Here's a little background: I have been fighting with my hair since I hit puberty. My thick, pin straight, frizz-free childhood hair had turned into a wavy, curly, thick, frizzy nightmare. I didn't know what to do with it. I tried every sort of smoothing/defrizzing product on the planet, different shampoos and conditioners, and even products that claimed to make your hair straight (yeah right). Nothing worked. When I was 13, I begged my mom to buy me a straightener. She ended up buying me a Conair straightener that had a little bubble you filled with water to help it steam (!) your hair straight. I had to spend 2 HOURS doing my hair with this thing, only to go outside and have my hair ruined by even the slightest humidity. I tested out even more straighteners after that, from Hot Tools, to Revlon, and different Conair ones. I was so discouraged because my hair was so difficult. I felt like these cheap irons weren't hot enough to have an effect on my hair. I gave up after a while and started wearing my hair in a bun, but I was never comfortable with it. When I got a part time job in highschool, I ended up trying one from Sally's thinking it was more expensive, therefore it must work better. Wrong. Returned it and then I started ironing my hair. With an iron. Yes, a clothes iron. This was the ONLY thing that I straightened my hair with for years. I would press it over my hair with a rolled up t-shirt underneath it. Can you say desperate? As you can imagine, my hair was fried after years of abuse. Finally gave that up when I received a CHI iron as a gift. I was happy with it at the time, but it always snagged my hair and still took forever to straighten. As time went on, I had tried Cortex, Babyliss, Solia and Sedu irons... all somewhat of an improvement, but still took too much time and weren't hot enough. I kept hearing all the hype about the ghd and took the plunge. Of course it was expensive, but I figured if it didn't work, I could always return it. And I had already tried and spent so much over the years anyways!


I purchased the 1 inch ghd MK4 styler at Sephora in 2008. I'm not sure what I paid then for it, but it is listed on their website currently at $225 (CAD, before tax). It came in a sleek black box with a DVD on some styling techniques. It is super sleek. The barrel is black and rounded with curved golden plates (I believe they're aluminum, but with ceramic heaters), and has a nice, long swivel cord. It has an on and off switch with a little light, but no temperature controls. It heats up in less than 30 seconds and beeps to tell you that it's ready. It also has an auto shut off, which I appreciate because I am SO paranoid about leaving stuff on. The first time I tried it, I had no real expectations. I thought that because it didn't have a temperature dial, that there was no way this would be hot enough. This absolutely blew me away. My frizzy, wavy/curly, incredibly coarse and uncooperative head of hair was transformed into a sleek, smooth, STRAIGHT head of hair that looked like it was professionally blowdried. Seriously. The way the ghd is designed, with the curved barrel, it is very easy to flick or curl the ends of your hair in or out for a more natural look. It also makes it easy for you to add some volume to your roots. The styler itself is so thin that you can get right to the roots, so no crimp marks here! Also, unlike most straighteners, this has never, ever snagged or caught my hair in the plates. This styler is also AWESOME for curling or waving your hair. I don't even use curling irons anymore because this is way easier and faster. Using the ghd, it takes me less than 10 minutes to straighten my hair in the morning. After spending at least 45 minutes or more with every other straightener, this is a huge improvement. I was in love with it immediately, and have been in love with it for the past 5 or so years! Whenever I happen to mention that I flat iron my hair to a friend or coworker, they always ask "why would you straighten your hair if it's already straight?" Little do they know that without this baby, my hair looks nothing like it does when it's straightened. You obviously have to have a good hair routine in place if you're using hot tools. I make sure to get trims regularly, do deep treatments and use a good conditioner, and use a heat protectant EVERY TIME. Your hair WILL be dry and get split ends etc if you don't take care of your hair! It *is* a hot flat iron after all.

I highly, highly recommend this straightener. HG for sure. I would buy it in a heartbeat if I ever lost it and if it ever dies, but it has been at least 5 years and it's still going strong. If you have difficult hair, or have been struggling with your hair like I was, this is for you!

