A Hot Love Story. My affair with the GHD.

This affair started about eight months ago which then escalated into an obsession. It all started in Spring of 2013 when my old faithful Conair Silk and Straight just outright died on me while I was straightening my hair. This sucked because only half my head was done. I sucked it up and went to work and my co-workers commented on how my hair looked different that day LOL!!!

Overall I had that iron for almost seven years and it had served me faithfully. It still kind of worked (not as hot as before) but I basically eliminated straightening my hair unless I had to go out somewhere.
I started reading and researching online for different hair irons, weighing the pros and cons, pricing and what people generally had to say.

I ended up stumbling on Allure’s top ten flat irons of 2013 and saw this little baby. 

My baaaby!!

So Sleek and Sexy! ;)

It looked really sleek and lightweight however the price was a little daunting.

$225 CAD. :O
I immediately took it off my list of potential flat irons and moved on to researching other models. However, my mind kept going back to that sleek and sexy GHD.

Months passed and I still didn’t have a new iron. Then my parents told me that they would get me a new one for my 25^th birthday. Since I didn’t have to shell out money for it, I asked for the GHD. When they heard the price they balked. $225 is a lot of money. Plus, the tax rate in my province is 15%. However in the States the price is $165 (as listed on Sephora.com). Even though $165 is a lot of money it’s better than $225 so they agreed we agreed to make a trip down to the States and we could buy it from there!

Despite that my mind was made up; I still kept researching and reading reviews. When you shell out that much money, you want to be certain that you are getting your money’s worth and that it is worth every penny. I kept reading that the new GHDs are not like the older ones and they are breaking down after a year or two. That had me worried.

You see, once upon a time I would have bought a Chi flat iron. When I was 16 after a haircut, the hairdresser straightened my hair with it and I swear it never looked so shiny and silky. However this was in 2005.
My friend bought a Chi in 2011 and it broke down after year and unfortunately just when the warranty expired. When I was reading up on flat irons, I read that Chi since 2010 had decided to mass market their items and the quality of their products had gone downhill. I also really wanted a professional quality styling tool.

ANYWAYS…I stumbled up this site www.folica.com and saw that they specialized in haircare tools and styling products. I found the GHD flat iron and saw that it was even cheaper than it was listed on sephora.com!
 

Folica.com runs many promotions several times a week. If you are lucky you can score an additional 15-30% of the listed price!
They do ship to Canada but the shipping is $24.95 + you have to pay $22.95 in additional duties. Not cool. I guess we were stuck going to Sephora and buying from there.

Then my aunt was going to visit my cousin who lives in Arizona during the month of May. I took a chance and asked my aunt if she wouldn’t mind bringing me a parcel back. I told her about the magnificence of the GHD. I told her she wouldn’t have to pay anything; all she has to do is bring it back to Canada.
She agreed!

 

I monitored folica.com for a few days and I stumbled upon this promotion during the Memorial long weekend and it was 30% + a free GHD heat protectant Plus you get free shipping in the US for orders over $50. Ummm…you can’t go WRONG!!!!  I chose the classic 1 inch flat iron.

The shipping was super quick! I ordered it on the Monday and by Friday evening my cousin sent me a Facebook message letting me know that it was now in her possession. Phew! I could rest easily!

My aunt came back to Canada mid June and I tried it out immediately. I’ve been playing around with it. I’ve been trying the GHD several times before I bothered to write up this review.

So this is what my hair looked like this morning. I washed it the night before:

Why Are you so FRIZZY!!!!????

After:

The GHD in general is really, really nice! I would say it does live up to its expectations of being the “Cadillac” of flat irons.

When you plug it in, it heats up really quickly. It beeps to let you know it’s ready to be used. I would say that it takes about 15 seconds for it to completely heat up. Once it beeps you’re all ready to go.

When straightening it, I take about 1 inch sections of hair and go from there.

I have a lot of hair and it’s really thick. With the GHD it took me a grand total of 19 minutes to completely straighten it all out. With my old Conair it would take 45 minutes. Who has time for all that?!

Another cool feature about the GHD is that it has a “sleep mode”. If your iron is inactive for 30 minutes it switches itself off. It’s pretty cool and I tried it out for the sake of this review, but I’m pretty good about turning off and unplugging my tools so I don’t really need this feature! ;)

Now there is one thing that I am not too happy with regarding this iron. My issue with it is that it is set on one heat setting 375 F. When I am doing my hair, the hair gets really hot, too hot in fact. It burns to handle your hair! With the high heat, if you pass the iron several times over the same strand your hair can end up looking a bit dry and damaged. (I experienced this the first time I tried it.)

Two passes with the iron are more than enough to straighten out any frizz and puffiness.

The price is also a con. It is a pricy iron. If you can afford it, then it’s the one for you. I decided on this one because I wanted a good professional salon quality iron that I won’t have to replace in a few years. If you are ready to take the plunge I believe it is a great investment and tool to have in your grooming kit.

So to summarize:

Pros:                                                                                                    

• Heats up quickly
• Straightens quickly (cuts down time by half)
• Sleek Design
• “Sleep Mode” Automatic Shut off after 30 minutes.

Cons:

• Price. Very expensive
• Only one heat setting available. Can damage hair.

Overall I give this iron a 4/5. I took off a point mainly due to the high heat and the damage it can cause to the hair. 

Always, use a heat protectant spray before using any hot tools and condition after with some hair serum to cut down on frizz afterwards!

Hope this helps you out in your future flat iron purchases!

Peace. Love and Beauty.

Xox <3