I had my first experience with GHD straighteners at the hairdressers a couple of months ago. I was seeing a new stylist, and she asked me how I wanted my long hair dried. I said I’d like it as straight as possible, so she offered to run the straighteners through it for me. I was a little apprehensive as I had heard horror stories about people ruining their hair with straighteners, but I decided that a one-off usage at the salon would not be the end of the world, and waited patiently as she ran them through my hair.

The amazing results continued throughout the day when I went out in the wind and drizzle and my hair (which ordinarily would have descended into a mass of messy waves at the slightest sign of inclement weather) remained perfect. Even after a night in a hot, smoky club, it showed no signs of frizz or tangle, and I could still run my fingers straight through it. The next morning I continued to be amazed – normally sleeping on my hair finishes it off, and only washing it and drying it again will make it anything close to straight – but it was still looking perfect, and I only had to run a comb through it to make myself presentable.

To cut a long story short, the results were excellent, and I am now the proud owner of a set of GHDs. After carrying out some research online, I discovered that they are the only brand to use this type of ceramic technology. Other brands claim to be ceramics, and cost half the price, but are not as effective. The ceramic plates used in GHDs maintain a constant temperature and glide through the hair and do not drag or damage hair like the cheaper brands. I bought mine from www.ghdceramics.co.uk (despite the name, this is not the product’s official website). I was unable to find them anywhere for less than around £90 (they are generally only sold online or in hair salons, as they are a professional tool) but the above website charged £89.95 including postage, and a free bottle of heat protecting product, worth around £8, which seemed like a good deal. The site currently has three versions of the GHDs on sale, but I went for the “Original”. I was not wholly satisfied with the service from the website, as they did not meet with the guaranteed next day delivery they committed to, but I am still glad I went with the special offer, as my hairdresser recommended using a salon formula heat protective product, and I would otherwise have had to spend additional cash on one of these. The straighteners are also available on Ebay, but without any significant saving. Beware of items calling themselves “GHD equivalent” or similar, as these are not the same. If you prefer to buy offline, ask around a few local salons, as suggested in one of the comments to this opinion, as many will sell to the public as well as trade.

The instruction leaflet is fairly basic, and is mainly pictorial, showing some of the styling techniques you can use to straighten, curl or flick your hair. Detailed instructions are not necessary, however, as the straighteners are so easy to use – which is lucky, as I am sure like me you will just want to get straight on and use them! They have an on/off switch and once switched on they heat to their optimum temperature of 220 degrees Celsius in around 7 seconds. A flickering red light shows that the temperature is being maintained. You must use the straighteners on dry hair, but can blow dry your hair as roughly as you like before using them. You then need to separate your hair into sections and straighten a section at a time. I have experimented with different sizes of section, and have found that the smaller the section of hair you straighten at a time, the sleeker the overall result achieved. If you want slightly more body (some people may find their hair looks too flat once straightened), then go with bigger sections, but you won’t end up with quite such sleek hair. This is the only slightly fiddly part, and you may want someone on hand to help you the first few times, if, like me, you have never styled your hair in sections before. I do this by clipping up both sides on top of my head, and releasing a small amount of hair at a time to be straightened.

One word of warning for anyone who has already mentally purchased their own set of GHDs based on my glowing review: although my hairdresser assured me that they are no more damaging to hair than frequent blow drying, I am not convinced. I will only use mine for special occasions, and ALWAYS use heat protector spray on my hair beforehand. I also plan to treat my hair to some intensive conditioning products to ensure that it doesn’t dry out too much. I would not plan to use them more than once a week, as a friend became “addicted” to the fantastic results she achieved from hers, and ended up with dry, damaged hair after using them every day for months.

Other than that, these little miracles come highly recommended from someone who not only has problem hair, but is a complete klutz when it comes to hairstyling. The price is high, but they will give you complete peace of mind about your hair, and you will no longer have to carry emergency hair bands or clips in case you have a frizz attack! Definitely one for the Christmas list (even though it is only June)!