Review: Is the new GHD unplugged cordless hair straightener worth its $500 price tag?

The GHD Unplugged was first launched in the European and American markets earlier this year in July 2021. Fronting the launch event was the Italian blogger-turned-influencer, Chiara Ferragni, who was filmed styling her hair in a hotel room with her Unplugged before she stashed it into her handbag and left for the launch event’s red carpet.

However, the GHD Unplugged only hit Singapore shores very recently in early September online and in-stores at Sephora.. The price? $500. It’s arguably the most expensive item on the GHD shelf at the moment, with the full-sized Platinum+ Styler coming in close at $425. Balking at the hefty price tag? That was our first reaction too.

Let’s take a look at the benefits, features, technology, and user experience before we come to a verdict.

The first thing that will strike you when you unbox the GHD Unplugged is its size. It’s so incredibly compact and light to touch – when placed next to a laptop, it actually looks small and nifty in comparison. So, when we checked out the dimensions, it all made sense. The GHD Unplugged weighs a nifty 300g (that’s just around two iPhones’ combined weight), and measures 22cm long (smaller than an iPad Pro).

If you’re a little clumsy with these heat stylers, you’ll be surprised by the ergonomically-designed firm grip that you’ll have on this GHD Unplugged. Also, not too sure where to place your piping hot hair styler? You can rest it in its heat resistant case – tried it, it works perfectly fine (nothing was burnt!).

Now, it’s time to power on the device. There’s only one switch, which means there’s only one temperature setting at 185°C. The process is pretty intuitive, you’ll hear the beep, and wait for the device to heat up (which is impressively fast at 45 seconds). Then, you’ll see the flashing lights and beeps again.

Why only one heat setting? GHD found that any temperature higher than 185°C causes irreparable hair damage.

The actual experience. A few things you’ll notice when using the GHD Unplugged for the first time:

• It’s not excruciatingly hot. Instead, it’s a comfortable warmth and heat.
• It’s very nimble in your hands and easy to navigate even towards the back of your head (the blind spots).
• It’s very light. No sore arms, no sweat!
• The heating plates are pretty small, which means you only can grab a little bunch of your hair at any one point. This might potentially be difficult for those of you with thick hair.
• The smooth, bouncy, tame “GHD” hair. (If you’ve ever had the chance to use any of GHD’s hair dryers or stylers, you’ll know how GHD leaves you with supple, soft, and not-too-dehydrated hair.)
• Great for taming frizz, or light curls around the fringe or edges of your hair.
• Compact size – really does fit into a regular handbag!
• Lower heat. Individuals with virgin hair, or those who are used to super-hot curlers may struggle to adapt to the lower temperature.
• The short battery lifespan!

Perhaps the only downside of the GHD Unplugged? The short battery life.

On paper, the GHD Unplugged has a full battery lifespan of 20 minutes. While it sounds pretty sufficient, it really does feel pretty insufficient when you’re actually using it – think of all the minutes you waste when you leave your hair styler on the floor or table so you can go and get a hair spray or styling mousse.

Eventually, it does get a little stressful since it’s a constant race against time (to complete your hair within 20 mins). That also meant that I had to adapt to the short battery life and opt for really simple hairstyles such as taming the frizz, volumising the hair roots, and just adding a curl or two to the ends of my hair.

However, GHD did try to make it easier for users to charge the hair styler with a USB-C cable that’s compatible with your laptop or desktop. Here’s another caveat, the charge time is very long at two hours.

So, what’s the verdict? The GHD Unplugged has it all: it’s nifty, lightweight, healthy (with a controlled 185°C heat setting), gives you smooth and supple hair, is cordless, and comes with a heat-resistant case. It has the makings of a perfect portable hair styler. However, there’s one giant drawback – the short battery life.

Yet, it seems pretty obvious that the smaller battery pack in the GHD Unplugged is the trade off for its compact and lightweight size. You can’t really have it all, can you?

This article was first published in The Singapore Women’s Weekly.

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