My partner bought me my first GHD 4 years ago and after 2 years it started to make a crackling noise and the heat wasn't as hot as it use to be. I decided to keep using it because it was still doing the job until one day one of the plates gave out. I was kinda bummed that my friends had theirs for much longer and mine just died within that 2 years and i knew i wouldn't be able to rush out and get a new one straight away and i didn't want to use another brand because i felt like nothing else was good enough. Just a couple of weeks later i got a new one, a red one... at first i was excited to have another GHD in my hands, but soon i realised i didn't like it as much as the original. It seemed to be slimmer and not as hot... i don't know what it is exactly but it just doesn't keep my hair dead straight in humid weather and also in wet weather. I miss the original GHD and after this red one dies i'll be getting the original one again. Its the only choice for me!

I LOVE my GHD! I will never use a different flat iron, no matter what praises I hear. I have tried a few before my GHD, and they just do NOT do the job that the GHD does. At first I thought, it's just a hair straightener, what so great? It's anything but JUST a hair straightener. I have extremely curly, textured hair that frizzes just at the mere mention of the word "humidity". With the GHD and a bit of serum that is not an issue at all!
Yes, it is expensive, but I honestly think it is worth the price, and you will get a lot of use out of it!

These are the only straighteners I've ever owned - for about 10 years now. I only use them once a week, as my hair is naturally fairly straight. They're fantastic and I would immediately repurchase if anything happened to them. They leave my hair shiny, heat up in about 30 secs (great as I sometimes run late) and the effects last until I next wash my hair. They even stop my hair frizzing in the rain.

My first one was a chi and I loved it, until it broke. I got about 2 years out of it.This just gets the job done quicker and is less damaging on my hair because it straightens my stubborn tidal wave situation with just a single quick pass thru on the troubled sections of my hair and lasts for days on end. I still do use the Chi silk infusion ( genious marketing strategy of Farouk CHi to include a sample size of that stuff with his flat iron) and some Moroccanoil to heat protect it. Love my Ghd, still going strong after about 2 years.

Best hair irons ever. I have the 1-inch and 2-inch and plan to buy the 1/2-inch. They are pricey, but hair irons are not the place to try and save money, because you will end up wasting it every time. These irons work, even when I had my stubborn curls, and the hair stayed straight so long as I put a little lock-in product on and don't expose my hair to too much moisture (i.e., rain). I also use these irons to finish my hair now that I've had it chemically straightened. Cannot recommend this brand of irons highly enough.

Pricey, but awesome if you use a hair iron often. I have thick, long, dry hair. I have keratined my naturally curly hair and currently have about 5 inches re growth. I flat iron almost daily (damage heaven) no iron will prevent damage if you use it often no matter what. This is no different. There is no magical- no -damage iron. This will reduce damage only in that you only need one pass. No snags on hair. It heats up super quick. Has no settings. I considered this for a while and finally got it on a flash sale site so it was about 140$ for the 2 inch. Best iron i have out of chi, sedu, maxiglide and some other over years cant remember. The others arent bad and i still use the 1 inch Sedu very rarely, but this is the best for sure.

I have a love-hate relationship with this flat iron. It's a hair salon standard flat iron, but you really should be careful of not buying a counterfeit as the market is flooded with these. The counterfeit models are of really poor quality, but cheap. The original GHD which you can verify on the official website is heaven-sent, but it will cost you around $200 which i.m.o. is a bit expensive. Try and find a good deal at Sephora, Folica or Amazon for under $150 and it's a no-brainer. continued >>

These straigtners have a cult status for a reason. I have just purchased my second pair. My first pair lasted me for 7-8 years. They are well worth the money, if anybody is in doubt don't be they will be one of the best purchases you will ever make. They do everything, curly, straight, wavy whatever you feel like on the day. Go ahead you wouldn't regret this purchase.

In Australia these straighteners retail for AUS$330 - they are a very expensive product! I am glad I spent the money, I don't think there is a better straightener on the market. The original one I purchased, probably 4 years ago, stopped working after about 6 months, but under warranty was replaced by GHD. I've had no problems with the replacement and have had it for several years now. I would be wary about purchasing on the internet as there are a lot of fakes and you don't get the GHD warranty, I definitely recommend buying from a trusted retailer as it is a expensive purchase! Great product!