GHD Eclipse

Remember back in naughties' when GHD styling tongs first came onto the market? For those who don’t know, GHD is the acronym for Good Hair Day. Great name for products that really are a cut above the rest.

The craze that swept the nation has truly remained vibrant and strong, with some people collecting the various shades of special edition colours.

I got my very first (and until today, only) pair in 2010, so they have done very well to last this long. After one year of use, the fuse popped (due to a new plug socket in stalled) but within a week or two I had been sent a brand new pair by GHD at no cost to me whatsoever. This was a nice surprise as I was expecting only a repair to my originals. Since then, the replacement pair lasted three fabulous years, through moments of tears and joy, whether it was my redundancy, my wedding, several jobs, a funeral or even an array of birthday dinners, holidays and anniversaries – they have been there for me.

They have travelled with me many times; to the Canaries, to Hawaii, San Francisco and even Poland, where I used them as curling tongs for a wedding. 

Coincidentally, I just discovered after getting the tongs home that GHD designed the voltage to give optimum styling wherever you are in the world – perfect! 

The GHD Eclipse also comes with a rubber guard. If you happen to be clumsy (like me) then put this guard on to stop the plates becoming chipped if you knock them onto the floor…. Just remember to let them cool, first! The two year guarantee should put your mind at rest, especially combined with the knowledge that mine lasted 3 years! They still work, I just dropped them too many times onto my array of plug sockets and chipped the plates.

So today was a feasibly momentous day; I replaced them with a new pair called GHD Eclipse. Oooh are they something special. The Daily Mail dubbed the GHD Eclipse tongs as the “Rolls Royce” among styling tongs. I have to say... I did sense this when I opened the box. It was as though I was opening the garage door to a black and chrome vintage car, with a bow on it.

The plates have become damaged and although they still work the same as when I first bought them, two chips in the plates are snagging my hair and it’s not right to keep them alive when they really ought to be laid to rest.

GHD Eclipse, RRP £145

Alas, I bought the new ones that have super-dooper magic plates on them. They heat up super-fast as well, in 5 short flashes of the new-style light. They don’t has the same on-switch as the old design, it’s on the outside now and you push it in and wait a second or two for the white light to flash on. When it does, it makes a charming polyphonic sound, a chime each for on, ready and off.

I would certainly recommend GHD styling tongs to anyone, as they come in different widths for certain hair styles, for example short hair and fringes use the tiny pen-width tongs, which I imagine are good for stylists that do vintage hair as it could make a good tight ringlet style curl. Then you get the standard (traditional) GHD straightener which is straight up and down and suitable for all hair, up to a medium / long length. 

My hair is a lot longer at the back, although the sales assistant said the medium width is still suitable. For very long hair I would recommend the wider paddle-like styler as the plates are probably at least twice as thick as the medium size and cover a wider area of hair on each stroke.

The ones I bought are as pictured. They are fairly new on the market and I had personally never seen them until I bought them today, having been egged on by my husband to buy them. They were £25 dearer than the pair I was going to buy, but more suitable to my hair type. I was told they can cut through a thicker section of hair, and are very good at smoothing out frizzy, thick hair.

And old hairdresser once told me my hair was “like fluff” after it had been dried but tended to retain a lot of water after it had been washed. I am somewhat of an advocate of the hair turban, and leave it in for at least thirty minutes to soak up excess water before attempting to blow dry it.

For blow drying I use a Parlux salon dryer, but I’ll post about that when I replace it with a new one…

For guilt-free styling and an opportunity to donate to a very good cause, why not opt for the limited edition pink tongs, of which a fresh design is released each year? A portion of the sales support Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Buy with confidence directly from GHD to ensure authenticity. There are too many cheapskates producing fakes out there, and it’s far better to be safe than sorry! After all, we get what we pay for.

View the GHD Eclipse styler now. 

With thanks to GHD for not only for the use of their pictures, but also for designing these ever-fabulous products!

View my range of everyday and occasion jewellery now, hand crafted in England.Use code WOW10 for £10 off when you spend £30 or more in a single transaction.

*This product was purchased by myself and was not provided gratis by the brand*