Let's Get STRAIGHT To The Point... (GHD Mk4 Straighteners)

Member Name: BabyGirl*

Product:	GHD Mk4 Straighteners
Date:	05/06/03 (3549 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great results within minutes, Small but effective, Conditions hair

Disadvantages: None for me Beside the obvious that it might burn you!

I am a very hair conscious person. I always get my hair coloured, which can’t really be doing the condition of it any favours. Anyway just recently I got my hair cut very short, it looked great and I loved it. But that’s when the disaster came in. I washed it for the first time since the hairdressers and by the time I had finished blow-drying it I realised my hair straightener was dead. My hair looked awful, I needed a new straightener as soon as possible.

If I don’t blow dry and straighten my hair, it becomes extremely frizzy and wavy. I don’t suit wavy hair, but the type of waves that are in my hair are not attractive in any way, so blow drying and straightening are very important. The only time I have ever had poker straight locks, which have been shiny and silky is when the hairdresser has worked her magic on it. Other than that I always have to make do with a slight frizz in my hair.

I logged onto the Internet and searched for any websites, which sold GHD hair straighteners. I’ve always wanted to get one but my current (or should I say deceased!) straightener always did the job, and it cost me £70 anyway so I wasn’t going to buy a GHD one straight away. Anyway I found a decent website which promised next day delivery! Perfect! I waited anxiously with my disgusting frizz head and the next morning it had arrived! My beautiful GHD straightener. Straight away I ran up to use it and all I can say is oh my god!

GHD*~

GHD stands for “Good hair day” Something very appropriate. At the moment GHD do not have very many products on the market, but their straightener is still selling like crazy. Slowly but surely they are adding new products to their range. One of the reasons I was so attracted to GHD hair straighteners was merely because celebrities like Gwneyth Paltrow said they swore by them, and this was the secret to their poker straight locks. GHD straighteners are currently used in pr
ofessional salons across the world and luckily available to the public. If you were an avid watcher of “The Salon” then you would know that they used GHD straighteners. I remember going to the clothes show last year and seeing a huge stand dedicated to GHD, they were selling £10 cheaper than anywhere else, at the time my straightener was still working fine, but boy do I wish I purchased it then.

THE STRAIGHTENER ITSELF*~

First things first, the biggest misconception with this product is that it’s simply a hair straightener but oh no it isn’t. It’s actually called a “Hairstyling iron with ceramic technology”. Well why isn’t it just called a hair straightener well simply because that’s not all it does. It also curls, flips, twirls, spirals, conditions and lets not forget straightens hair. I’ll still refer to it as a straightener though, as that’s the main reason people buy it.

The straightener itself is black and has a very simple design. It is around 26cm long and around 3cm wide when closed although the widest part of the iron is around 8cm when opened. The ceramic plate is 9cm long and around 2.5cm wide.

When I first took the straightener out of the box I thought it looked really small but I knew this was a good thing. Because it’s small and not bulky like convention straighteners, it means it can straighten your hair easily and that way you get much better results. When I first felt the ceramic plate, I thought it was really different but knew this was what made this straightener the best one at the moment.

When I tried it for the first time I actually washed my hair the day before so it wasn’t freshly washed hair. I plugged the straightener in and within seconds it was hot, I sprayed my hair with a thermal defence spray (which I got free with my straightener but more about that later) and then I began to section my hair, straightening each s
ection. I’m not exaggerating but less then five minutes later my hair was sleek. I was quite shocked but extremely happy at the results! I was left with shiny, soft and straight hair, my hair was just so manageably soft, it was unbelievable! This just proved that you really don’t need to use it on freshly washed hair, the result is always the same; just make sure your hair isn’t too greasy. I couldn’t believe that I managed to get the same results as the hairdressers; my hair was sleek without the annoying frizzy bits.

With my old straightener I always had to blow dry and use plenty of serum to tame it before straightening. Even after I’d finished straightening I’d need to use a finishing product, and yet this would not give me the results GHD does. I can now let my hair dry naturally if I can’t be bothered to blow dry it, and it still straightens perfectly! I don’t even need to use serums now.

