I received my first pair of GHD's from "santa" around 6 years ago. In January the heating element broke and instead of paying another £100 for a new pair i decided in my infinite wisdom to buy a different, cheaper make of hair straighteners. Not until you don't have a GHD's do you realise just how essential and better they actually are. My hair was lifeless and boring without them. Fortunately my husband found a fantastic deal on "real" GHD's (beware the fakes) for an early Christmas present and boy am i so pleased! They don't dry out your hair and they also seem to give your hair a better quality about, possibly due to the fact that they seal in moisture and get rid of that annoying frizz! The mark 4 stylers also come with the ultimate girls gadget! They turn themselves off after an hour of use therefore no more panicking about having left them on and going home to a burnt down house!!! When buying make sure that you check the website's address on the official GHD website to ensure authenticity.