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If you straighten your hair often, you’re probably already aware of the two electrical beauty giants that dominate the straightening and heat styling market: GHD and Cloud Nine.
Launched in 2001, British brand GHD brought the innovation of ceramic-coated heating plates to salon professionals and home hairstyling around the world. The ceramic material made super-quick, heat-safe styling an achievable reality and the brand is now enjoying its 22nd year of household-name global success. Today, the brand has around half a dozen different models of GHD straightener in its range, including the recently launched Chronos and Chronos Max.
In 2009, one of the founders of GHD launched Cloud Nine – another innovative premium brand with a focus on hair health and safer heat styling. Cloud Nine’s products build on GHD’s original design by adding the mineral sericite to the ceramic coating on straightener plates, to seal the cuticle and leave hair soft, shiny and hydrated. Cloud Nine launched updated versions of its Original, Wide and Slim irons last year, with improved temperature controls and vibrating plates for smoother styling.
So which brand of hair straightener is best for you? We’ve tested both ranges to help you choose the best model for your hair type and the look you want to achieve.
Cloud Nine vs GHD: Winners at a glance
- Best basic straighteners: GHD Original | £111
- Best premium straightener: Cloud Nine Iron Pro Hair Straightener | £299
- Best cordless straightener: GHD Unplugged | £225
How we test hair straighteners
At Expert Reviews, we know that hands-on testing delivers the best and most complete information about a product. We’ve personally tested all of the hair straighteners in the roundup below, using the tools as recommended on dry hair. Where applicable, we test the various heat settings; and where straighteners are recommended for a particular hair type or usage, we test on that hair type to ensure we’re making an accurate recommendation.
In addition, we measure the time the tool takes to heat up after being switched on and then the speed of straightening a full head of hair (noting the length and texture of hair on which we’re testing). We also evaluate the overall ease of use of the straightening tool, how it feels in the hand, and the finish and feel of the hair once it’s been straightened. We provide information on how well-straightened styles last over the course of a typical day of wear and, finally, confirm the weight and dimensions of the tool.
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Cloud Nine vs GHD: Basic straighteners
1. GHD Original
Price when reviewed: £111 | Check price at John Lewis
GHD’s original straighteners were game-changers back in 2001, and continue to be a firm favourite with both home and salon stylists for being quick, effective and straightforward to use. The current version, updated in 2022, features an improved ceramic coating that heats evenly across the tool, ensuring a healthy temperature of 185ºC is maintained while styling. The plates come with a new coating that helps them glide even more easily over my hair, minimising the number of strokes I needed for a smooth, straight and frizz-free finish – even starting with my natural curly pattern.
Key specs – Maximum temperature: 185°C; Cord length: 2.7m; Auto shut-off: 30 minutes; Warranty: 2 years; Weight: 700g
2. Cloud Nine The New Original Iron Hair Straighteners
Price when reviewed: £229 | Check price at Cloud Nine Hair
Cloud Nine’s updated New Original hair straightener offers eleven heat settings, from 100ºC to 200ºC, and the floating spring plates are coated with both ceramic and sericite plates to distribute heat evenly and keep hair moist and shiny. The plates perform well at lower temperatures, which means less risk of damage to hair.
The updated Original includes a new vibrating Revive mode which gently vibrates the styling plates to ensure they glide easily through the hair, leaving it feeling silky, looking shiny and – most importantly – effortlessly straight. A newly-designed 3m 360-degree swivel cord also makes for easier styling as I moved the tool around my head. The lightweight, curved barrel is easy to use for flicking and curling, as well as for straight styles. Available in three attractive colours, the New Original Iron heats up in just 20 seconds and shuts off automatically after 30 minutes for added safety.
Key specs – Maximum temperature: 200°C; Cord length: 3m; Auto shut-off: 30 minutes; Warranty: 1 year; Weight: 440g
Winner: GHD
Cloud Nine’s New Original straighteners have smart new features and left my shiny and glossy; but for an entry-level straightener it’s hard to beat the original and best. GHD’s updated Original delivers fast and healthy straightening every time – at around half the price of Cloud Nine’s basic offering.
