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GHD V Gold Series Mark 5 Classic Styler Hair Straightener
by jjrose
I have been through cheap and horrible hair straighteners throughout the years. I have had of GHD stylers but since they are so expensive and I haven't quite got the money to splash it on £100 a piece GHD straigheners, I wasn't quite sure what the hype was about. However, I managed to save up amazon vouchers from dooyoo and a bit of ... vouchers from other sites doing surveys, so I thought to give this GHD stylers a try. I have straight hair but I tend to sleep in weird positions and my hair suffers for it. So, unless I dare to go out in public in messy bed hair, I really need to straighten my hair to keep it tidy.
The above GHD styler is retailed at around £100 on amazon, and you can either get it cheaper or more expensive depending on where you buy it from. The one shown in the picture is called from the classic range called the GHD V Gold Series Mark 5 Classic Styler. It comes with the hair straightener and a cap to keep the thongs in place. I bought the heat map together with the styler purchase for the ease of mind. The overall appearance of the straightener is sleek black finish with the gold/ yellow ceramic plates. It is quite pleasing to the eye.
As for the performance, GHD does lives up to its brand name. As soon as you plugged it in and turn it on, there's a beep to notify the start of the heating process. The ceramic plates heat up to 230 degrees in about 10-20 seconds and it will give another beep once it has reached the max temperature, ready to be used. Given that my hair is straight naturally, I don't need to straighten it for too long. A few smooth down with the styler will keep my hair sleek and straight for more than one day until I wash my hair. The slide of the ceramic plates is very smooth and not snugging of hair at all. I do recommend using a heat protection spray if you use the styler regularly to keep the hair growing nice and healthy in the long run.
Moreover, to my surprise, I did discover that you can use the ghd stylers to curl your hair. It is quite surprising since they mostly called these ghd straighteners rather than stylers. However, I did try curling my hair with this ghd several times and I can surely say that it works really well. Of course, youtube video tutorials help a lot.
These straighteners come with 2 year warranty and each has a serial number that you can use to register the straighter on the official GHD websites. Also, this comes with an auto sleep mode if left unused for more than 30 minutes; I admit I never have to fall back on the sleep mode but it is very nice to know that there's an option. This product is also dual voltage at 110 V and 220 V, as well as being able to function at both 50 and 60 Hz.
Overall, this is one of the best products I have ever purchased. I have had this for almost one year now and it is still working well. I'll have to see how long it lasts, and hopefully it will last long. Truly recommend this styler.
Thank you for reading and reviewing. :) x
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BaByliss Curling Wand
by hollyerin
Whats all this then? This is a hair curling wand by Babyliss. And at £19.99 its a bargain! This is great if you have naturally curly or naturally straight hair.
Details: This tool has five different temperature settings. You can use the coolest of the settings if you have very think hair, because if you use the hottest it ... wont make any difference to the style, or the length of time the style will hold for, it will just damage your hair more quickly. (obv using any heat products on your hair is damaging so I would recommend using some kind of heat protection). I use the second to hottest as my hair has a mind of its own and I feel it needs a little tough love in order to look even half way presentable. The wand only has to be switched on for about 30 seconds before it reaches full temperature, this make it a lot more convenient than some similar products on the market.
This is very simple to use, turn the on button to, funnily enough, "on" and then select the heat you want - max is 200 degrees and I think this is perfect for thicker, fuller hair, but not necessary.
The wand has a handy little "stand". Its the little black bit sticking out at the bottom that you can see on the image. It stands up very easily, its solid and wont wobble, this negates the need and excess of also having to purchase a heat mat so that it wont damage the surface which it rests on.
This wand also comes with a heat resistant glove. if you are right handed you would put the glove on your left hand, holding the wand with the right, then when you wrap your hair around the wand you can go right to the tip without any danger of burning your fingers, Cool! it very thin, so wont make you cack-handed, but it keeps the heat out impressively.
The wand does not have a "clamp" to hold your hair n place, in my opinion this is much better as it means that the hair has nothing to get tangled with, and therefore you wont risk breaking or splitting the hair as you invariable have to tug it free. The part of the wand that heats up is totally smooth, again, better for your hair. you simply start at the root of your hair, select a small or large section, depending on how tight you want your curls, wrap is along the length of the wand, leave for literally a matter of seconds and glide free. You can hold the wand with the tapered tip at the roots, or at the bottom of t=your hair, depending on the type of curl you are going for. Both work equally well. I would recommend the fatter part of the wand is placed at the roots as this means that it will add more body, which is ultimately better for thinner, finer hair.
I always use a bit of hair spray to help keep the style but it tends to hold very well. Because the wand is tapered and smooth you wont get the un-fashionable Shirley Temple style curls, you will get a modern look, not uniform but elegant in its messed-up-ness. You know the style I mean, think Julia Roberts in my Best Friends Wedding, only slightly more tame - again depending on how you use the wand. I curl its all, so that it looks neat and fairly uniform in its repetition, the I shake my head upside down, letting the curls find their own 2seat", then spray and go. I love the look, it looks like I have double the amount of hair that I actually have and keeps the hair in actual curls as opposed to independent frizz.
the only thing to watch out for its that, although it heats up in a matter of seconds, it takes a long time to cool down. So don't forget about it and then try and pick it up on the hot part, sounds silly but im sure we've all at least nearly done it before!
Over all this is a great product, easy to use, doesn't con you in to needing to buy "optional" extras, comes with the heat resistant glove, very minimal damage on your hair, you can create a number of looks, its not expensive, easy to store, you don't need to pay any more than this for a great product that actually works. You can even look on the Boots website or youtube to see how you can effortlessly create the look you want.
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