BaByliss Pro 230 Hair Straighteners

• Posted on July 28, 2008 at 6:01 pm

As a big ghd convert I’ve always been reluctant to try any other straighteners – before ghd I had Remington and Braun straighteners, but these did nothing compared to my ghds! So, could BaByliss convert me again.

On opening the box I was smitten… a gorgeous ruby red pouch greets you (included, not an extra) and a heat protective mat wraps around and clips to it. The straighteners themselves are also a delicious ruby red. So, for looks you can’t go wrong!!

I found the straighteners a little bulky to hold – they didn’t feel as light or as comfortable in the hand as the ghds – this made it a little awkward to get easily to all sections of my hair, but with practice this may become a more natural hold.

They heat up very quickly and there are five temperature settings from 170C to 230C. On my hair I found I needed at least 215C, the lower temperatures didn’t really do enough for me, but finer hair types should try the lower temperatures first. A lower temperature is also ok if you have the time to slowly straightener your hair – I’m impatient so that’s no good for me!!

These straighteners have ceramic-titanium plates – they seemed more slippery than other ceramic-only straighteners – my hair didn’t grip quite as well. Perhaps this is why BaByliss have added (and I quote!) “retractable de-tangling fins” to one of the plates – this is extremely helpful as it helps guide the hair into position between the plates. There are two settings – one for thicker hair and one for less thick, or you can switch them off. I didn’t think I had particularly thick hair, but I found the thick setting much better.

Straightening this way didn’t give better or longer-lasting straightening than my ghds – it did a very good job, but not quite enough to make me want to replace my current straighteners and for BaByliss to claim “straightness that lasts twice as long” I was yet to be convinced.

BUT…… BaByliss has steam!!

And this makes all the difference, it really does. After straightening as usual, a final sweep on the steam setting does wonders for straightness!

Not only did my hair look much, much straighter, this is where the long-lasting straightness comes from – I didn’t need my usual coat of Wella SP Polish – it just didn’t need it as I already had tamed frizz and a shiny finish. It lasted well into the evening on a humid day and next morning my hair was still straight(ish) and only needed a quick once-over to get it back to straight. One concern would be whether using the steam setting every day is more damaging to my hair than the standard straighteners, but if you’re going to straighten you’re likely to ruin your hair – it’s rather like sun-bathing – use protection!!

So… I am torn!

I love the comfort of hold of my ghds, I love their portability and I cannot fault the quick and easy straightness just from the standard ceramic plates. But BaByliss have the wonderful finish on the steam setting that I just don’t get with the ghds.

For now I shall keep both! BaByliss will definitely come out when I’m going out or for special occasions, ghd are ideal for quickness and everyday use. For travel I’m unsure – there’s not much difference between the size of the pouches – ghd are slightly smaller, but there’s no real space-saving in your bag.

Price-wise there’s no real difference – BaByliss are selling at £100 with the pouch and ghds are around the same price (though you’ll need a set or kit to get a pouch – they don’t usually come as standard).

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