A good pair of straighteners feels like a must-have in any beauty lover’s toolkit. Once you’ve mastered the art of how to use them, they’re a go-to for making you look sleek and chic – straightening your hair out, or giving it effortless waves, depending on the vibe.
But firing up those straighteners takes time, and getting your hair properly straight takes longer. After you’ve painstakingly gone through section after section in pursuit of ironing it flat, there’s no guarantee that the dreaded frizz won’t make an appearance at some point. Or, even worse, that the constant heat damage won’t start taking its toll.
So maybe the solution is actually the new GHD Glide+. A revamped version of the cult Glide hairbrush, which first launched in 2024, this does what it says on the tin: it’s a hairbrush equipped with ceramic plates that promises ultra-smooth, straightening results with just one stroke, if used on dry hair. . There is also a Glide+ Max, a paddle brush designed to tackle thicker hair – but given my finer hair, the Glide+ would do just fine.
As a time-strapped girl who always rocks up ten minutes late for everything, the Glide+ promised to be the answer to all of my prayers, and then some, especially given its promise of less frizz and 57 per cent more shine than naturally dried hair. But how did it stand up to a weekend of late nights and dressing up? I put it to the test.
GHD Glide+ Key Specs
Weight: 0.54kg
Dimensions: 28.5 x 7.3 x 5.42cm
Temperature: 185 degrees
Warranty: 2 years
Cord length: 2.7m
Set up
Almost criminally easy. The brush comes in a box, and it’s pretty much a plug in and go situation. A big button on the brush’s stem lights up when pressed, and when flashes the Glide+ is warming up (which took about twenty seconds, if that). It also boasts a new and improved insulated back which doesn’t heat up despite the heat plates located in the bristles – I was able to put it on my wooden floors (playing with fire there) without any worry at all.
When you’re done, it’s a case of holding and pressing that same button to turn it off, though it will also automatically turn off after 60 minutes of non-use. There are no heat settings; it’s all automatic. Simple.
Functionality
If ease is the name of the game, then the Glide+ definitely delivered. It took less than a minute to set everything up, and when I hesitantly went about brushing my hair, the results were pretty much immediate.
After one brush, my hair was considerably straightened. After two, it was pretty much poker straight. And though the bristles felt quite thick and painful on my scalp, they still combed through knots and snarls with ease, and the two different bristle lengths, including the high-density short bristles, did feel like the heat reached pretty much every strand of hair, and got pleasingly close to the hair’s roots. Impressive.
The straightening was so quick, in fact, that my hair felt like it had hardly been touched by heat at all. I have quite fine, frizzy hair, that tends to singe in what feels like seconds; this felt like the ultimate antidote. Straightening, without the terrible split ends? I’ll take it.
I tried the Glide+ out on two different nights; on the first, I didn’t use hair spray, and was impressed by how well the brush held up to its anti-frizz promise. The hair held its shape well, and stayed pleasingly glossy throughout. With the hair spray applied on top, that hair wasn’t moving even in a hurricane.
The brush is still less versatile than traditional styling tongs – people will be hard-pressed to get curls out of it, for instance – but for a speedy solution that doesn’t involve what feels like hours of sweating and straightening, it was a resounding win.
Verdict
GHD Glide+ Hot Brush
The GHD Glide+ builds on everything we loved about the original Glide hairbrush: ease of use, quick results and some truly salon-worthy finishes, paired with bristles that are optimised to reach from roots to tips. With its speedy charging time, it’s a godsend for people who don’t have the time to really go to town with a pair of styling tongs, and the one-stroke straightening promise really does hold up, as does the lack of frizz. The only downside? The fact the brush can only be used on dry hair, which limits options for the truly time-starved. Maybe that’s one for the next iteration.
Buy now £189.00, GHD
