A little secret from me, since I got my Dyson Airwrap years ago (and since upgraded to the Airwrap Co-anda 2x) I never really use a hairdryer to dry my hair. I just find that using the round brush attachment on a multi-styler stops me having to wrangle each section with a brush and a hot tool, which makes for a less tiresome wash-day. So, while I have tested many, many new dryers for work, none of them have made their place in my tool stash at home. But in came ghd's new Ionic Speed Hair Dryer to shake things up... here's my review.
How we test
I used the ghd Speed Hair Dryer as the first styling step of my wash-day. I washed and conditioned my hair as usual before spraying in my regular leave-in conditioner and heat protection spray, the TRESemmé Lamellar Shine Ultra-Gloss Spray. I kept the products consistent with what I use with my Airwrap so I could compare the finish like for like. Brush-wise, I used the Hair Rituel by Sisley The Brush which is not a tradition brush for drying hair but the duo texture bristles help to smooth by creating tension and I haven't nailed doing a round brush blow-dry on myself just yet.
ghd Speed review:
For me ghd really excel in straighteners (duh!) and curling wands, but I've never been wowed by the brand's dryers, until now. This truly one of the fastest and easiest hairdyers I have ever used.
Let's start with the speed at which it dries. Lia, Cosmo's beauty writer actually got her hands on this back in December and has claimed that it dries her hair silky straight in just five minutes. But a massive caveat to that is that Lia's head of hair would dry quickly and straight if I flapped a fan at it a couple of times, so I wanted to be the judge of that claim. I don't have particularly thick hair Afro hair, but I have a lot of it (we are talking four hairs per follicle, when most people have one or two) and it's very coily. It normally takes me about 30+ minutes to dry my hair straight – gang, this did it in under 20 – no exaggeration. I used the hottest heat and fastest fan settings, dropping them down a notch when I got to my more delicate front section and my hair was dried speedily from root to tip without leaving it frazzled, far from it.
The settings are really easy to change, and I love the digi display, it's so slick and chic. Honestly the display + the colour way I got (Titanium Black by the way but there are three to choose from) – it's giving sexy robot. Helpfully, there's also a lock settings button which means you don't have to worry about accidentally changing things as you dry.
I really think you'll find this is the quickest hair dryer you have ever tried, but even if you have heaps of hair to get through, your arms aren't going to have DOMS the next day as it's incredibly lightweight (just 602g) but still really powerful. The shape of the dryer and the cool casing also means that you can hold the body of the dryer if it's more comfortable to use that way, which it is when using the comb attachment (which you can buy separately). Speaking of attachments, there is a standard concentrator nozzle that comes with the dryer, then to buy separately, there is a Pro nozzle, a wide nozzle, diffuser and a comb/pik that'll kick your Wahl to the curb.
The biggest thing for me is that after blowdrying, I didn't have to straighten out each section, I just did a little wave through a few top sections to style it. Unless I'm using a hot brush to dry my hair, I normally always have to smooth things out after drying for my desired look so this was really game-changing.
Final thoughts
I am blown away (pun intended) by this hair dyer. The way it smooths as it dries so speedily is unlike any hairdryer I have tested in recent times. The price is definitely steep and it's currently £100 more than the Helios, but in my opinion it is leaps and bounds better. An investment for sure, but one to consider if you are int he market for a new dryer and would love a bit longer in bed.
Why trust Cosmopolitan?
Keeks Reid is Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan. She has spent over a decade testing and reviewing the best hair tools ahead of them launching. Alongside her work as a journalist, she has trained in hairdressing, learning cutting and styling with Hari's and at the Sassoon Academy.
Keeks Reid is the Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan UK. While she loves all things beauty, Keeks is a hair fanatic through and through. She started her career in beauty journalism in 2013 as editorial assistant at Blackhair and Hair magazines working her way to Acting Editor of Blackhair magazine at 23 years old. She spent much of her career working in trade hairdressing media at Hairdressers Journal, Salon International and the British Hairdressing Awards. Which is why she is a regular contributor to Cosmo's Curl Up franchise. Now, alongside her Cosmo work, she presents, creates content on social media and works with a range of beauty companies; from magazines and websites to beauty brands and salons.
