Have you seen the meme about your first ever ghd original straighteners lasting forever, and will not die? It made me laugh because my OG ghds are still going strong. THEY WILL NOT DIE. It must be hard for a brand to persuade people to buy a replacement for something that still works and "does the job", but the new ghd Chronos might finally persuade people to go out with the old and in with the new.
As I unboxed the new ghd Chronos, £289 / $329, I will admit, I felt a little underwhelmed. It's not like a new iPhone that has the sticky label to pull off and new buttons and a new camera to swoon over, at first glance the ghd Chronos doesn't look all that different to the other ghd stylers of the past.
But I will say that as soon as I held it, I noticed the difference. This feels like it's made for your hand, if that makes sense? It's light and compact, and comfortable to hold. On closer inspection, the power button looks different (sleeker!), and the plates appear shinier.
But just like any hair tool, it's not how it looks, it's how it works.
© Leanne BayleyWhat does the ghd Chronos promise?
The Chronos is described as an "advanced styler" and it's said to deliver HD Motion responsive TM technology, meaning that the new motion responsive technology adjusts the power to guarantee heat accuracy to identify how you use this on your hair.
This continuously adapts to your styling movements to guarantee unparalleled heat monitoring accuracy at the optimum temperature of 185°C for one stroke HD results.
Because you'll only need one stroke to get the desired look, you'll have 85% more shine thanks to the ultra gloss coated plates combined with the High Definition responsive technology.
You can also expect 2X less frizz - with the re-engineered wishbone hinge it allows easy-glide styling for high-definition curls and waves.
And a big concern for a lot of people - less hair breakage. ghd promised 3X more breakage protection - it adjusts the power to guarantee unparalleled heat accuracy to the optimum temperature of 185°C.
My review of the ghd Chronos
I'll start off by saying that I have thick wavy blonde hair that falls just below my shoulders. I have a lot of hair and doing my hair in the morning takes a while (especially blow drying, urgh!).
I usually curl my hair with my ghds and I'm now such a pro, I don't need to use a mirror. So it's important to stress that I'm confident with styling my hair as I do it so often (I'm not blessed with the kind of hair that you can just wash and go!).
It took a moment to get used to the ghd Chronos - mainly because it felt smaller than the hair tool I currently use. I assume the slightly smaller size will mean I have much more control over the tool and after a couple of minutes, I really started to whizz through my hair.
And that's the beauty of this thing - it's fast! Really fast. As I'm typing this I have the bounciest curls and it took me half the time it usually takes. It honestly took one stroke to get the desired curl.
A bug bear I've always had about my ghds has been my hair spilling out of the sides of the styler (not sure how to describe that in a better way, sorry, but if you know you know) but this clasped my hair much better, so that's definitely an improvement.
I have tried this for straight hair (photographed) as well, and it made my hair so sleek and shiny, I couldn't believe it. Though I will say if you love sleek, chic hair I can also recommend the ghd Duet Style, £379 / $319 which was a big launch for the brand in the past. I love my Duet Style because it doubles up as a hair dryer as well. But I do wear my hair curlier more, so the Chronos is perfect for me.
My favourite thing about the ghd Chronos is how fast it was o do my hair, and that the tool itself is lightweight, making it perfect for taking away with you in your suitcase.
Let's talk about price. I do think £289 ($329) is quite a lot to spend on a hair tool but it's inline with how much a lot of high-tech hair stylers are these days, and as the meme proves, you'll no doubt be using these for years to come.
The ghd Chronos is available in black and white, priced at £289 (or $329 in the states) and it's available at ghd and John Lewis.
