We've reviewed every pair of the best ghd straighteners to help you settle on 'The One'

We probably don't need to tell you that the best ghd straighteners have been a hairstyling go-to for decades. But those who are new to the brand and want to buy their first pair – or even those who want to upgrade their current tool – may not know where to start in its ever-growing range. That's where this guide comes in. Not only has our beauty team rigorously tested all of ghd's tools, we are big fans and use many of them by choice. As such, we've broken down the pros and cons of each one in this need-to-know guide and advised on who they all suit best.

Since launching 24 years ago, ghd has won many awards and many top stylists regard their tools as the best straighteners on the market. "I've had a ghd styler in my kit bag forever," says leading hairdresser Adam Reed, who was global ambassador for the brand when we first published the guide. "I remember the first time I used one and being blown away by what it could do. I still get the 'OMG' effect every time I use it to create something new."

But with 10 smoothing and straightening tools on offer today – including two wet-to-dry stylers – it's not always easy to know one is best for you straight away. Enter, our guide. Whether you've never owned a pair or want to upgrade your current model, there's almost always a discount to be bagged, meaning now is as good a time as any to invest. From wide plate stylers for thick and curly hairstyles to the cordless straighteners for an on-the-go refresh, ahead are our thorough reviews of every pair of the best ghd straighteners, based on our years of experience testing and using them all.

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The quick list: the 6 best ghd straighteners at a glance

The best ghd straighteners, reviewed by our beauty team

The best ghd straightener overall

Often compared with the Dyson Corrale, there are a few things to consider if you are weighing up the Dyson Corrale vs ghd Platinum+. This ghd styler has predictive heat technology, intelligently adapting to a section of hair's thickness and density – meaning more control and less damage. We love its speedy heat-up time of just 20 seconds, while the wishbone hinge made styling feel easier than some older models.

Thanks to the smooth plates we straightened and waved our hair in record time, meaning less time our strands spent under damaging heat. (Do note that even tools promising less damage still require you to use heat protection, especially if your hair is brittle or colour-treated. There is no such thing as a damage-free straightener!) Another plus here is that the Platinum+ comes with a three-year warranty; all other ghd hair straighteners come with two (aside from the Chronos). It doesn't come in cheap, but nor is it the most expensive ghd straightener, which is why we vote it the all-round best in line with its impressive results.

"The ghd Platinum+ is a one-stroke wonder. It gives the best results and incredible shine in just one stroke," Reed says. "The wishbone hinge takes all the effort out of styling as it keeps the hair perfectly in place, and the finish it gives is spot on for today – beautifully smooth while retaining volume and movement. No matter whether a client has super thick or incredibly fine hair, I know that I will get a consistent result and a beautifully smooth finish across every hair type.”

See our full ghd Platinum+ hair straightener review

The bestselling ghd straightener

"The ghd styler is the original and the best. In fact, it’s fair to say it’s genius," says Reed – and we have to agree. Can you believe it's been more than two decades since the ghd Original Styler first landed on shelves? A true game-changer at the time, the tool quickly became world-famous and is still super popular today, with two million sold every year around the world. Though it remains a bestseller, ghd upgraded the Original Styler a couple of years ago to incorporate more innovative technology.

We found there was something pleasingly familiar about this tool, married with a sense of "newness" thanks to the souped-up features. The plates now boast a gloss coating and we did notice it yielded even sleeker and smoother results. The ceramic heat technology is as effective as ever, styling at the brand's optimum temperature of 185°C. Design-wise, it retains its classic sleek look with slim plates that made curling, waving, and straightening super easy.

This is the most straightforward ghd styler but, in our opinion, it would be almost impossible to go wrong with it. It does take a little longer to style a full head of hair compared to the Max or Platinum+ models, but the slimmer handle allowed us to get right into the hairline when styling. The updated tool also features single-zone technology, meaning heat is evenly distributed across both ceramic plates to help effortlessly style your hair. "The Original is the perfect tool for those starting out on their ghd journey and wanting to create beautiful, simple styles with shine and smoothness," says Igor Rago, ghd Italy's art director.

See our full ghd Original IV hair straightener review

The best ghd straightener for travel

The ghd Unplugged joins the recent wave of cordless stylers, including the Dyson Corrale Hair Straightener and Babyliss 9000 Cordless Hair Straightener, bringing plenty of useful features to the party. At first we thought it looked kind of chunky, but it's actually very lightweight to hold, especially considering it contains a battery. Weighing in at 35% less than the Platinum+ and measuring just shy of nine inches across, it did feel noticeably compact and was easy to manoeuvre when we put it to the test. It still features the standard ghd specs, too, such as dual-zone heaters and ceramic plates, as well as the smooth styling experience we’d expect.