My experience with this straightener was just brilliant. I literally ran up the stairs and in a matter of minutes my bouffant barnet had transformed into sleek, shiny locks. Even my mum was rather confused as to how my hair managed to get so flat in a matter of minutes. I’m not kidding, I literally plugged it in and instantly I started to straighten, magic!

My sister who was curious about this so-called miracle product wanted to use it. She wanted to wash her hair first but I told her to just use it on her hair like it was. It had a huge kink in it but I told her to do it anyway. When she had finished she was shocked at the brilliant results. It managed to straighten her hair perfectly. She was so convinced she went right out and bought one straightaway. I took my straightener into work once and my god, my boss and workmate there used it and demanded I order one for them right there and then on the work computer! Lol!

The cord is really long which can be a good thing and a bad thing. It&
#8217;s good if you’re moving around so at least you wont yank it out of the socket by mistake. The bad thing is it’s easy to trip over so make sure you’re careful when using it. I still think it’s a good thing because I want to look in the mirror whilst straightening but the socket is quite far from the mirror but because it’s so long, it reaches the socket so I can still look in the mirror.

The straightener manages to reach a heat of 210° in a very small amount of time. Approximately 20 seconds. Conventional straighteners don’t heat up anywhere near this, and yet they still take their time to heat up. This straightener smoothes down cuticles leaving your hair feeling much softer, and this is apparent instantly.

HOW TO USE*~

First of all you need to plug the straightener in, then just switch it on. The switch will be found between the irons. Then a light goes red to signal that it is on. The ceramic plate then begins to pulsate to let you know it’s still heating up. Once the red light begins to flicker, this means it’s ready for use and that’s it’s up to its optimum temperature. Then straighten away. It should take approximately 20 seconds to heat up properly. The best thing to do is slowly run the straightener from the root to the tip. If you want the ends to be straight then just for a few seconds hold the straightener at the tips of your hair then let go. Keep doing this until you’ve covered all your hair. By now you will have poker straight hair! Just remember to switch it off after you’ve finished.

Another thing that makes this hair straightener different to the others is that it also curls hair. All you have to do is wrap a ringlet of hair around two fingers then clamp it with the straightener, hold it for 5 seconds, then let go. Keep doing this until you’ve covered all your hair. By the time you’ve finished you’ll have a full head of
curls. At first it can be difficult to get used to but once you’ve mastered it you’ll realise what a versatile little thing it is!

WHY THERE DIFFERENT*~

GHD straighteners are the must have item of the moment. They are so popular because they heat up dramatically within seconds. The fast heating ceramic technology is also better for the condition of your hair. Apparently it leaves your hair shiny, silky and static free and does not dry out hair like conventional hair straighteners. The negative ion charge created by these irons seals in moisture and natural oils for total protection. When straightening my hair with other straighteners I always get the feeling that my hair has dried out, which adds an unattractive frizz. This product doesn’t do that somehow! The ceramic technology was something I had never heard of but the description was so convincing, how could I resist? This was the first ceramic straightener I had ever heard of, but now all the other hair straighteners seem to be adopting the new ceramic trend too.

