Why GHDs rock
Truth be known, countless women around the world have suffered more than their fair share of Bad Hair Days. However, in 2001, a handful of hairdressers based in Yorkshire decided to change all that. Fast forward to today, and their brand of ‘ghd’ (for ‘Good Hair Day’) hair-styling devices has become loved across the globe, and the company has achieved not merely iconic but near-cult status among its innumerable devotees.
Initially sold exclusively in salons, the devices were launched with perfect timing: just at the point when a massive fashion trend in favour of straight hair was accelerating wildly.
Salon customers were hugely impressed with their ghd straighteners, and their reputation as super-straighteners – straighteners that could also curl hair into voluptuous waves – spread like wildfire (the company didn’t conduct any promotion for its first two years because its products were already soaring through word of mouth).
Integral protection against hair damage
Carefully engineered using ceramic heating surfaces at the precise temperature (185oC) to straighten hair without causing the excess damage of conventional metal-plated straighteners, ghd’s reputation as the creators of hair-styling ‘wonder tools’ favoured by many high-profile celebrities mushroomed spectacularly. As the company has grown, unique hair dryers, hot brushes and hair brushes have joined the growing list of company products.
Fast heat-up and smooth, gliding action
The classic ghd hair straightener is loved by millions of satisfied customers around the world, not least because the ceramic heating surfaces heat the exact right temperature to straighten or curl hair without excess damage inside 30 seconds. Because ceramic is an extraordinarily smooth surface, the straightener glides smoothly over the hair, preventing those hazardous ‘catching’ experiences that can pull hair out of their follicles. The final twist: there’s an automatic ‘shut down’ feature after 30 minutes that spares you the worry of forgetting to turn it off after use.
Rounded edges
The ceramic plates are also rounded, which means that they deliver additional styling control that allows owners to create luxurious curls in their hair. You simply can’t get this standard of versatility from many other competitor straighteners. Also, they’ll never leave your hair with those annoying dents that some straighteners leave behind.
Premium quality
The company has earned a well-deserved reputation for making high-quality, highly durable hair-styling devices. The care that the designers have taken to ensure that optimum heat for straightening and curling is delivered means that not only is hair damage minimised, but also that the gadgets will style especially curly and/or wiry hair into luxurious, wavy curls, always leaving your hair uber-straight and sleek and shiny to boot.
Pricing: expensive or value for money?
The drawback is arguably the price range. These products are in the ‘expensive’ bracket for hair-styling devices – but prospective buyers should bear in mind that they’re (a) made from premium-quality materials (and they feel it as soon as you hold them physically in your hand) and (b) built according to premium-quality design and safety specifications.
They also come with a significantly longer-than-usual warranty, making them well worth the higher price tag. The company confidently doesn’t expect their products to wear out or malfunction any time soon after purchase.
Online reviews, moreover, suggest that the overwhelming majority of customers who have purchased a ghd hair-styling device are firmly in the ‘satisfied’ to ‘waxing positively lyrical’ categories. In just two decades, from its humble beginnings, ghd products have become the gold standard for hair-styling equipment.