Our beauty editor tried the new GHD Chronos styler - and the results were unexpected

When it comes to hair tools, ghd is is one of the most reliable brands around - so any new tool from them catches our attention. So when the ghd Chronos landed, we were desperate to give it a whirl and see how it holds up to its predecessors.

The new high-tech styler looks like it will rival the very best on the market, as it promises fast styling, breakage protection and lots of shine, thanks to its ultra gloss coated plates that boast High Definition responsive technology.

So our Beauty Editor tried it out on the woman&home team, to see how it well it worked, what the experience was like and it could hold up against the best ghd straighteners.

Our Beauty Editor's review of the ghd Chronos

Woman&home Beauty Editor, Aleesha Badkar, gave the new ghd Chronos styler a try to see what it can do for your hair and whether it's really worth buying...

First impressions of the ghd Chronos

First thing's first, this styler is a dream to use. As a beauty editor, I've tried countless hair straighteners, tools and stylers, but this has to be one of the lightest and smoothest I've come across.

On lifting it out of the box, it almost felt like a toy, but the sturdy body and smart design gave it a definite premium feel. The streamlined shape is really comfortable to hold and the wishbone hinge and soft clamp make it easy and painless to use, without causing the stiffness and hand-ache that can come from some other models. However, my first thought was that it looked just like its predecessor, the ghd Platinum+, so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of usage.

Despite the lightweight and relatively slim design of the tool, it still boasts pretty wide plates, which made it really quick and easy to style my long and thick hair and our managing editor's naturally frizzy and curly locks. And the ultra gloss coated plates made for a very smooth styling process - no catching in sight, despite our dry ends.

Hows does the ghd Chronos perform?

Now onto the quality of the results. As mentioned, we gave the ghd Chronos an initial test run on two types of hair and tried out multiple styles too.

We first tried it out on w&h's Managing Editor Mariana Cerqueira's thick and frizz-prone hair to see how straight we could really get it.

After just a 10-minute styling session, Mariana's hair was left sleek, shiny and very very straight, with pretty much everyone in the team commenting on how it's the most straight they've ever seen it.

Then we gave it a whirl on my (pre-straightened) hair to see how well the barrel could add waves to the hair. I have to say, as much as I usually prefer to use a dedicated curling wand instead of hair straighteners, this did do a pretty good job.

The styler is designed to boast subtle smooth edges and these meant that I could add in both curls and waves without any kinks or catching. The whole process took me less than five minutes - and I have a lot of hair! And while I found that it did operate pretty similarly to the the ghd Platinum+, I thought that the results looked a lot sleeker and shinier, which was a surprise to me.

Should you buy the ghd Chronos?

While it is very similar to its predecessor, the ghd Platinum+, if you're styler-less and looking for something new, this is a great option.

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. It is a bit of an investment and you can probably get something that will work just as well for a bit less, like a ghd Gold styler or a pair of Cloud Nine straighteners, but it definitely topped the leadership board for me when it comes to smooth usage and a shiny finish.