A hand held appliance comprising an outer wall, a user operable button, a switch mechanism, and a switch assembly wherein the switch assembly is housed within the outer wall and comprises a frame, an actuator and a flexible membrane which connects the actuator to the frame and wherein the actuator cooperates with both the switch mechanism and the user operable button. The outer wall may comprise an aperture and the user operable button engages with the actuator through the aperture. The user operable button may be spaced from the flexible membrane by the actuator. The actuator may comprise a recess which engages with a corresponding protrusion that extends from the user operable button. The actuator may comprise a second recess which engages with an activation knob of the switch mechanism. The second recess may be spaced from the recess. The flexible membrane may extend around the perimeter of the actuator.