Time for a compare and contrast. I thought I would let you know how I feel GHD is different to all the other mainstream straighteners. I’ve used so many hair straighteners in the past few years that I know when I find a decent one. I’ve used Babyliss, and as a young and style-less teenager I guess that would have to do! That managed to do the job but only if you had years to spare! It takes its time to heat up which isn’t good for the girl on the go. Also you need to hold the straightener on your hair for quite some time before running it through, and also this straightener does not stop flicks at the end of your hair. The steam aspect can also get extremely irritating after a while. I then decided to move onto the straightener my best friend recommended, the Nicky Clarke one. Now this was quite decent, it was nothing special but did the job but I still wasn’t amazed. It had a brush at
tached to it, and I felt it was a little heavy, also it doesn’t heat up that quickly and you do need to slowly run it through your hair several times just to make sure it’s straight. So after a successful visit to the hairdressers I bought the salon straightener they were selling. This set me back £70, the most I’d ever spent on a straightener but I wasn’t bothered to be honest, if it did the job then that’s great. This straightener for some reason was very similar to the Nicky Clarke one, it was heavy, and took time to heat up, for some reason I just couldn’t get the same results as the hairdressers. This so-called salon straightener broke on me within a matter of months, which was way disappointing! So there you go, that’s how the GHD straightener entered my life! Now the one major difference between GHD and these other straighteners is the ceramic plate. It really does make a huge difference, so I know the ceramic idea wasn’t just a marketing ploy, but it was the one thing that makes this straightener different to all the rest.

Also another major advantage of the GHD straightener is that you can sleep on your hair but still wake up with silky, smooth, straight hair. I tend to wash my hair at night, and when I wake up my hair looks exactly the same, I just need to brush it a few times and it looks like I’ve just straightened it. With Babyliss I always need to quickly straighten it again in the morning, which can be inconvenient.

PACKAGING*~

The straightener comes in a cute box, with the words “have it straight, make it smooth, give it curls, flip it, twirl it, spiral it, condition it, makes it shine, in a flash, have a good hair day”. Very in depth don’t you think? The box is just kept simple and is white. It also has four different pictures of one model, highlighting the different styles obtainable with this straightener. The box is cute and chic unlike boxes for
other straighteners. I like the packaging for this product because it is chic but still simple. The box is inside another piece of cardboard which you just need to slide out, this is also good for storage as other hair straightener boxes are bulky and it’s difficult to keep the straightener in it, but this one is very easy to handle and convenient.

In the box also comes a little styling card, which just explains how to use it, and also a guarantee card. I might as well mention here that the straightener comes with a one year guarantee, you just need to keep your receipt and if it breaks, you just need to send off the receipt with the guarantee card to prove you bought it less than a year ago.

PRICE*~

I purchased my straightener from a website and it totalled up to £89.95. This included next day delivery delivery. It really does depend on where you purchase your straightener from, prices start at around £85 if you buy it from a hairdressing salon, but if you buy it online then you will need to pay an extra charge for delivery, so expect to pay up to £90, although on the official GHD site they cost £91.50. Conventional straighteners cost around £25, so there is a big difference with GHD. It might seem like a waste of money but you really need to try it to believe it. My best friend got her hair chemically straightened which set her back £100, now I know for a fact if she invested in one of these she wouldn’t need to get her hair chemically straightened which only lasts for 4 months. She told me straighteners did nothing for her hair but she only used the Remington straightener, so you can’t expect amazing results with that. I thought this was worth it because I was instantly convinced with this product.

AVAILABILITY*~

GHD straighteners are available from selected hairdressers although not all. They were quite difficult to find say a year ago but slowly more and more hairdressers are beginning to sell them.
And don’t think you’ll be able to get them from a department store because they are exclusively sold in hairdressers. If like me you can’t be bothered to search the hairdressers for one then buy on online. I was initially going to purchase the straightener from www.hqhair.com but after searching several different websites I came across www.ghdceramics.co.uk, which promised next day delivery. I was a bit hesitant at first because the site looked very tacky, I really wasn’t sure but the next day delivery thing convinced me. It was a hair emergency so I ordered it straight away. With the straightener came a free bottle Infratreat Thermal Defence, a salon spray you are supposed to use with the actual straightener. This was sent at no extra cost so I was pretty convinced. When you purchase a GHD straightener you are encouraged to purchase the GHD iron oil with it, which is just a spray to use before hand, but you get a similar product if you buy the straightener from this site for free. The site accepts cheques, money orders and credit or debit cards. The site accepts Visa, Switch and MasterCard. They also accept Solo card, you just need to put it under Switch. If you want next day delivery then you have to order before 3pm on a weekday, I ordered mine on a Thursday and it arrived on Friday. I was extremely impressed, I definitely do recommend this website as they are super fast and throw in a free bottle of thermal defence. You might be slightly put off at the layout of the website but trust me it’s a really good site. I’ve ordered straighteners from them five times now, and each time everything has gone smoothly. And yes they do have a telephone number and address if you are unsure.

