The GHD Chronos is the Fastest Hair Straightener I’ve Ever Used

When I was first offered a GHD Chronos for review I was sceptical. I’ve owned two GHD straighteners. The first one I got as a gift and I had it for ten years. I absolutely loved it, until it stopped working. The second is a GHD Gold Straightener that I only got recently and I feel the same way. It’s a great tool that does a great job, and I use it daily. I truly believed that in terms of hair styling tools, regular straighteners couldn’t advance much further. The GHD Chronos proved me wrong.

GHD Chronos Review

The GHD Chronos is the brand’s second smart hair straightener, the first being the GHD Platinum+. The Chronos improves upon the features of its predecessor, with HD motion-responsive technology, a new ceramic heater and plates with ultra gloss coating, and an improved automatic sleep mode. Not only does it look like a high-tech styling tool, it has all the features of one, too. Plus, it comes with a heat-protectant sleeve.

This sleek hair styler retails for $465, which is expensive for a hair straightener generally. But its predecessor, the GHD Platinum+ is retailing for $415, so for a styler with improved features, the extra $50 isn’t too much of an ask. But is it really worth the hype and the cost?

Straight hair, straight away

If you’ve ever used a GHD straightener before you’ll know how easy they are to use, and you’ll find the Chronos is just as easy. Simply plug it in, press the ‘on’ button, wait 20 seconds and you’re ready to style. While you’re using it, the GHD Chronos constantly monitors its own heat to keep the temperature at 185 degrees celsius, which is the perfect temperature for styling your hair without damaging it.

The combination of heat monitoring and GHD’s signature floating ceramic plates (which have been given an updated high-gloss coating) meant that my hair never got too hot, while also being able to straighten it more quickly and smoothly even compared to my GHD Gold Straightener.

Normally, I would need to go over a strand of hair at least three to four times to get it perfectly straight, and even then, my hair would start to form slight waves after four to eight hours, depending on the weather. But the GHD Chronos absolutely blew me away. It didn’t quite stick to its promise of perfectly straight strands after one pass-over, but I never had to do more than two — and sometimes all it needed was one. But this is already impressive compared to my slightly older GHD. Not only that, but my newly straightened hair was smooth and glossy, with no static or frizz. It also lasted around 12 hours before I started to see slight waves through my lengths, which is amazing considering I tested it on a 30-degree day.

I didn’t try curling my hair with it because I severely lack the coordination to do straightener curls (that job belongs to my Shark FlexStyle), but I would not be surprised to see amazing results from the GHD Chronos when it comes to curling either.

I also wanted to address the 10-minute automatic sleep timer because I know I’m not the only person who has accidentally left their hair straightener on when they’re in a rush to leave the house. This is the first GHD tool to have a 10-minute timer rather than a 30-minute one and I am so grateful because it doesn’t take long for someone to come along and accidentally touch it or for it to become a fire hazard.

There are some minor kinks

While it’s safe to say that I love the GHD Chronos straightener, it definitely has some downsides.

Firstly, the cost. Unless you (like me) use your hair straightener every day, I think it might be hard to justify spending $465 on a straightening tool. Especially when you can get the GHD Gold Straightener for $340, or even the GHD Original for $270. Unless you have disposable income, or you can cop it on sale, it might not be worth the cost depending on the use you get from it.

The other issues I found while using the GHD Chronos were very minor. Firstly, it does make a slight high-pitched buzzing sound while you’re using it. I get the feeling this is because of the heat monitoring because it gets louder when you’re actually straightening your hair, as opposed to just letting it sit idly. I haven’t noticed any other issues connected with this sound and the straightener seems to be working as intended despite it.

The second issue I have with this tool isn’t so much the straightener itself, but more about my heavy-handedness with it. Because of the way I hold my straightener, the prongs and plates don’t sit perfectly aligned while I’m using it. At first, I thought that the wishbone-shaped hinge might be weaker than other designs, but I checked and I also have this issue with my GHD Gold Straightener, which has a pin-style hinge. Oops.

Styled to perfection

Despite these minor things, I really love the GHD Chronos hair straightener. Being able to take such a simple styling tool and revolutionise it to be less harsh on hair while being quicker to use is something I never thought could happen. As someone who uses a straightener daily, both for my fringe and my lengths, being able to speed up my routines for both the morning and getting ready is something I’m grateful for.

GHD, you’ve done it again.

Where to buy the GHD Chronos

Image credit: Courtney Borrett/Lifehacker Australia