Due to my hair being thick, bushy, frizzy and coarse, despite its’ long length, I have never really been able to style it and keep it looking nice as immediately I step outside and the wind takes hold of it I soon look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards.
I’d heard about hair straighteners and knew that the most popular make were called GHD, but other than that I really didn’t know much about them. When I next visited my hairdresser I asked for her advice and opinion on them, she explained how they worked and offered to finish my hair off using the GHD straighteners so I could see what I thought. Despite initially being very skeptical I have to admit that I was impressed with results, I received so many compliments from friends and my husband loved my new style – so much so, that with a bit help by me continually whining on about how good they were, he offered to buy them for me. At £99.50 they are not cheap but they are well worth every penny.
** WHAT ARE GHD STRAIGHTENERS? **
They look like ordinary hair tongs, an elongated ‘U’ shaped instrument with heated plates, which when applied to the
hair, straighten, add shine and smooth it.
You may well be thinking that they can’t be very good for your hair if you have to use heat to perform the straightening – however, the heated plates on the GHD straighteners are coated with ceramic and the ceramic coating actually protects the hair by sealing in moisture and natural oils and leaves the hair shiny, static free and looking extremely healthy.
** HOW DO I USE THEM? **
The straighteners are electrically operated and once plugged in they take only 7 seconds to heat up. Once they have reached the correct heat they maintain the same temperature throughout so you don’t have to worry about them overheating. DO NOT USE ON WET HAIR.
Despite being called straighteners, they can actually be used to turn straight hair wavy or curly or to add flicks etc. I have only used them to straighten my hair so I am going to guide you through the straightening process.
Once you have switched the irons on, a red light comes on and stays on constantly – once this light begins to flash, (in about 7 seconds), they are ready to use.
To ensure that you get the best results you need to section your hair and work one section at a time – I have extremely long hair and only need to section my hair in to four sections – so don’t be put off by the sectioning – it doesn’t have to be perfect either – sectioning the hair just makes it easier to work with and helps you to achieve the best results.
Start by straightening the hair underneath, (ie closest to your head), before attempting to use the irons you need to make sure that the hair is well combed and free from knots, (if you try to run the irons through knotted hair not only does it hurt but you won’t end up with a very good finish).
Once you have removed all knots and tangles from the hair, use your comb to help you pick up the section that you are going to straighten – lift the hair from as close to the scalp as you can and then slowly run the comb through the hair – following with the irons. Theoretically you only need to run the irons through each section of hair once – I tend to run them through three or four times just to make sure that I’ve not missed any. There is a bit of an art to getting used to holding the comb and irons, however, once you’ve mastered it you will quickly find that you get to grips with it.
Continue following the above sequence until you have straightened all the hair – this usually takes me about 15-30 minutes – depending on whether I’m rushing or taking my time – however, I have got very long hair and it obviously takes me longer – somebody with shoulder length hair would probably achieve a professional look in around 10/15 minutes.
The plug in cord is quite long and it is flexible thus making it easy to get at those harder to reach areas without any problems.
Basically that is all there is to it and the best bit is that if you don’t like the finished result you can simply wash your hair and it will return to its’ normal state. Alternatively if you don’t want such a sharp straight look, why not straighten the hair and then add waves or cascading curls to your hair for a change – there are no real limits to the styles you can achieve using the irons – you can keep it as simple or as complicated as you like.
GHD do suggest that you spray GHD oil onto the hair before you apply the irons – I have never found the oil to purchase in any of the salons that sell the GHD irons – however, I believe that you can obtain it via the Internet and from selected salons. When I asked my local hairdresser if they had the GHD oil she advised me that they didn’t but she was able to offer me an alternative, which works just as well.
The irons take about 20 minutes or so to cool down once switched off.
** THE RESULTS **
I am absolutely delighted with my GHD Professional Straightening irons – they are quick and easy to use and my hair is now so much more manageable – even if I don’t want to wear my hair down and straight I find that if I use them before putting my hair up my hair is much easier to control, goes up better and looks far healthier than it has ever done before.
Once straightened the hair will stay looking smooth, sleek and straight for a couple of days, however, if it gets wet it will return to it’s normal state – this is really the only downside that I have found with this product.
I would highly recommend these to anybody wishing to control curly, frizzy and out of control hair – or even to those with straight hair who want to add curls or movement.
I have only seen the GHD Straighteners on sale in hairdressing salons and don’t think that they are available on the High Street – I believe that you can buy them online too, however, as they are expensive, (around £100), I would strongly suggest that you ask your local hairdresser to style your hair using the straighteners first so that you can be sure that you will be pleased with the end result.
** OTHER INFORMATION **
For more information on this and other GHD products you can visit the GHD website at www.ghdhair.com.
by (4%):
by (2%):
18.05.2007 09:02
Fab review :D
12.02.2004 18:12
i have been thinking about purchasing a ghd straightner but been dubious to do so due to the cost of them in case they were no good. this review has answered every question i wanted to ask and more and i will take the advice and go to a hairdresser to try them first.
22.01.2004 11:54
I wish these had been around when I craved straight hair!