Now, about the battery life. A full charge lasted us 20 minutes, taking about two hours to charge. If you have fine hair, like our tester, that isn't too long or curly, this should do. But if you have thick hair, curly hair, lots of it or all of the above, you'd probably use Unplugged as a "top-up" tool rather than a full styler. Charging it is easy, however, thanks to the USB port, which we could easily plug into our laptop to give it a boost. It can also be charged in a car – though do note it can't be used while charging. Overall, though, it's a great pick for travel and touch-ups.

The Unplugged is naturally a favourite with professional hairstylists, thanks the ease of on-the-go styling. “Ghd Unplugged offers a new level of flexibility and creativity for styling " says Manuele Mameli, hairstylist to mega-influencer Chiara Ferragni. "Whether it’s styling touch-ups at a photo shoot or a quick style transformation in the back of a taxi during long days at fashion week, Unplugged is my sleek-styling essential.”

The best ghd straightener for curly and or thick hair

This is ghd’s newest hair straightener, marrying the tech of the Chronos, the most recent straightener before it, and the Max, the brand’s largest model that has wider-than-standard plates. Everything about the Chronos Max is pleasingly sleek; it’s the same size as the Max, with the only discernible visual difference being the rounded tops of the plates and a slightly tweaked look of the controls on the main arms of the tool. With HD motion-responsive™ that adapts to your styling throughout use, it’s designed to create lasting smooth results even more quickly, with curved edges that make it easier to get into the roots of your hair. If your hair is close to straight already, you may not notice as much of a difference in the advanced Chronos powers compared to – still very sleek – results from other ghd straighteners, given that their performance and lasting power is already pretty good. But the shine and smoothness is truly excellent, as are the lasting results and ease of use in curlier hair types.

The best ghd straightener for curling and waving hair

The Gold is ideal for anyone who likes to change up their hair styling. With a curved design and rounded barrel, we could create curls and waves at a quicker rate than any other ghd styler. Our top tip? Leave the ends of your hair free of the styler to create undone beach hair waves. If you'd rather go smooth and sleek, the floating mechanism on the plates also helps them to glide down the hair shaft without snags.

Heat-wise, we found these lightweight straighteners quick to warm up, probably taking about 25 seconds. You can also expect an even temperature without hot spots, thanks to the highly intelligent heat sensors in each plate. This allowed us to enjoy highly controlled styling without repeat passing through the hair – a big tick in our book. If you’re after styling versatility with a nod to heat protection, the Gold should suit your needs. As Reed says, "The ghd Gold styler glides through the hair, delivering a constant safer-for-hair heat of 185ºC to ensure hair is perfectly styled but not damaged."

There’s no ionic technology here to keep static at bay, so they may not suit those with particularly frizzy hair, but we still achieved a smooth and sheeny look with this tool. ghd Platinum+ vs ghd Gold is a common debate and we found that both are great stylers for regular use. While we recommend this model for those concerned about the drying effects of heat-styling on delicate or damaged hair, this hits the gold standard if you want to learn how to curl hair with straighteners perfectly.

The best ghd straightener for thick or long hair

If you have thick hair, a curly hairstyle or a natural hairstyle that you’d like to smooth out every now and then, the ghd Max is undoubtedly one of the best straighteners for curly hair out there. With broader-than-standard plates that are double the width of other ghd models (two inches vs. the usual one inch), we were able to hold and smooth out larger sections of hair in one go. This significantly cut down the overall styling time.

These generous proportions also allowed for easy styling of our tester's hair at 185ºC, a godsend for anyone who worries about having to repeatedly pass over and frazzle individual sections. For us, this also sets it apart from other brands’ irons that are designed for thick hair – many rely on styling at a higher heat, which is more damaging over time.

The downside to these larger plates – which we experienced firsthand – is that they do take slightly longer to heat up than other ghd stylers. That said, the time you’ll save during styling thanks to its bigger design will more than make up for it. We would also point out that it's harder to create curls with this tool due to the plate size, though it does create a very loose, undone wave look. But if your main hair straightener uses are to smooth and straighten, this is the one for you.

See our full ghd Max hair straightener review

The best ghd straightener for shiny results

The ghd Chronos is one of the brand's newer straightening innovation, having launched in February 2024. HD motion-responsive™ technology adapts to your styling, with the tool promising to noticeably smooth and straighten hair after just one stroke. Powering up in just 20 seconds, it also switches off after just 10 minutes of inactivity, improving on the 30 minutes seen in most of the brand's other straighteners.

