AI is influencing every sphere – including the beauty world. Now, Ghd has embraced the future with its new sculpt hair straighteners that harness AI technology for a tailor-made experience.
The hair tool brand has long been synonymous with straighteners. In 2001, ghd’s three entrepreneurial founders acquired the distribution rights of a new, innovative South Korean tool. Electric, temperature-controlled, and ceramic-plated, the flat iron was an early noughties icon – loved by Jennifer Aniston, Victoria Beckham and salon owners alike.
From the wet-to-dry duet style to the chronos with a built-in algorithm, the science-backed brand is driven to deliver styling ease and minimal heat damage. But the new sculpt straightener could be its biggest innovation yet, promising ‘zero’ damage.
The tool measures hair temperature rather than plate temperature, using AI to interactively sense, learn and adapt to your hair’s texture and temperature. “The slimmer, more sculpted form means you can get tighter, more defined curls and waves than you could with a traditional straightener shape,” Samantha Cusick, hair stylist and salon owner, says. “More precision in the tool, more consistency in the heat, and the results are just on another level”.
How we tested
Along with The Standard’s lifestyle commissioning editor, Jessica Burrell, I’ve been testing the ghd hair straightener ahead of its launch, reviewing everything from ease of use – I’m low-maintenance, so that’s key – AI features, results and the longevity of the looks.
Using the tool to both straighten and add waves to hair, we both considered how easily it slipped into daily routines. For context, I have frizz-prone, naturally wavy hair that’s suffered some heat and colour damage over the years. Jessica similarly has naturally frizzy hair – we both wanted the ghd irons to smooth, de-frizz and boost shine. Did the tool deliver?
Ghd sculpt interactive hair straightener
What we love: Heats up quickly, fast results, nice size for travelling, reaches the roots, and great for wavy looks
Take note: Both the casing and hair can get pretty hot, so the zero-damage claims might be questionable, and it’s an expensive tool
- Types of plates: 26 mm aluminium-coated ceramic
- Heat settings: No manual settings, just heat-adapt technology
- Included accessories: Heat protector case
★★★★★
The ghd Sculpt is impressively compact, making it far less bulky than many straighteners from both ghd and rival brands. Lightweight and travel-friendly, it has a streamlined design with just a heat-protector cap, a mains cable and a single power button that heats up the tool in 20 seconds. Available in black or white, there are no manual temperature settings to navigate.
As someone who prefers fuss-free beauty tools, I love its simplicity. Despite the minimalist design, the slim, curved plates help reduce snagging and breakage while smoothing my frizz and taming the flyaways caused by heat styling and colouring. The result is hair that feels noticeably softer, smoother and shinier.
The narrow plates also make it easy to style close to the roots and create loose waves by simply twisting the tool through the hair. Whether straightening or curling, it's one of the fastest hair tools I've used, making light work of my fine but thick, frizz-prone hair in under five minutes.
The standout feature is the AI-powered heat adaptation, which measures your styling speed and the amount of hair between the plates, adjusting the temperature in real time. While I'm sceptical of ghd's "zero damage" claim – any heat styling has the potential to cause damage – I noticed no burnt smell during use, and the glossy finish was impressive. At nearly £400, it's undeniably a premium investment, but its speed, ease of use and sleek results make a compelling case.
Reviewed by Daisy Lester
Buy now £369.00, ghdhair.com
★★★★☆
The new ghd Sculpt straightener is a joy to use. It’s slim and lightweight, and more than capable of taming my naturally frizzy hair in a matter of minutes. It’s also great for curling, with an agile design that makes it easy to twist, loop and manoeuvre hair however you want to.
But there’s more going on here than just a great hair tool. This is an AI-powered straightener, which uses a machine- learning algorithm to measure hair temperature, then adjusts heat while you’re styling. How this works is slightly complicated but very clever.
The plates contain four measurement systems that feed an AI microprocessor with 2,900 updates per second, detecting how much hair is being styled and the speed of movement. A thermal controller then interprets the output, increasing or reducing heat and power. Is this all strictly necessary? Probably not, but it’s hard to argue with the results: quick styling and sleek, shiny hair for days.
The brand also claims that it causes “zero damage”. This is harder to verify, but the only potential issue is the lack of temperature control. You can’t adjust it yourself, and there’s no indication of how it’s changing as you style your hair. When I trialled it over a few weeks, it did feel as though it was getting hotter than I’d like at times. Further proof, as if it were needed, of the importance of a robust heat protection spray.
Reviewed by Jessica Burrell
Buy now £369.00, ghdhair.com
Is Ghd’s sculpt interactive hair straightener worth it?
Both of us were surprised by how much we enjoyed using ghd’s new sculpt interactive hair straightener. Those similarly low-maintenance will love how simple and fuss-free the tool is – plug it in and power it up.
The tool’s clever heat adaptation does the hard work for you, whether you quickly pass it through large sections of hair to smooth before heading out the door or pay closer attention to smaller sections and curling. Lightweight and portable, it might be expensive, but its versatility for different hairstyles and potential reduction in heat damage help soften the blow.
Why trust us
Daisy has been reviewing beauty for six years for publications including The Standard and The Independent. Covering everything from lip liners and bronzers to hair tools – including ghd, Shark and Dyson devices – she thoroughly tests each product to find out if it offers the best value for money.
Jessica is Commissioning Lifestyle Editor at The Standard. She was previously Acting Fashion Editor at The Telegraph and has reported on lifestyle topics for the likes of British Vogue and Elle for more than a decade.
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