# Fake Hair Tools: The Heat, the Plug, and the Fire Risk

Source: https://dupehunterhq.com/blog/2026-11-10-fake-hair-tools-heat-plug-fire-risk/

DupeHunterHQ blog · 2026-11-08


Published 2026-11-10

A shopper bought a hair dryer on a second-hand marketplace for 110 pounds. The genuine one retails for around 280. The dryer arrived in a box that looked right, the colors were slightly less vivid, and the dryer was about ten percent lighter than the real one. She used it for a week. Then an inspection found a fake fuse, a non-compliant plug, and a fire risk. The dryer had been heating her hair with a plug that could not make a secure connection to the socket, and a fuse that would not protect her if something went wrong.

Fake hair tools are the most dangerous counterfeits most shoppers will ever buy, because they are electrical appliances used near the face, with wet hands, on a high heat setting. The danger is not the brand name. It is the wiring. A fake dryer or straightener looks like the real one from the outside, and the differences are inside, where the shopper cannot see them: a fake fuse, a non-compliant plug, an old-style circuit board, and a construction that can make the plates live in the event of a fault.

## What the Which? investigation found

The Which? investigation bought a selection of suspected fake products from online marketplaces, including a dryer advertised as new on a second-hand marketplace for 110 pounds against a genuine price of around 280, and a set of straighteners bought for 89 pounds against a real price of 179. The fake dryer was about ten percent lighter than the real one, and the fake straighteners were seven percent lighter, with a logo in a slightly different color. The straighteners took longer to heat up and cool down than the real ones.

The inspection by Electrical Safety First found the real problem. Both the dryer and the straighteners had fake fuses, which pose a major fire risk. The dryer plug pins were too short for the British Standard. The straighteners used an older type of circuit board, and the construction indicated a risk of the plates becoming live in the event of a fault. The products were not just copies. They were appliances that had never been through the safety checks the genuine ones pass, and the checks are the difference between a tool and a hazard.

## The plug, and what it tells you

The plug is the fastest check, and it is the one most shoppers skip. A genuine plug meets the standard for its country: the pins are the right length, the fuse is real, and the plug makes a secure connection to the socket. A fake plug fails on one or more of those, and the failure is visible if you know where to look. The pins are too short, or the wrong shape. The fuse is a fake, often without the ballast a real fuse contains. The plug face does not meet the dimensional requirements, so it cannot make a secure connection, and the user can accidentally touch a live part during use.

The Suffolk Trading Standards warning adds the scale. Officers at the Port of Felixstowe detained 500 counterfeit Dyson hair dryers in one consignment. When testing was conducted, the products were found to be an electrical shock and fire risk. The product overheated, did not cut off, started to smoke, and both externally and internally the product started to melt. The plug was incorrectly rated and the fuse did not meet the requirements. Those dryers were stopped at the port. The ones that were not stopped are on marketplaces now.

## How to check before you buy

Check the price first. A dryer at a third of the retail price is not a deal, it is a warning. The genuine product retails for a reason, and the fake is cheap because the safety checks were skipped. Check the seller next. A seller with no history, a new account, and a price far below retail is a seller to avoid. Check the weight and the box when the product arrives: the fake dryer was ten percent lighter, the colors on the box were less vivid, and the logo was a slightly different color.

Check the plug before you plug it in. Look at the pins, the fuse, and the plug face. If the pins are too short, if the fuse looks wrong, or if the plug does not fit securely, do not use it. Report the seller to the marketplace, and report the product to Trading Standards or the equivalent in your country. The dryer that overheats and melts is not a bad purchase. It is a fire in a box, and the person who reports it is the one who stops the next one from being sold.

Keep reading: [the counterfeit supplements listing checks](https://dupehunterhq.com/blog/2026-11-09-counterfeit-supplements-listing-checks/), [how to read a counterfeit skincare batch code](https://dupehunterhq.com/blog/2026-11-03-counterfeit-skincare-batch-codes/), and [the fake electronics listings, chargers and earbuds](https://dupehunterhq.com/blog/2026-10-14-fake-electronics-listings-chargers-earbuds/) cover the nearby cases in this series.

## Frequently asked questions

### How can I tell a fake hair dryer from a real one?

Check the price, the weight, the box, and the plug. The fake dryer in the Which? investigation cost 110 pounds against a genuine price of around 280, was about ten percent lighter, and had less vivid colors on the box. The plug pins were too short for the British Standard, and the fuse was fake. A dryer at a third of the retail price is a warning, not a deal.

### Why are fake hair tools dangerous?

Because they are electrical appliances used near the face, with wet hands, on a high heat setting, and they have never been through the safety checks the genuine ones pass. The fake dryer and straighteners in the Which? investigation had fake fuses, non-compliant plugs, and a construction that could make the plates live in the event of a fault.

### What is wrong with a fake fuse?

A fake fuse does not contain the ballast a real fuse contains, so it does not protect the appliance in the event of a fault. The plug can overheat, explode, or fail to cut off. The Suffolk Trading Standards tests found counterfeit dryers that overheated, did not cut off, started to smoke, and melted both externally and internally.

### What should I do if I bought a fake hair tool?

Do not use it. Check the plug before you plug it in, and if the pins are too short, the fuse looks wrong, or the plug does not fit securely, stop. Report the seller to the marketplace, and report the product to Trading Standards or the equivalent in your country.

### Where do fake hair tools come from?

Usually from third-party sellers on online marketplaces, often shipped from overseas. Suffolk Trading Standards detained 500 counterfeit Dyson hair dryers in one consignment at the Port of Felixstowe, and those were the ones that were stopped. The ones that were not stopped are on marketplaces now.