ghd Platinum+ review: is this hyped hair straightener really better than the rest?

Heated tools are expensive, so it makes sense to do your research and swot up on ghd Platinum+ reviews before adding to basket. 

When you think of straighteners, you think of ghd, right? As the world’s most iconic straightener brand, they’ve come a long way since those original gold–plated stylers in the early '00s. Over more than two decades, the Leeds-born brand has carefully adapted and refined its best hair straighteners before bringing us this: the Platinum+. 

What are your most pressing gripes with your current hair straightener – that it damages your hair? That it snags on split ends? Maybe it works well to straighten your hair, but isn’t the right shape for curling and waving? Ghd has taken all of these potential problems on board and boy, have they run with them. Their self-proclaimed “smart” straighteners team game-changing technology with advanced design to solve these problems, as well as a whole host of other ones you didn’t even know you had. So, let’s dive in, shall we? 

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Our Beauty Editor’s ghd Platinum+ review

ghd Platinum+ design

When you’re spending a lot of money on a product, you want it to look the part. Thankfully the ghd Platinum+ is seriously luxe with curved sides and a pearly matte finish. At the time of writing, it’s available in four different shades (black, white, pink, and gold) but the brand does release limited edition colors for different occasions. 

It doesn’t just look good – the real beauty of the design comes from how easy it is to move and use. The 360º swivel cord allows for maximum flexibility and is especially handy when you’re twisting and turning the styler to learn how to curl hair with a straightener. The rounded barrel is easy to hold, while the wishbone hinge gives greater control and precision when styling. There’s even a nifty little speaker that emits a chime when you turn it on and when the styler is hot enough. It could become an inconvenience if your other half likes to sleep in later than you, but otherwise, what's not to love?

The plates are shinier than some of the other best ghd straighteners and are made from aluminum with a thin ceramic coating. Aluminum was chosen for its heat-conducting properties, while the coating adds shine and helps the plates glide seamlessly through the hair. They’re also floating plates, which doesn’t mean that they’re suspended in mid-air, rather they have a little bit of bounce and give when pressed together for applying optimum pressure to the hair and preventing split ends. 

How well does the ghd Platinum+ perform?

If you’re after a straightener that’s going to make styling your hair a breeze, this is it. The Platinum+ preheats at record speed, so we didn’t have to wait long before getting stuck in. We found that once we’d used it our hair stayed satisfyingly sleek until our next wash, making these some of the best hair straighteners for thick hair to cut on re-styling time. The plates allowed us to fit a good, thick chunk of our hair in at once. Unless you have a super tight curl type we'd say that one swipe is enough. This sets it apart from other stylers we’ve tried that required more passes – potentially causing more damage in the process. 

This brings us to hair health. As the industry puts more emphasis on healthy hair, straightening is becoming a bit of a guilty secret – but the Platinum+ manages to alleviate some of that styling shame. With its predictive technology, the tool preheats to a (relatively low) 185ºC and adapts to your hair type. Smart sensors on the plates work in the background, monitoring the heat more than 250 times per second to make sure it stays at the optimum temperature. Meanwhile “ultra-zone“ technology ensures that the entire plate retains the heat evenly without extra hot spots. Of course, using heat protection for hair is still important. Like all trusty ghd tools, it has an automatic sleep mode that kicks in after 30 minutes, so there are no more mid-morning anxiety attacks over whether you turned them off before leaving the house. 

If you’re anything like us, you probably want to switch up your style, and the Platinum+ is among the best we’ve tried for curling and waving. It’s partly thanks to the curved shape, which gives a rounder curl than flatter-sided irons. If you’ve pre-straightened your hair, the curls will drop after a couple of hours so a generous mist of hairspray is a must. Alternatively, straighten on day one, and add curls on day two or three when the hair has more grip and texture to it.

What’s not good about the ghd Platinum+ Hair Straightener?

Among the woman&home beauty team we have very different hair types and styles – some of us switch on our straighteners every day, and others only pick them up as a once-in-a-blue-moon treat. Despite this, the Platinum+ proved an all-around crowd-pleaser. 

If we were to criticize, our faults would be these. Firstly, it would be nice to adjust the heat settings yourself, as for fine or fragile hair, 185ºC can be an overwhelming amount of heat. Secondly, as loyal, longtime users of the Platinum+, we have found that hair can get caught in the floating plates which, combined with the heat, can lead to breakage. The way to avoid this is to work in slow, considered motions rather than tearing the iron through the hair, and to prep with heat protection. This is especially important on delicate strands at the front of your hair – even more so if you've bleached your hair with a home highlight kit or salon balayage. 

ghd Platinum+ Hair Straightener review: Our verdict

If you thought that straightening your hair required an hour-long arm workout and an inevitable halo of fluff mere hours after styling, this ghd Platinum+ review is here to prove you wrong. This styler works overtime on even the thickest, curliest, and most stubborn hair to leave it straight, sleek, and with stand-out shine. The results are long-lasting too, so you don't have to use more heat than is necessary to banish frizz in-between washes. 

If your hair is naturally straight and you’re reaching for your straighteners with the aim of adding volume and movement, this tool will tick your boxes too.  It is more expensive than other stylers on the market, but the ease of use and considerations towards hair health justify the higher price tag. There’s a reason why ghd is the ultimate name in hair styling, and (with a few minor snags) this is certainly their best straightener yet.