Our digital beauty editor Aleesha Badkar notes that, though it's similar to it's predecessor, the Platinum+, it's a great tool. "It works wonders on long, thick, curly and frizzy hair in just minutes – something I've only seen before with the Platinum+ and the Dyson Corrale – and it wasn't too hot for the finer hair types we tried it on, too," she says. "It is a bit of an investment and you can probably get something that will work just as well for a bit less, like the ghd Gold styler or a pair of Cloud Nine straighteners, but it definitely topped the leaderboard for me when it comes to smooth usage and a shiny finish."

Read our full, in-depth ghd Chronos review here

The best ghd straightener for short hair and bangs

Our first impression of this miniature straightener was, "how very cute!". With a plate width of just half an inch, this pocket rocket of a hot tool allows for precision styling that lends itself particularly well to both bangs hairstyles and pixie haircuts. Despite its narrower size, the ghd Mini still offers the same styling power as other ghd models, including the Gold and Platinum+.

We did find that the smaller size of the Mini meant that this styler felt a little fragile in the hand, though we didn't once experience any issues while actually using it; the two-year warranty also set our mind at ease on that front. It has simple controls and features ghd's signature styling temperature of 185ºC, which, as usual, removes any guesswork, while the floating plates meant we had a smooth and snag-free straightening experience.

If you have shorter hair and find that it sticks out at an angle when using average-sized straighteners, or that larger tools often leave an imprint in your hair, then you’ll likely fall in love with the ghd Mini. Styling every section of our hair did take us a little longer than usual, which is to be expected, but the seamless results made the effort worth it in the end.

The best ghd straightener for drying and styling

As ghd is excellent at creating both hair dryers and straighteners, we had high hopes for this. Shall we start with the good? The Duet styler is clearly a very advanced piece of kit. It combines targeted airflow with four slimline plates on either side of the central air vents and does a pretty great job of drying and smoothing hair at once.

Our thick-haired tester found it took only a few passes on each section of rough-dried hair to achieve the same result she would with a separate dryer and straightener. It also doesn't knock every inch of texture out of the hair as flat irons often do; rather it smoothes and styles. The main benefit here is convenience. Only using one tool is less hassle and you'll spend less time styling. It also helps to preserve the hair's health; the dryer gets up to 150ºC and the plates 120ºC (both significantly lower than ghd's usual 185ºC temperature). However, if you do rely on higher heat to get a sleek finish, you can use the Shine Shot mode to do so, which styles at the usual 185ºC.

As for not-so-good, it's larger than all other ghd straighteners and we found it was trickier to get it very close to the root in thicker and curly hair types. That said, you have to factor in that this is a hair dryer as well, in which case you could actually say it's quite small. It's also a little noisy at first, although we found it quietened down with use (that or we just got used to it!). You'll also probably need to practice a bit to master the technique, as is the case with any new technology – but that's what this is: a new and exciting addition to ghd's roster.

See our full ghd Duet Style Review for an in-depth guide

How we tested the best ghd straighteners

If you're paying three figures for a hair tool, it needs to tick all of your boxes in terms of performance, results and design. As such, we analysed every little detail about each ghd straightener model, from size and weight to ease and speed of styling, as well as each styler's price tag.

Hair type also plays a role in which tool will work best for you – the best ghd straighteners for curly, thick or long hair won't be the same as those for hair that's very fine and straight, for example. We therefore assessed how well each tool works on different hair types when reviewing them. Our testers considered all of the following factors when testing and comparing these ghd tools to help you make the right investment for your hair type and styling needs.

• Design, including size of plates
• Any unique or interesting technology
• Ease of use and general user experience
• If it worked universally well or was best on specific hair types
• Smoothness and straightness of results
• How long the results lasted
• Price in line with performance

