ghd wave
- Temperature : 185C
- Settings : One
- Heat up time: 40 seconds
- Why we love it
- Creates tousled, soft waves
- Takes less than 20 minutes
- One setting for easy functionality
- Waves last into the evening and next day
- Take note
- Heavy and clunky
- Takes some trial and error
- Doesn't combat frizz
Design
The ghd wave boasts a sleek black look, in line with the brand’s existing roster of cult hair tools. It’s complete with a long cable for extra versatility and even has a small stand built in so you can rest the tool during use without burning a surface top. There’s also an automatic “sleep” mode to avoid that recognisable panic after you’ve left the house.
The sheer size of the tool is somewhat intimidating at first, but the large barrels have been designed to help achieve natural-looking waves in signature S-shape swirls.
Performance
It’s incredibly easy to operate, with just one button and temperature setting (185C). Simply hold down the on-switch and wait 40 seconds for it to heat up (it helpfully beeps when it’s ready to use). Similarly, hold the button down to turn off (it beeps again to confirm it’s switched off).
You create a tousled look by sectioning your hair. The bigger the section, the looser the waves, but a medium amount of hair is best for definition. Simply clamp the tool down on each section, working your way down to the ends. To create an undone look, I started parallel to my eyebrows. I have quite frizzy, unruly hair, which sometimes struggles to hold heat styling. In this case, it took around 20 seconds for the curls to hold, but thinner hair might require around 10 seconds (prepare for some test runs to get your timings right for your hair type).
Styling wasn’t as effortless as I’d hoped, as the tool began to feel quite heavy; I was holding it with two hands by the end. In addition, reaching the back of your head is a tricky task which may require an additional pair of hands.
The results
After some trial and error, the entire look took around 15 minutes to complete once I got the hang of the tool and timings.
The barrels are the perfect size for defined, tousled waves without looking too crimped. But while the brand promised that the barrels would combat frizz, I still found a little. To be fair, a quick go-over with smoothing cream did the trick, but it won’t solve it off the bat. Be warned, the tool feels very hot - I had a couple of close shaves with burning myself. That being said, the tool did pass the true test: the mermaid waves lasted long into the evening and even into the next day, though with much less definition.