A handheld appliance

Disclosed is a hair care appliance comprising a body, a fluid flow path extending from a fluid inlet into the appliance to a fluid outlet from the body, a heater for heating fluid in the fluid flow path, a pre-heater located upstream of the heater and a thermal safety device positioned between the pre-heater and the heater. The pre-heater may comprise a resistive element. The pre-heater may be electrically connected to the heater via a heater circuit. The thermal safety device may be electrically connected to the heater via the heater circuit. When the appliance is activated, fluid may flow from the fluid inlet through the pre-heater, past the thermal safety device, through the heater and on to the fluid outlet. The thermal safety device may extend orthogonal to a longitudinal axis A-A of the body.