Rachael Reviews - GHD Air Hairdryer

If you've been reading this little old blog for a while, you'll know that I'm pretty obsessed with haircare. Until last month I'd spent over a year gradually lightening my hair because colour build up had made it WAY too dark for me - I'm pretty pale and not getting any younger so it really wasn't flattering. A lighter shade did wonders for my complexion and disguised the errant greys that sprout through every month but the repeated highlighting took it's toll on my hair and I wasn't happy

I've had long hair for years and I like to wear it fairly natural. A good cut means that it falls nicely even if I don't do a 'proper blow dry' and my hair has always been soft and tangle free, easy for me to run my fingers through (a habit that annoys me as much as it must annoy everyone else I meet) Ditching the bleach and having about 4 inches cut off the long layers got rid of the worst of the strawlike ends that had developed but there was still visible damage - you know those frizzy flyaway hairs that refuse to lay straight and sleek? They are my bugbear

I was a bit concerned that my previous hairdryer wasn't helping matters. It would get INCREDIBLY hot, too hot to touch the nozzle and it used to steam up the windows when I used it which made me wonder what it was doing for my hair

I'd seen the GHD Air hairdryer reviewed elsewhere and was seriously tempted by the promises of sleeker, smoother hair but at £99.95 it seemed extortionate, especially when I already had a fully functioning hairdryer. However, John Lewis had it in their sale between Christmas and New Year with £20 off so I decided to bite the bullet and treat myself. For Christmas, you know ...

So when it arrived I was excited by the pretty box, silly I know but when I spend a lot of money on something I want it to feel like a treat and it really did! The dryer comes with two separate nozzles - I've been using the wider one as it seems more conducive to the sleek finish I prefer and, as I use a HUGE paddle brush to dry my hair with, it covers a larger area of the brush than the smaller nozzle

The dryer itself has two different speeds and two different heat settings. I've been using the high speed and the lower heat. If I were to do a proper blow dry with a round brush I'd probably use the hotter setting (neither are as hot as the medium setting which I used on my old dryer) There is also a cool shot button to set your style

The dryer is lighter and quieter than I expected and has a salon length cable - all things you'd expect for this price. It's an ionic dryer, which is something I've never tried and always assumed was a bit of a gimmick. I won't pretend that I understand how this works but IT DOES

The difference in my hair after the first use was unbelievable. Usually my hair would be a bit wild after I dried it, a bit ... BIG. I couldn't wash my hair in the morning because I'd need to sleep on it to flatten it down a bit before I could be seen in public. Not with this dryer - it was unrecognisable. Smooth, sleek and silky straight away. It seemed a waste to sleep on it!  Not only that but I estimate that it cut my drying time in half thanks to the powerful 2100w motor, even making light work of the back section which usually takes ages to dry. The damaged bits of my hair were far less visible as most of them were lying smooth against the rest of my hair and overall it looked shinier than usual as well as being tangle free

I put this down to two things. Firstly, the amazing nozzle which concentrates airflow precisely, allowing you to really smooth the hair downwards. Secondly - I guess - the ionic technology. Whatever that is. But I used the same shampoo/conditioner/styling product combo as usual so the difference can really only be down to the dryer

The only minor niggle is the positioning of the buttons - they are exactly where I'd normally hold the dryer so I have to hold it a little more carefully to avoid switching it off accidentally. But that's no biggie - I can definitely deal with it

Overall this hairdryer gets 9.5/10 from me, losing half a point for the button positions. But the results are amazing and (how sad is this?) I actually look forward to washing and drying my hair because I love using it so much! I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon but at the moment it doesn't feel like the chore it used to be

Although it's no longer in the sale, John Lewis have some sort of cashback offer in conjunction with GHD until the end of the month so if you have some Christmas money to spend and you are haircare obsessed like me ... get to it!