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ghd Chronos styler review: Will the new innovation reduce your styling time?
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What if we told you that you could style your hair three times faster – would you believe it?
Well, that’s exactly what GHD is claiming with its latest innovation.
The Chronos was created with one sole mission: to streamline the styling process without compromising strand health.
Hair composition is incredibly complex; brands are constantly learning and discovering more to produce tools that better serve our precious locks. This is particularly true for GHD.
In its extensive studies, the label has determined that 185 degrees is the optimal temperature for effective results without excessive thermal damage. Across its range, you will never find tech with variable temperature features – and Chronos is no different.
Yet to ensure you don't expose your tresses to more heat contact than needed, the Chronos has been kitted out with an interesting evolution that will have you upgrading your age-old Original style hasta pronto.
What makes the Chronos different from previous hair straighteners?
The most advanced model in its portfolio, the Chronos has trademarked motion-responsible technology. This very innovative feature allows your tool to monitor and adapt to your hair type and the way that it is being used. For those who are prone to multiple passes or what is known as slap-slap styling, this is a game-changer.
The iron provides consistent heat but, using an intelligent algorithm, adapts power depending on speed, section size and hair type so that it only requires one stroke to create your go-to look, be it poker straight or bouncy curls. This feature also means that it is as effective on fine locks as it is on thick and the same goes for coarse and textured – all of which absorb heat differently.
All this is to say that no matter your hair type, you can style faster, thus saving time in the morning to snooze your alarm without sacrificing a good hair day. Readers the age of smart styling has arrived.
The brand says that the Chronos results in more defined styles, provides 85 per cent more shine (thanks to ultra-gloss floating plates) and has twice the frizz-fighting effects. But does it pass the ES Best test?
We put the Chronos through its paces on three different hair types; curly, straight and thick to find out if it does improve styling performance. Here’s what we thought.
Buy now - £289, GHD
Saskia Kemsley, Shopping Writer
Hair type: Curly
Styling time: 9 minutes
From the moment I turned the straighteners on, to my entire lion’s mane being pin-straight, the total time passed was a jaw-dropping 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
Now, I don’t have coily curls, but I do have a head of curly, unbearably frizzy yet borderline wavy hair which falls to the middle of my back when it’s fully straight. On the curl spectrum, they’re somewhere between 2a and 3c, depending on what products I use.
Throughout my teenage years, you wouldn’t see me outside of my home without straightened hair. In fact, you might not even see me in my home without it. As such, I know exactly how much time I used to leave to ensure it would be done before going out and about: 40-50 minutes from being wet, and around 30-35 minutes when dry – depending on how tired my arms were feeling.
Nevertheless, when running my hand over the back of my head, I’d always immediately feel an alarming sense of raised and frizzy follicles, almost like a loaf of dough left to prove, getting larger with every passing second. Even with the extra-wide ghds, this was unavoidable unless I washed, blow-dried, and applied a hefty amount of heat-protecting and smoothing product to my hair beforehand.
With the ghd Chronos straighteners, I can firmly state that those days are gone (though I will, of course, continue to use heat protectant). Not only was I able to achieve a head of dead-straight hair without the dead-ends in under 10 minutes, but it seems to have lasted extremely well. Nowadays, I only tend to run the straighteners briefly over my hair after blow-drying – but with the quick-heat up and mystical smoothing powers of the Chronos, I can see myself making the almost non-effort to properly ‘do’ my hair before leaving the house.
I found it intriguing that these don’t sound like your typical straighteners. Rather than producing a loud clanging when the ceramic bars hit one another as well as a faint sizzling noise, the Chronos merely produces a faint electrical hum next to the ear and a quiet clap when pressed together.
It doesn’t feel like it’s burning your hair in the slightest and remains cool enough to run your hands through up until roughly the 10th minute of use. Though the ceramic plates don’t feel damaging, I definitely noticed a similar amount of breakage and hair loss throughout the process as I do with my usual straighteners.
While I’m used to ferrying around the extra-wide ghds, I look forward to the ease of taking these lightweight and miraculously powerful straighteners on trips both long and short. As I write this review, I'm continually running my hand along the back of my head - no sourdough frizz!
Tania Leslau, Shopping Writer
Hair type: Thick
Styling time: 6 minutes
I have an ongoing love-hate relationship with my hair. I’m lucky enough to be blessed with a thick mane, yet this often makes self-styling a chore. Leaving it be is out of the question, and I often resort to a sturdy fishtail plait for some pretty beach waves or a serious straightening session to iron out the inherited frizz.
Straightening with my go-to ghd Original Straightener takes its sweet time. Approximately half an hour or so, excluding the religious post-hair oiling routine that follows. The ghd Chronos only took a fifth of that time, taking a rapid six minutes to completely unkink my heavy lock from the roots to the (ashamedly) split ends.
The device was obscenely straightforward to use and even came with a heat-proof rubber cover - a genius add-on. One push of the on/off button is all you need. Let it heat up and away you go.
Ellie Davis, Shopping Editor
Hair type: Fine
Styling time: 5.5 minutes
Speed is of the essence from the second that you turn the Chronos on. It heats up almost immediately with a welcoming jingle to know you are ready for action. I have poker straight hair and generally style by either plaiting it when it’s wet or with the ghd curve thin. This tool with its mini barrel gives my hair unrivalled volume, but after sectioning it off and opting for small portions at a time, it’s a process that takes around 40 minutes – even with my ultra-fine locks. This is generally down to an eight-second hold per area for curls with staying power.
I had high hopes for the Chronos to cut this time down significantly (so I can use it instead to contemplate whether I can cancel plans instead of getting ready to go out). You can take significantly larger chunks at a time for effortless beach waves or as I tend to do to preserve the longevity of my style, minimal strands at once for tighter coils. I ran through each sectioned area, rather than hovering over and the effect was still as desired.
A rough curl took 5.5 minutes, meaning I now have no excuse to turn up to work with bed hair. This was doubled when I followed my typical routine, which is still an impressive feat. It wasn’t quite one pass as the odd area needed a touch-up - but whether that’s a testament to my skill or the tool itself is up to debate. As for the frizz-fighting and increase of shine – I’m not sold. Plus, the smoke emanating from the Chronos felt like damage was being done, even if this was minimised.
Honourable mentioned for the thinness of the tool and its whisper-quiet nature.