It’s official, the go-to heat styling brand for all us hair-loving girls launched their first ever hot brush a few months back, and the reviews have been coming in fast. Not only did ghd wow us last year with the launch of their first ever smart straightener, (which you can read all about in our ultimate ghd guide), but they’ve gone and done it again with their latest creation: the ghd Glide.
Designed to be used on dry hair, the Glide is supposed to smooth frizz and give an overall straighter finish. Costing £139, it’s certainly not cheap, but compared to other ghd stylers (that retail closer to £175) it’s not that bad when you realise it’s full potential and how it can save you precious time getting ready in the mornings.
When I was a kid, heated brushes were all the rage. My aunts had one, my friends’ mums had one (my own mum never styled her hair, so a hot-brush would have been wasted on her), and I’d go as far as saying that even some of my friends’ grandmas had one. But they weren’t exactly stylish looking, for what my opinion was worth as a kid anyway, and they always ended up at the bottom of a drawer somewhere in the house with broken bristles.
They’ve come a long way since then though, and today’s more practical and safer methods of using a hot brush like ghd’s is testament to just that.
From my experience, (if you can count using my friend’s seriously unsafe, spark-emitting hot brush at Uni one time) these tools never quite seemed to do the job. Especially not on unruly coarse hair like mine. The one time I used a hot brush I ended up with a mediocre, straight-ish hairdo whilst I sat, broken-haired (and broken-hearted) on a pile of slain strands on the bathroom floor. You can see why I chose to never pick up a hot-brush again.
Now that you’re privy to my hot-brush *experience*, I bet you’re wondering what I thought of the new ghd hot brush. Even if you’re not, I’m going to tell you anyway! It was certainly interesting to hear that ghd had decided to launch their very own brush styler, sassily called the Glide. Referred to as the “hot brush which tames and smooths dry hair quickly and effortlessly – your perfect partner for second day styling” – I thought to myself, if there were ever a time to reconsider making up with a hot-brush, now was as good as any. Afterall, ghd are the leading brand for styling tools, so what’s a girl to do?
Side note: I recently upgraded my mark 4 ghd straighteners (which I’m convinced I’ve had for well over a decade) to a ghd platinum straightener – in white of course. So, I know first-hand that ghd products are built to last and do the job better than any other brand I know of, thus assuming the hot brush is no different isn’t as presumptuous as you might think. As I volunteered to write this review for the Glide, (perks of the job indeed), I thought to myself ‘come on ghd, don’t let me down!’ Below is my 100% honest review of the ghd Glide…
What is it and how do you use it?
Think of the Glide as a straightener-hairdryer hybrid. You use it in the same way as you would a flat-iron style straightener on dry hair, but the effect is something more akin to a smooth blow-dry. The difference between this brush-styler and the rest is ghd’s technology. The brush has ceramic teeth that heat up uniformly to a temperature of 185 degrees – the ideal and safe temperature for styling hair. The bristles themselves provide enough tautness to shape your locks as it is passed through the lengths of your hair and they also remain cool enough to touch, meaning I could use it just like a normal brush, styling right from the root. It also means no burnt fingers or singed ears (yas!).
I found the best thing about this tool is how easy it is to use. Like, seriously easy. You don’t even need to section your hair (if you don’t want to), simply brush through your hair and let it work its magic. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that it’s perfect for lazy and time-poor people like myself.
If you’re still wondering whether it’s worth the investment, carry on reading to find out how I’ve incorporated this into my weekly routine.
My problem: Unruly hair that takes too long to style
The older I get, the quicker my roots seem to get greasy, my hair seems to get knottier and it’s just overall an unruly and sometimes wholly unmanageable head of hair. Whether it’s correlated with age I’m not quite sure, but I’ve certainly noticed a difference. So, second day hair for me might actually be the younger me’s version of third or even fourth day hair. *sigh*
Prior to using the Glide, I washed my hair, dried and styled as I normally would with my straighteners – went to work (picked up the Glide) and slept as normal with my hair loose. Sidenote: I never tie my hair up when I go to sleep as I can’t even begin to describe my agony over brushing out the type of kink this would result in.
That’s not to say my hair is a picture of perfection in the mornings – in fact it’s quite the opposite. Each morning I am greeted by hair that looks dishevelled and a bit like it’s been dragged through a hedge – no exaggeration. Not to mention that there are kinks galore, especially this one sucker that always makes an unwelcome appearance by the crown of my head.
My goal: To glide through life’s hair problems
I begin by brushing my hair using my usual ghd paddle brush to get out any knots and tangles. My hair can get pretty knotty in the mornings, so I spend a good few minutes brushing these out as I figure it’ll be easier to glide the Glide with fewer bumps in the road. I switch on the glide and wait. If like me you’re used to the latest ghd styler’s heat up time of just a few seconds, you’ll notice how the hot brush takes a little while longer to heat up. I didn’t have a stopwatch or anything, but it felt as if it took up to a minute, maybe a minute and a half, to fully heat up. Being the impatient type, I began using it way before the light stopped flashing and was pleasantly surprised to see that it still worked (sort of) even while warming up.
Starting at the roots and working my way down, I brushed through my hair noticing *almost* instantly a smoother, frizz-free finish. Stylist Ben from Manchester’s Regis salon gave me a handy little tip that worked wonders. He advised that getting stubborn kinks out with the Glide is easier when you brush your hair in different directions. So, I brushed that sucker I told you about earlier upwards, downwards and sideways – and it really worked. Usually I’ll have to spend a couple of strokes with the straightener to really get it out.
Although I feel I don’t need to hold the tool in place for as long as a straightener to get the desired result, I felt that using it as quickly as a normal brush didn’t necessarily get my kinks out straight away. So, speed wise, it’s far, far quicker than using straighteners, and only a tad slower than using a normal brush. Depending on how much of a mess my hair is dictates whether I just concentrate using the Glide over my top layers to smooth out any flyaways and top level kinks like Mr Sucker, or whether I section my hair by each layer to give it a more polished and refined look.
Final Word
I quickly realised that the Glide is in no way a replacement to the straightener. I tried using the Glide instead of my straighteners after I had washed and blow dried my hair, and it just wasn’t the same. I love the super polished look I can achieve using my straighteners, whether it’s poker straight or soft waves. So, if anything I’d advise using the Glide in between hair wash days when you simply don’t have the time to primp and preen your hair section by section using a straightener. I found that it suited me down to a ‘t’ as it allows me to wear my hair down a lot more in between hair washes, rather than resorting to my sad little pony-tail because I don’t have time to straighten it all over again in the morning. So, heat styling and hot brush enthusiasts, you’ll be pleased to know that the Glide gets a fabulous A* from me.
Bought one already?
Show us the Glide in action @regisuk and let us know your thoughts!
