Hersheson's The Great Iron costs £100s less than the competition - after testing it for straight and wavy styling, I'm impressed
I've tried almost every pair of straighteners out there, but this new model by Victoria Beckham's hairdresser stands out
Hershesons' The Great Iron is everything you want from a pair of straighteners, without a price tag that makes you shudder a little as you put your card details in. It's a foolproof tool - it's just so effortless and effective, while looking chic.
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Adjustable temperature
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Glides through hair
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Easy to create wavy and straight styles
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Wider plates for faster styling
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No incremental temperature options
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A lot of things have changed for the better since 2002. Brunch options (goodbye black pudding, hello avocado), eyebrow shapes and the speed of online deliveries. Other things, like hair straightener tech, I think, have moved a little too far in the wrong direction.
As a beauty editor with unruly hair, I love learning about the technology behind an exciting new launch of the best hair straighteners. What I don’t love is tools that are complicated for the sake of being complicated – or to justify an eye-watering price tag.
I remember asking for a pair of the best ghd straighteners for my 12th birthday, and they cost £100. It was a real treat, and very expensive, but the price still felt relatively fair given you were investing in a tool with the power to completely transform your hair just in time for the next disco.
Specifications
Temperature range: 130-230°C
Warranty: Two years from the date of purchase
RRP: £120
Now, many of the best straighteners for thick hair on the market cost upwards of £200, with some touching the £400 mark when doubling as a hairdryer, like the ghd Duet Style or Dyson Airstrait.
So, you can imagine my delight when the Hershesons' The Great Iron landed on my desk with a price tag of £120. Reasonable and affordable compared with the competition, from one of London’s best salons and the brushes behind Victoria Beckham, Sienna Miller and Keira Knightley’s hair. But did they deliver?
Our beauty editor’s review of Hershesons The Great Iron
Hershesons The Great Iron features
Hershesons The Great Iron has all the features I want from a really great pair of straighteners. Slightly wider than average plates, adjustable temperature settings, and a silky smooth coating on the plates that means they glide through the hair.
The plates are 1.25 inches, which isn’t very wide, but compared to the classic ghd Gold Straighteners, which are around 1.02 inches, and Cloud Nine Original Iron, which are 1 inch wide, it makes a noticeable difference. It makes the process of styling thick hair like mine swifter, without being too bulky to tackle baby hairs around the hairline or for anyone with shorter, finer hair to use.
Beauty Editor Jess before and after using Hershesons The Great Iron
The temperature spans from 130°C to 230°C, but it’s essentially four different settings – 130°C, 170°C, 200°C and 230°C – rather than smaller increments. The brand recommends the lowest temperature for very fine, fragile hair and the higher ones for thick, coarse hair. I definitely sit in the upper end of the bracket. 170°C was enough for a quick refresh between wash days, but I needed 200°C for full taming from curly to straight.
It’s nice to have the option to use a lower temperature depending on what your hair needs, rather than exposing it to more heat than necessary. I was too nervous to try the 230°C, as I was worried I’d fry my hair.
RRP: £120
As for the silky smooth plates, they are made from titanium tourmaline. Tourmaline emits negative ions, helping to smooth frizz and keep fluff at bay. They glide through the hair really easily, without even a hint of snagging or pulling.
Hershesons The Great Iron looks really good too. The matte cobalt makes a nice change from your classic glossy black straighteners, and the storage bag is really handy for travel. On the subject of travel, they also have a global voltage, so won’t leave you forced to embrace your natural hair texture on holiday.
How does Hershesons The Great Iron perform?
The plates heat up fast and hold a temperature evenly, with the brand promising that one pass does the work of three. I would agree – I was impressed by how quickly they styled my hair, and I didn’t have to keep going over and over the most stubborn sections.
In the long run, I think this will help me to minimise damage from both heat and repeated tension from tugging an iron through my hair. It’s also easy to cycle through the temperature settings if you want to ease off or crank up the heat, with just one button.
As much as I like poker straight 90s hair on other people, I don’t wear my hair like this very often, so I was pleased with how easily Hershesons The Great iron adds waves and bends. I managed to take my day-three hair from slightly dishevelled, stuck in a messy bun overnight, to big and bouncy in less than ten minutes. The wider plate means you get a slightly more relaxed wave than with narrower straighteners too.
Hershesons The Great Iron: My verdict
Essentially, I just want straighteners that straighten and smooth my hair without causing too much damage. I don’t necessarily need them to decode my hair type, dry my hair or do my tax return.
Hersheson's The Great Iron is a really great straightening iron. It’s not promising to reinvent the wheel, just doing what it should in a really elegant and easy-to-use way. There are cheaper brands that do something similar for a bit less, but I think it’s worth paying a little more for something that has been so well thought through and feels premium. If you’re looking to upgrade your current pair, this is the way to go.