Wide-plate straighteners
1. GHD Chronos Max
Price when reviewed: £300 | Check price at John Lewis
Named for the god of time, with its 30-second heat-up time and generously proportioned 1.65in ceramic-coated styling plates, the new GHD Chronos Max is designed to significantly cut styling time for long and thick hair. The floating plates on the Chronos Max are coated with a high-gloss ceramic coating, which means the plates glide with ease through even long and thick hair without pulling or snagging – leaving my hair the shiniest it’s ever looked after styling.
One pass of the tool is enough to straighten my Type 3 curly hair at 185°C; GHD promises that the Chronos Max gives straight and shiny results in a third of the time it takes to style with a standard 1 inch plate straightener, and certainly I was able to fully straighten my mid-length hair in around 12 minutes. It’s not cheap, but long, thick or curly hair especially will love the frizz-free results.
Key specs – Maximum temperature: 185°C; Cord length: 2.7m; Auto shut-off: 10 mins; Warranty: 2 years; Weight: 480g
2. Cloud Nine The New Wide Iron
Price when reviewed: £229 | Check price at Cloud Nine
Cloud Nine’s New Wide Iron is designed for thicker hair with its mineral-coated 2in wide ceramic heating plates (wider than Cloud Nine’s original Wide Iron) ensuring even heat distribution and minimal heat damage. Like the new Original, the new Wide Iron has been updated with eleven heat settings from 100°C to 200°C allow you to choose the best temperature for your hair type and texture, accessed simply via a pair of buttons on the inside handle; and the updated Wide Iron includes vibrating Revive mode for a smooth and snag-free finish.
The New Wide Iron is available in three colours – Midnight Blue, Black, and a metallic Starlight Grey. It’s light in weight at just 520g, but feels strong and well built in the hand, plus the plates exert a consistent pressure on the hair, meaning even tightly coiled hair straightens well on the first pass of the tool. The results are glossy and long-lasting, with my hair still straight at the end of a typical day.
Key specs – Maximum temperature: 200°C; Cord length: 3m; Auto shut-off: 30 mins; Warranty: 1 year; Weight: 520g
Winner: GHD
Both wide-plate straighteners make light work of straightening heavy hair, but GHD’s beautifully shiny results mean the Chronos Max is our preference for straightening long, thick and very curly hair.
Premium straighteners
1. Cloud Nine Iron Pro Hair Straightener
Price when reviewed: £299 | Check price at Amazon
Cloud Nine’s premium straightener, the 2-in-1 Contonuring Iron Pro introduced the brand’s signature Revive Mode setting, which vibrates as you style and is designed to minimise friction as you draw the hair through the tool; for even kinder hair styling with great results at low temperatures. The Contouring Iron’s curved edges and interlocking curved plates allowed me to create beachy waves and straightener curls easily with just a twist of the tool.
Like other straighteners in the Cloud Nine range, the Contouring Iron Pro offers eleven heat settings from 100°C to 200°C, making it easy to choose the best temperature for my fine-textured curly hair. The floating plates coated with sericite-infused ceramic give great results at lower temperatures which kept my hair looking glossy and feeling soft and healthy; and the tool comes in a chic storage case with a paddle brush, wide-toothed comb and protective heat mat.
Key specs – Maximum temperature: 200ºC; Cord length: 3m; Auto shut-off: 30 mins; Warranty: 1 year (extendable); Weight: 229g
2. GHD Platinum Plus Styler
Price when reviewed: £200 | Check price at John Lewis
GHD’s Platinum Plus presents a considerable design and technology upgrade over the Original straightener (above). The hinge of the tool is a much smoother “wishbone” design, which looks stylish and prevents the hair from becoming caught – and the plates, which heat up in 30 seconds, are an elegant matte black. Most importantly, the Platinum Plus uses GHD’s most advanced intelligent predictive heat technology, which measures and adjusts the temperature of the tool constantly as you style. Since the correct temperature is maintained, the plates won’t cool and you won’t have to run them through the same lock of hair more than once, reducing damage to hair. We found that the Platinum Plus straightened our curly hair in a matter of minutes and left us with noticeably shinier, healthier strands.
