The unique draw to these stylers is the smart tech inside, with a matrix of sensors hidden below the plates to constantly measure temperature – 250 times a second – it’s smart in a different way from the Glamoriser Blue Smart Straightener which is Bluetooth enabled and comes with an app. The Platinum+ straightener’s ‘ultra-zone’ predictive tech intelligently adapts to your styling technique, adjusting the power to ensure an optimum temperature at all times for healthier hair and faster, better results. This is single-stroke styling at its best, suitable for all hair types. According to GHD this ultra-zone tech promotes 70 percent less breakage and double the colour protection, so no longer does applying intense heat in the pursuit of style have to mean sacrificing your hair’s health. (It’s still a good idea to pair with a protective styling spray, of course.)
Price & availability
For anyone who has never used GHDs that price sounds outrageous, especially when you can pick up cheap stylers on the High Street for £20. But while it might not be affordable for all users, it is worth every penny: the results are in a completely different league. Whereas other GHD stylers are supplied with a two-year warranty, the Platinum+ comes with the additional peace of mind of a three-year warranty.
Design & build
For the money you’re paying here you really want something that looks special, and that’s exactly what you get. In white the GHD Platinum+ simply oozes class. The styler is weighty without being too heavy to hold above your head for a reasonable amount of time, and with a grippy matt finish that looks and feels good. While it’s white on the outside, inside the GHD Platinum+ is black which produces a nice contrasting effect. There’s a small speaker so you can be audibly alerted when the stylers are switched on, reach temperature, or enter standby. There’s also a small circular power button with LED ring that glows white in use. The ceramic plates are reasonably wide at 1in, precision-milled and ultra-smooth, with a glossy coating that sparkles in the light. There are no sharp edges, nooks or crannies in which rogue strands of hair can become snagged in use, and the rounded barrel edges make for a smooth styling action at whichever angle you hold the Platinum+, even right up close to the root. The wishbone hinge, finished in a shiny mirror-effect chrome, holds the plates perfectly parallel to each other, with just a small space for your hair to pass through – close enough to style effectively, but not to close to trap and potentially damage hair. At one end of this a usefully long (2.7m) thick power cable is attached via a rotating barrel that allows it to be kept out of way whether you’re styling your hair or laying down the styler between use. For frequent travellers universal voltage is a real boon. There’s nothing worse than being away from home, wanting to look your best, and then discovering your hairdryer is about as useful as someone blow drying your hair through a straw, or that your straighteners just can’t get up to the temperature you need to achieve the look you want. Performance from the Platinum+ is going to be the same wherever in the world you are.
Performance
Extreme heat and healthy hair don’t usually belong in the same sentence, so if you must rely on heat for styling it’s best to get the job done as quickly as possible. Plus it’s always a bonus if we can get ready to go out quicker. The Platinum+ gets you to your desired look in an incredibly short space of time, and depending on your hair type you may find a single stroke is all that’s required for smoother, softer, shinier and, in my case, straighter results. The plates heat up in just 20 seconds, and to put that into real terms the Platinum+ was beeping to say it was ready before I’d managed to also plug in the hairdryer. This isn’t the usual GHD beep by the way; it’s a suitably heavenly “ah-aah-aaah”. The ultra-zone predictive tech isn’t something you can see working behind the scenes, but the difference is immediately noticeable in the mirror with even smoothing from root to tip and no frazzled ends. I have very fine hair that breaks easily, and over-styling my hair can produce flyaway wisps and visibly parched splits. But with the Platinum+ a single stroke left me with a noticeably smoother and shinier style – and these results lasted for a much longer length of time. In use I really liked the chunkier design and wishbone hinge of the Platinum+ over the GHD Gold. It feels firmer in the hand, and the closely aligned plates made me less inclined to want to squeeze them together too tightly. The result was a smoother styling action with zero snagging. Although I tend to go for straightening rather than curling, the rounded barrel should make the latter simple. It is thicker than the classic styler, though, so might not be your preferred option if you want really tight curls. In common with all GHDs there’s an auto sleep mode that kicks in after 30 minutes, which you’ll appreciate if you’ve ever rushed out the door to work and spent the whole day worrying you’ll return to the burned out shell of your former home. The Platinum+ is also supplied with a soft rubber plate guard that slips over the end of the barrel for safer storage when hot.
Verdict
GHD’s gorgeous new Platinum+ offers snag-free styling that adapts to your individual technique and lessens the damage that can be caused to hair by excessive heat styling and straightening. You’ll find improved styling in a shorter space of time, and results that last much longer. Expensive, at £175 direct from GHD, but worth every penny. Marie is Editor in Chief of Tech Advisor and Macworld. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she’s worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our English language, French and Spanish consumer editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry’s transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.
