on my hair before dinner.

Here's what I do:

I get my hair styled the afternoon before I leave (the day I leave if it's a night flight). This used to be a straight, full blowout, but now it's more like a wash and dry, working with my natural waves. Somehow, when they do it in the salon it lasts for 4+ days while at home I'm lucky if it's 2! No need to worry about hair for the first couple of days, when I'm excited to get out of the room and when jet lag makes that harder! So maybe a nice treat would be a pre-departure hair appointment. At the very least, try to get your regular haircut in the week or two before you leave (hair is just easier when it's freshly cut and not growing out oddly. I speak from experience!)

If you plan on traveling more than just this trip, buying things here and bringing them would make sense. Then you can practice with it, and make sure it's what you need. If this is a rare trip, then you can find some there. Easier if you're going to a city first - I've never tried, but I'd bet it would be hard to find a hair straightener in a small Alpine village!

This is more for the teenager, but works for moms as well - look at blogs and instagrams and such - hair in much of Europe is less "done" than in some parts of the US. Waves, messy topknots, the "natural" look are in. We all know that this look takes work, too - just a different kind, and one that rarely requires three appliances. When I switched from the straight blowout (requiring a heavy duty dryer and a straightener) to the wavy, "french girl hair", I stopped bringing the straightener and instead made room for salt spray, leave in conditioner and frizz cream.

So if anyone wants to bring less appliances, consider putting in some time trying products and different methods of styling. And make sure you have a pony-tail/topknot/hat/other "easy" option in case you need it.

Thank you all so much!!