WHY GET IT?*~

This product is for you if you have thick, wavy, unmanageable hair like me. Because my hair is so thick it takes me a long time to straighten it, simply because I have to do it section by section, but because this flattens
hair dramatically within seconds you don’t need to straighten it by separating it into sections. This is a time saver so if you want to straighten your hair regularly but don’t have lifetimes to spare then this is the product for you.

I also recommend this straightener to people who like my friend find conventional straighteners ineffective. If you are thinking about getting your hair chemically straightened I thoroughly recommend you try one of these first, it might be hard to believe but it really does work! If you’ve tried Babyliss or Nicky Clarke and think, why would this be any different? Simply because it has the ceramic plate. One major difference!

If like me, you’re constantly tying your hair back, then you’ll know about those awful lines called kinks. Well no straightener in the past has been able to get rid of kinks, but this gets rid of kinks! If you tie your hair back but you still want it straight then this is for you, because it’s the only product I know of that will get rid of those wretched things!

This product is so versatile. I have short hair now so I wasn’t sure this product would be worth it until I grew it out but it still manages to straighten my hair so it doesn’t look all puffed out. You can also make it look spiky but best of all, it’s always straight, and because it’s so small you can still straighten short lengths of hair. If you’ve got long hair, you can make it straight or add flicks to the end of your hair. It really is up to you.

If you have really fine hair, or naturally straight hair then getting a GHD straightener might be a bit too expensive. My friend has naturally straight hair so I didn’t think getting this would be a good idea, but she still bought one due to the hype and uses it for those days off. Whenever she gets caught in the rain and gets her hair all frizzy, she just uses this and her hairs straight again, and al
so she has perfected the curling technique so it really does have more than one use. Hair straighteners are a bit of a must have item for any girl, it just depends on what hair style you fancy.

ADVANTAGES*~

Where do I start? Apart from the obvious that it leaves hair smooth, shiny, silky and straight it actually is good for your hair. This straightener does not dry out hair like conventional hair straighteners. The negative ion charge created by these irons seals in moisture and natural oils. So for all you people that are worried that you’ll be damaging your hair with each use, don’t worry, you’ll actually be helping the condition of it!

One of my major advantages is that it is small. You’d think because it’s small it wouldn’t do the job but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s really compact unlike all those bulky straighteners. Because of it’s size it also means its easier to iron out certain sections of your hair.

DISADVANTAGES*~

This product is absolutely brilliant, as it doesn’t have many disadvantages but the only one I can think of is that fact that it gets extremely hot. You have to be careful when straightening your hair that you don’t catch it on your ear, head or fingers because it will burn. Also your hair gets extremely hot once it’s been straightened so it isn’t a good idea to touch your hair straight after running the straightener through it because it will be hot.

OVERALL*~

I recommend this product to everyone. If you’ve got curly or wavy hair this is for you. It instantly straightens hair leaving it soft, shiny and best of all straight! Even if you’ve got straight hair this will still be a good investment for those off days, and especially when you just feel the need to get poker straight locks. You’ll soon realise that once you start using this, you’ll be spending less money
on serums and hairsprays, which can only be a good thing! This is a brilliant product for people on the go! You can straighten it and in minutes you’ll have straight hair! I know it might sound like it’s too good to be true but I was instantly convinced. They might seem expensive at first but after you’ve used it, you’ll forget about the price.

REMEMBER…

Don’t forget to turn it off when you’ve finished.
To keep it out of reach of children after use.
Don’t use it on wet hair.

Purchased from – http://www.ghdceramics.co.uk
Priced - £89.95

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