a WORTHWHILE investment, AMAZING!! (GHD Mk4 Straighteners)

Member Name: c_l_a_i_r_e

Product:	GHD Mk4 Straighteners
Date:	08/03/03 (4811 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very quick and easy to use, No need to pre blow dry hair, Reduces bulk and makes hair sleek and shiny

Disadvantages: Expensive

If after years of struggling with different hair straighteners, lotions and potions you still havnt found a solution, then these may just be the miracle youve been waiting for.

~Background~

I have fairly long thick wavy hair, which with 'wella shockwaves curl defining cream' forms high-maintenance but pretty curls however despite great effort never seemed to go very sleek and straight.

*Previously, Ive used a babyliss convertible crimper/straightener which did leave my hair fairly straight after 30 minutes however very bulky and still quite frizzy. Id therefore have to striaghten my hair the night before just so its volume would have some time to decrease. No smoothing or straightening creams seemed to solve the fact that my hair would be so bulky, especially at the ends.
*I have also tried the long painstaking process of blow-drying my hair straight over a round brush, which makes it very straight, but alas still very bulky and unmanagable
*Still unsatisfied I bought a 1000W airstyler with straightening attatchment so I can dry it straight, but this has the same effect as using a round brush, and the same problems

~GHD, the new solution~

I discovered this hair straightener after going to the hairdressers. She blowdried my hair very vigoursly and then looked a little alarmed when the end result was a huge frizzy mass exclaiming ''well, yes, you do have quite a lot of hair dont you...''
I wondered quite how she planned to get out of that one...
She produced these smart black small straighteners, claiming they can straighten even afro hair, and despite all enevitable doubts i sat and waited for a miracle.
AMAZINGLY 15 minutes later my hair had transformed from a huge mess to sleek straight...and thin without even a hint of bulk. It resemble Jennifer Anistons in sleekness and straightness.

I went home, couldnt stop stroking my 'new' hair, because the GHD cera
mic plates smooth down the cuticles (wheras metal plates ruffle them) and so my hair was silky and smooth, as if it had been hyperconditioned. Stepping outside no amout of wind would ruin the hair, and a quick brush returned it to its sleek previous state. 3 days later it was still as straight as before, until I reluctantly washed it.

I decided that, unlike the only other time my hair had been this manageable, when the hairdresser took 30mins to blowdry it carefully section by section, I might actually be able to recreate this at home with the straighteners. £85-£95 is A LOT of money to invest, however ive probably already spent that on all the products and appliances ive tried in vain already, so I thought that I'd get the best pair (id not a hair tools copy) currently out, ie the GHD ones, in the hope they may now last me for a long time.

~How do you use them, my result~

*After a little bit of researching on the internet I realised that these arent yet available in mainstream shops likes Argos or Boots so much be bought on the internet (eb HQhair.com or Missgroovy.co.uk) or from your hairdressers. I got mine from my local Tony & Guy for £85 and immediatly went home to try them out.

I plugged them in and they heated up in abot 20 seconds (a red light pulsates when they're ready) and within 5 minutes of arriving home and turning them on my tangly waves hair was already tamed straight! Another 5 mintues later and the look was perfected. You can divide your hair into sections and pull then straighteners through them, or just do your hair as a whole. I found that a combination of the two worked best. My hairs bulk had roughly halved, the ends are flat not bulky and my hair looked smooth and shiny. Lots of people complimented it. I couldnt believe that for once I had actually managed to get my hair to look like it does when the hairdresser does it. My hair amazingly looked just like the models who advertise it!
Ther
es no need for lots of smoothing products or straightening creams as the GHD straightener leaves it smooth and shiny without the need, so I will no doubt save money on these!

I was 100% satisfied, they were so easy and quick to use that I could wash my hair in the evening, leave it to dry naturally and then spend 5-10 minutes in the morning running the iron over it, instead of the lengthy blow-dry and straighten process of before, which took about 45 minutes.

(Two warning points tho, one your hair appears to steam a little as you use these, dont be alarmed its because they're so hot, it happened at the hairdressers as well. Also dont touch your hair immediatly after running the iron over it as its hot enough to burn your fingers! Also of course dont touch the ceramic plate when its on or for about an hour after.)


~How are they different to other hair straighteners?~

* They claim: '''Have a Good Hair Day with GHD Hair Straighteners. The Ultimate in Hair straighteners with ceramic non static, negative ion technology that everyone is talking about! '' and according to HQ hair: ''As well as ceramic plates this iron also has a ceramic heating element which creates a negative ion charge that seals in moisture, natural oils and hair colour.'' Considering what other hair products and appliances had promised me, I had a right to be sceptacle, however the ceramic plates really do seem to make such a difference. The ceramic plates are supposed to be less damaging for your hair than metal plates, although my hairdresser still advised not to use them everyday. Heat protection Sprays such as GHD oil or Nicky Clarke supershine spray may also help.

*They heat to over 200 degrees, much much hotter than my babyliss ones and therefore straighten the hair in one sweep, without the need to keep going over hair to successfully iron it out.

*They smooth down your hair making it look m
uch more shiny and strokable, and decreasing the volume dramatically, making your hair manageable. No need to blow dry hair straight first, I even straightened my hair after it had been pulled into a tight ponytail for two days and so hung in an odd shape..

*It takes between 5-15 minutes to straighten your hair. I made my hair completly straight in 5 minutes, from turning it on. That was without even doing my hair section by section, just pulling it though. In about 10-15 minutes you can achieve avril Lavinge style poker straight hair by straightening in sections.

*They heat up in about 20 seconds, and stay that hot. My babyliss straighteners were fairly quick heating up in 5 minutes, but never got very hot. These are so quick you could just turn them on and do your hair in 5 mins in the morning!

~Are they worth the money?~

YES IF:

*You have difficult-to-straighten hair or find Babyliss metal type hair straighteners ineffective.
*Your hair is thick bulky and unmanageable.
*You do/want to straighten your hair regularly, and efficiently

NO IF:

*You have very fine hair, which may look too flat once straightened
*You only want occasional straight hair (in which case blow-drying with a round brush if
much cheaper)


I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend these for people who have found nothing else work to straighten hair. Its a lot of money but worth every penny, the results are amazing!

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