Key specs – Maximum temperature: 185°C; Cord length: 2.7m swivel cord; Auto shut-off: 30 minutes; Warranty: 3 years; Weight: 750g
Winner: Cloud Nine
The Platinum Plus and the Iron Pro both promise safer, healthier heat styling with superior technology to protect delicate hair from damage. Cloud Nine’s vibrating Revive Mode and versatile curved plates mean the 2-in-1 Contouring Iron Pro is our premium recommendation, especially if you like to create both straight and curly styles.
Cordless straighteners
1. GHD Unplugged
Price when reviewed: £225 | Check price at John Lewis
GHD’s Unplugged is very light and compact at just 300g and 22cm long – small enough to fit in a handbag for day-to-evening styling. The straightener heats up in 45 seconds, and features GHD’s familiar ceramic plates and dual-zone heat sensors to maintain a safe, consistent temperature of 185°C across the plates. We like that the Unplugged charges via a standard USB-C port, so you can top it up using any USB cable – from a wall plug adapter, or even from your laptop – and a single battery lasts 20 minutes from full charge, which takes two hours. The Unplugged arrives in a choice of stylish matte black or white, and switches itself off after three minutes if not used, to help preserve battery life.
Key specs – Maximum temperature: 185°C; Cord length: N/a; Time to charge: 2 hours; Charge lasts: 20 mins; Warranty: 2 years; Weight: 300g
2. Cloud Nine Original Cordless Iron Hair Straightener
Price when reviewed: £219 | Check price at Cloud Nine Hair
Cloud Nine’s Original Cordless Iron cordless straightener has three heat settings from 160-200C and features Cloud Nine’s unique vibrating Revive Mode setting, which is designed to minimise friction as you draw the hair through the tool, reducing damage from snagging.
At only 370g the Original Cordless Iron has the same sized plates as Cloud Nine’s Original Iron straighteners but is compact enough and will easily fit into carry-on luggage or even a handbag – making it ideal for re-touching my hair during the working day or for a quick fix on-the-go. The Original Cordless Iron straightener takes around 90 minutes to charge fully in the supplied charging dock, and one full charge lasts 20 minutes.
Key specs – Maximum temperature: 200°C; Cord length: N/a; Time to charge: 90 minutes; Charge lasts: 20 mins; Warranty: 1 year; Weight: 370g
Winner: GHD
Both cordless straighteners deliver effective straightening on-the-go; the ease of GHD’s USB charger means the Unplugged just pip this one for us.
Narrow-plate straighteners
1. Cloud Nine The New Slim Iron
Price when reviewed: £169 | Check price at Cloud Nine
Cloud Nine’s updated Slim Iron hair straightener is perfect for styling shorter hairstyles or sections of hair – I tested it on my fringe and the shorter hair around my face. The body of the straightener is similar in size to other straighteners in the range, but with slimmer half-inch plates that get closer to the root, perfect for working with the shorter sections of my hair. Like other tools in the Cloud Nine catalogue, the New Slim Iron has variable heat controls from 100C to 200C, and sericite-infused floating ceramic plates for smooth, friction-free styling.
Available in two colours, the New Slim Iron straightener is super-light in weight at 190g, and ideal for styling and retouching your hairstyle on-the-go. For shorter hair, the results are great – smooth and shiny, with a healthy feel.