FAQs about the best ghd straighteners, answered

How to choose the best ghd straighteners for your hair

• Type and texture: If you have curly or very thick hair (or both), the wider plates of the ghd Max will work well, while something simpler, like the Original IV Styler, is great for fine and straighter hair. Consider length, too; very short hairstyles need narrower plates, such as those of the ghd Mini, while very long hair may appreciate the predictive technology of the Platinum+. Those with hair that lacks volume, the Glide or Duet Blowdry tools may appeal, as they stretch and smooth without completely flattening sections.
• Styling capabilities: Each tool is designed to smooth and straighten hair, but do you want to wave and curl with your tool, too? If so, a curved barrel, like that of the ghd Gold, would be a smart choice. Consider how often you straighten, too. If daily, it makes sense to invest in a tool that inflicts less damage on strands. If you are only an occasional user of heated tools, a more basic model without hair health benefits will likely suffice.
• Budget: As a premium brand, no ghd styler has a "cheap" price tag. That said, often the newer the model (and the technology), the higher the price. If your budget is smaller, consider an older device like the Original IV or Gold. Both are still high-performing tools but, as they aren't the brand's latest, they cost less. This is worth remembering during shopping events like the ghd Black Friday sale, when older models usually have more generous discounts.

Do ghd straighteners turn off automatically?

Yes; this is one of the things people love most about ghd tools. The agonising question anybody with hair straighteners will ask themselves if they left the house in a hurry: Did I forget to turn them off?” Despite trying to recall the moment you put them down, you often cannot remember turning them off – which can make your journey to work or a social engagement unnecessarily stressful.

Thankfully, all ghd hair straighteners are programmed to switch themselves off automatically after 30 minutes (with the exception of the Glide's 60 minutes, Chronos' 10 and the Unplugged's three). That's one less thing to worry about on a busy day.

How hot do ghds get?

Most ghd tools style at 185°C. This temperature has been chosen specially because, according to the brand's own research, it produces long-lasting styles with minimal damage inflicted onto strands.

Ghd found that anything above this temperature can cause structural damage to your hair, which is why you'll see it across the entire range of tools. The exceptions to this rule are the hot air stylers, Duet Style and Duet Blowdry, which both style at 120°C when drying your hair.

How long do ghd straighteners last?

Most ghd straighteners have a two-year warranty – sometimes three – which gives you some peace of mind when making this big investment. Many shoppers actually note that their styler has lasted more than five years. The trick is to take good care of your tool, cleaning it between uses (once cooled down, of course) and storing it in a heat-resistant bag or somewhere it won't gather dust.

If your hair straighteners aren't maintaining an even heat, or are taking longer to style, it might be an indication that they're past their best. Some experts recommend replacing them after four years, but you may find they're still performing perfectly well by this point.

How to protect your hair when using ghds

Any expert will tell you that heat protection is essential if you style your hair. “One of the best haircare tips – which is very often ignored – is using a heat protective spray on your hair before using any heated tools," says hairdresser and Hairlounge founder & owner Charlotte Mensah, global ambassador for ghd. "If you do, you’ll love how your hair looks even after the styling wears off. Follow this commandment and your hair will really thank you for it." Here are a few key beneficial ingredients to look out for when shopping for heat protection for hair.

• Humectants: Water magnets that help draw in and retain moisture. Glycerin, panthenol and propylene are all humectants and are often found in heat protectant sprays to deliver hydrated, healthy hair results.
• Amino acids: Strengthening and conditioning agents whose main function in haircare is to supply nourishing antioxidants to repair surface damage. Keratin, for example, is a structural protein that helps strengthen strands, restoring and repairing heat and colour damage.
• Oils: Protect the hair cuticle and lock in moisture, especially great for thicker, curly and natural hair which can absorb heavier products without being weighed down. Coconut oil helps to seal split ends and shields your hair against the effects of heat-styling tools – plus, a little stretches far.

Our picks of the best ghd hair styling products

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Our expert panel

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Emma Stoddart

Emma Stoddart is a freelance beauty journalist who has worked for some of the UK’s top titles including NET-A-PORTER, Stylist and Grazia. Her experience covers both online and print, including producing editorial shoots with some of the industry’s biggest artists. Naturally during that time she's tested most of the ghd tools on the market, so she's well-versed in who they are best for.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Lucy Abbersteen

Lucy Abbersteen is a freelance beauty editor and one of woman&home's contributing beauty editors. With close to a decade of experience in the industry – and with haircare as one of her specialisms – she's tested a lot of hair tools on her curls during her career, including almost everything in the ghd portfolio.

Expert advice from

Expert advice from

Adam Reed

Adam Reed is a leading hairdresser and the founder of the ARKIVE Headcare brand and salon. When we first published this guide, he was also an ambassador for ghd.

Expert advice from

Expert advice from

Charlotte Mensah

Charlotte Mensah is an award-winning hairstylist, founder of the Hair Lounge salon and her eponymous haircare brand and the author of Good Hair: The Essential Guide to Afro, Textured and Curly Hair. When this article was first published, she was also an ambassador for ghd.