A history of GHD Hair Straighteners

GHD or Good Hair Day is the hair straightening phenomenon of the moment.

Founded in 2001 this British-owned company based in Yorkshire has become synonymous with hair straighteners. It was only seven years ago that a hairdresser friend of company founder Martin Penny demonstrated some styling irons he'd been sent by a South Korean inventor and suggested that Penny buy the rights. The first of their kind, ghd started the trend for straightened hair.

Until the advent of the GHD brand, hair straightening could only be achieved by time-consuming and expensive chemical straightening in a hair salon.

Thanks to celebrity endorsement and the undisputed quality of the product - ghd stylers have a cult-like following. Indeed so successful is the brand that their biggest problem is fakes. Some people are simply not prepared to pay for the best and would rather take a risk. This has led to the market being flooded with inferior fake GHDs. This problem is so great that even high-street retailers like UK based Superdrug have been caught out. Ebay is awash with fake GHD stylers.

To be safe only buy your GHD hair straighteners from authorised resellers such as Jasonshankey.co.uk.

Hair Straighteners-Terms and Definitions

Hair Straighteners are an integral part of many women's daily beauty ritual. In response manufacturers have come up with lots of new and exciting, but often confusing, features.

Here are some terms and definitions of the most important:

CERAMIC PLATES
Most of the latest hair straighteners will have ceramic plates. Older-style straighteners have aluminium or alloy plates. These work by conducting heat directly onto the hair shaft. This can be very drying and cause long-term damage. Ceramic plates tend to radiate heat (through infra-red) into the inner hair-shaft. This distributes the heat more evenly and the plates are less likely to suffer hot-spots. The hair is more pliant and supple and can be worked more quickly. This uses less heat overall and causes less long-term styling damage. Ceramic plates also tend to be much smoother causing less drag on the hair being straightened.

Some hair straighteners have plates that are just given a light ceramic coating which can easily wear off during daily use. Look for SOLID-CERAMIC plates as a sign of quality.

TOURMALINE
Tourmaline is a semi-precious stone. It is ground into a fine powder and coated onto the ceramic plates of a hair straightener. Tourmaline is naturally high in negative-ions when heated, resulting in sleeker, shinier, and frizz-free hair. Only the more expensive straighteners have tourmaline coated plates so this should mean a good standard of hair-iron.

NEGATIVE IONS
Negative Ions means less static when hair straightening and this means less frizz. Frizz and static are the twin enemies of straight hair so any straightener that produces negative irons will mean quicker styling times. Negative ions also help to seal in the hair's own moisture resulting in silkier and softer hair.

IONIC
Ionic is just another term for 'negative ion'.

Choosing Hair Straighteners: Part 2

In the first post we looked at the major considerations when buying hair straighteners:

-Price,
-Hair Type,
-Plate Type.

There are other day-to-day factors that will decide how easy and how often you use your straighteners:

VOLTAGE SELECTION:
The best hair straighteners will have voltage selection and a multi-plug so that they can be used pretty much anywhere. This is vital if you travel a lot and always need to look your best. (And who doesn't!)

SAFETY:
It is very important that your hair straighteners have some kind of auto-shutoff, perhaps after 30 minutes. You are dealing with heat and electricity so this is vital; everyone has left the house leaving the iron or their hair straighteners on!

Make sure that where the power-cord goes into the body of the straighteners that it can swivel a full 360 degrees. This will cause less strain on the cable and stop those endless kinks forming.

WEIGHT:
If you are using hair straighteners every day you will soon notice the weight so check this before you buy. If you already have hair straighteners check their weight against your intended purchase.

Choosing A Hair Straightener

Choosing a hair straightener can be overwhelming when you look at the number of hair straighteners on the market and the myriad features available. This article will highlight the most important features to look for before you take the plunge and part with your hard-earned cash. In Nature straight hair does not occur naturally so poker-straight hair will always look glamorous and exciting so it's worth spending some time and effort.

PRICE:
In general you get what you pay for. Your hair straighteners will quickly become part of your daily beauty routine. You can therefore expect hair straighteners to last 12-24 months as the plates generate intense heat which eventually wears out any special coatings and burns out the heating elements. The best hair straighteners will be guaranteed for 24 months. Yes, this does mean you need to spend more to get the best!

HAIR TYPE:
Thicker or wavy hair will need higher temperature settings but fine hair can be damaged by excessive heat so temperature control is vital. Look for hair straighteners that have at least three heat settings with a minimum temperature of 170.C. Longer hair-styles will need more straightening so a wider plate is required. Choose a plate width of 1.5 inches. For shorter hair-styles where more flexibility and control is required a plate width of 1 inch is preferred. The latest and best hair straighteners can be used for styling techniques such as twisting and curling.

PLATE TYPE:
Nearly all hair straighteners have ceramic plates. These heat up more quickly than traditional alloy plates and are much, much smoother thereby creating less drag on the hair being straightened. Rather than conduct heat like the older alloy plates, ceramic straighteners actually radiate heat into the shaft of the hair. This locks in moisture and natural oils keeping the hair healthy, smooth and shiny.