Key specs – Maximum temperature: 200°C; Cord length: 3m; Auto shut-off: 30 minutes; Warranty: 1 year (extendable); Weight: 190g
2. GHD Mini
Price when reviewed: £149 | Check price at Amazon
If you’re after precision styling for your short crop, pixie cut or face-framing fringe pieces, then the half-inch plates on GHD’s Mini are just the ticket. Built with the same floating ceramic plates as the rest of the GHD range, the Mini delivers a smooth and silky finish with no snaggles, while the slim plates mean there will be no kinks or bumps at the roots when you straighten shorter hair. In addition, the rounded barrel allows you to create waves and curls, even on shorter hair. Its smaller size also makes the Mini a great corded alternative to the Unplugged as a travel styler.
Key specs – Maximum temperature: 185°C; Cord length: 2.7m; Auto shut-off: 30 minutes; Warranty: 2 years; Weight: 320g
Winner: Cloud Nine
GHD’s Mini and Cloud Nine’s Micro Iron are both small, lightweight and ideal for styling shorter hair. Priced at £50 lower than the Mini, Cloud Nine’s Micro Iron wins this one on value.
Cloud Nine vs GHD: Everything you need to know
How do GHD and Cloud Nine hair straighteners work?
All hair straighteners work by heating the hair using metal plates. This causes the hydrogen bonds in the hair to break (a process that also takes place when the hair is wet). The straightening tool then passes over the hair, holding it in a new, flat position.
GHD’s innovation was to coat the metal plates in ceramic, which typically heats more gently and evenly in order to minimise damage from hot spots in the plates, resulting in a shiny and glossy finish. The ceramic plates, set on “floating” springs, glide easily and evenly over the hair without snagging. As a consequence, this reduces the number of strokes required to straighten the hair, and therefore the amount of time that the hair is exposed to heat. The plates themselves feel smoother than traditional metal plates, and hair feels soft and shiny after straightening.
Cloud Nine builds on GHD’s innovation by adding the mineral sericite – a form of mica that’s also found in makeup and skincare – to the ceramic plates. Sericite further reduces friction, seals the cuticle of the hair to lock in moisture and adds shine. Almost all Cloud Nine straighteners also include Revive Mode, which vibrates the straightening plates 8,000 times per minute to reduce friction as you style the hair.
What temperature do the straighteners heat up to?
All GHD hair straighteners heat up to 185ºC, which the brand says is the optimal temperature for damage-free heat styling. The premium straighteners in the range come with intelligent heat-sensing technology that monitors and adjusts the temperature of the tool as you straighten. Cloud Nine straighteners offer a wider range of heat settings from 100ºC to 200ºC – and a handy online temperature calculator Temperature Calculator | CLOUD NINE – Cloud Nine – so you can select a lower temperature for fine, dry or damaged hair, and a higher temperature for thicker, coarser or curlier hair. We’ve noted the temperature range for each model in our reviews below.
What size heating plates are best for me?
If you want to use your straighteners to create beachy waves and straightener curls, plates of around one inch are better for curling and shaping the hair. One-inch plates make up the core of both GHD and Cloud Nine’s ranges.
If you have long, thick or curly hair, larger plates are great for getting through lots of hair more easily; but less effective at curling and styling. Both GHD and Cloud Nine offer a wide-plate straightener in each of their ranges.
Plates under an inch in width are great for precision styling on shorter hair, and also pack up neatly for travel or touching up your hairdo when you’re away from home. We’ve included GHD and Cloud Nine’s smaller-plate straighteners in our list below.
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How should I use my hair straighteners?
Whichever brand you choose, make sure your hair is clean and completely dry before you begin to style. Section the hair and spray with a heat-protective product to keep damage to a minimum (it will also help your chosen style to last longer). Start with the bottom layers of hair at the nape and behind the ears, working your way up to the crown. Depending on the length and thickness of your hair, it will take around 20-30 minutes to straighten a full head of hair from dry.
To create waves and curls with your straightening iron, pass the straightener along the hair, as directed above, and then simply wrap each tress of hair around the tool rather than holding it straight while it cools – your hair will take on a curled shape instead. We’ve noted below the straighteners that are particularly good for this purpose.
