When it comes to the best tools for hair styling, ghd often features in the Good Housekeeping Institute's tried and tested roundups, from the best hair straighteners to the best hot brushes. Who didn’t use their set of ghds on repeat in the Noughties?
So, when we heard about the brand's latest release – the ghd Duet Blowdry 2-in-1 Hair Dryer Brush – we had to try it out. Apparently, it's what puts the bounce into Michelle Keegan’s hair. In fact, she called it the “easiest tool ever for salon-worthy blow dries” in a recent Reel. Big hair, big claims.
So, did it deliver or fall flat? I recruited two other members of the Good Housekeeping Institute beauty team to help me put it to the test on hair wash day – read on for our honest verdict.
Healthy hair is key to keeping your style in place. Take a read through some of our tried and tested reviews for the low-down on how to keep strands in top condition, including our top hair repair treatments, best heat protection sprays and best hair oils for curly hair
The ghd Duet Blowdry at a glance
Main features
- Wet-to-dry styler
- Elliptical-shaped barrel to smooth and volumise
- Heated, snag-free bristles
- Works at a lower temperature of 120ºc for minimal heat damage
- Heat resistant bag and cleaning brush included
What’s different about the ghd Duet Blowdry?
Its older sibling, the ghd Duet style, is a two-in-one styler that takes your hair from wet to dry for a sleek, glossy finish. With two plates, it looks like a straightener, but it actually has hair dryer vents between them to combine a blow dry and straightening in one, which really takes the stress (and time) out of hair wash night. Oh, and it also happens to be one of our top-scoring hair tools ever, achieving an impressive 92/100 in our lab tests (check out our full review in our best hair straighteners roundup for more detail).
The Duet Blowdry works in a similar way, but differs when it comes to the end result due to its design. Here’s what you need to know.
- Heated, snag-free bristles: Instead of flat plates, which give a very straight finish, this tool is all about adding volume. The elliptical, heated barrel plate uses heated bristles for root-to-tip styling, leaving hair bouncy. The bristles are encased with a ceramic coating to reduce any painful snagging and create a silky finish.
- Lower temperature: The Duet Blowdry tool also has a lower set temperature to combat any heat damage. It’s set at 120ºC, significantly cooler than the 185ºC of the original Duet. There are two heat sensors to constantly maintain the lower temperature while in use, too.
- Controlled airflow: Despite the drop in temperature, styling isn’t compromised; instead, it uses a steady, precise and powerful airflow to dry and style your hair.
This all sounds great, and given ghd’s hair care credentials, we had high hopes. Here's how it did.
Our review of the ghd Duet Blowdry
Juliet Heaton, Beauty Innovation Tester
"Quite simply, I love this! As someone with fine hair, I tend to dry it with a barrel brush and hairdryer to add some volume. The style I go for is a classic blow-out look – voluminous but relatively straight, with a nice flick at the ends and shaping round my face. The Duet Blowdry is a fool-proof tool for achieving this style.
I can do it one handed as well, which means much less arm ache than when using both the brush and the hairdryer. My hair doesn’t snag on the bristles either because of the ceramic coating, which is something that can happen with a barrel brush. Instead, it passes through easily, so there's little hair fall, but still grips it enough to wrap around the barrel without having to hold it there.
There’s only one temperature setting, which for me is the perfect temperature for style retention and means it’s easy to turn on and off.
But don’t just take it from me, as it also achieved nearly full marks for its ability to tame frizz and flyaways in the Good Housekeeping Institute beauty lab. It was a top performer for its ability to hold style across straight, wavy and curly hair as well.
As the barrel is quite wide, it’s harder to create an actual curl, so if you’re looking for something to use for multiple styles, it might not be ideal, but for an easy, smooth and bouncy blow-out, it’s perfect for me!”
Maria Kumar, Beauty and Grooming Testing Manager
“What sets this apart from some of the other wet-to-dry hot brushes I’ve tested is that the bristles are snag free, but you can still get a good amount of tension to smooth out the hair.
The brush did feel very hot in use, which was a concern when running it through my wet curls. You can’t adjust the temperature, so I was afraid of the damage this could cause on my strands. However, the brand reassures us that the product works at an optimum blow-drying temperature of 120ºC and has two heat sensors to maintain the lowest styling temp for healthy hair. Our heat tests in the lab did corroborate this.
I noticed a good amount of shine in my hair after drying, so there was no need to reach for my shine serum afterwards, which is a win.
My concerns about the heat aside, the ghd Duet Blowdry gives you a speedy shiny, smooth blow out, straight from the shower, without any snagging or breakage along the way, and it really did work fast on my thick, coarse hair.”
Madeleine Evans, Lifestyle Writer
“There really is nothing like getting a blow dry in the salon, is there? My granny has one weekly, which is my ultimate glam goal. For now, my schedule (and budget!) doesn’t quite allow that level of haircare, but with the ghd Duet Blowdry tool boasting claims of fresh-out-the-salon styling from home, I thought it might be the perfect halfway point.
In my recent ghd Chronos Max review (it’s the brand’s newest straightener and it’s fair to say I’m a fan), I may have mentioned once or twice, or thrice, the amount of styling required to keep my freshly cut bob intact. So, I was excited to try the Duet Blowdry, which promises drying and volumising in one.
Generally, I use a bristled barrel brush and hair dryer to put some height into my layers, so I was interested to see how the heated teeth of this tool compared to the tighter tension offered by a bristled brush. It didn’t grip as tightly as my regular brush, but it still picked up a lot of my hair. This meant that the results were straighter and sleeker than I’d anticipated, rather than giving the bouncy volume I was hoping for.
On my second use, I applied a volumising spray and popped in some rollers to really help set it. With a touch of hairspray to finish, the results resembled the bouncy blow-out I’d seen many raving about.
I found it was harder to create a larger curl using this tool because of the lack of tension the ceramic brushes offer, but it did deliver significant root volume, with a sleek, turned-in finish to the ends of my hair. For everyday put-togetherness in the office, rather than getting glam for a big night out, this is ideal.”
Our final verdict
You don’t need a hair styling qualification to achieve a professional looking blow dry with this easy-to-use tool. It might require a couple of takes to perfect your styling routine, but once established, you’ll be creating salon-worthy styling from your own chair.
Without the aid of rollers and volumising spray, Hollywood curls are hard to achieve. But it quickly dries wet hair and adds an extra volumised zhuge at the same time. It also eliminates bed head with ease and replaces bad hair days with long-lasting smoothness.
There’s no denying that at just under £400, it’s a significant initial investment. But you do get a two-for-one in this dryer and styler, and it could save you some pennies on trips to the salon in the long run.
Madeleine is our Lifestyle Writer, specialising in expert-tested reviews and round-ups on the latest beauty Beauty and Health & Wellness products. From skincare to protein powders, Maddie is committed to providing honest and helpful reviews to help guide readers to the best product for them. Maddie has a BA in English Literature and Language, which stemmed from her lifelong interest in reading and writing. She started her post graduate life at Hearst UK within a marketing capacity, which quickly turned into a desire to fulfil a writing career.
When she is not writing about the latest expert reviewed products, you can find her rifling through vintage shops or car boots, reading a print magazine, or capturing portraits on her film camera.
