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Ghd flight travel hair dryer review: Did the portable device blow us away?

Does the small but mighty travel companion mean ditching hotel hair dryers for good?

Chloë James
Thursday 10 June 2021 10:33 BST
Ghd promises that it packs 70 per cent of the power of the brand’s full-size dryer
Ghd promises that it packs 70 per cent of the power of the brand’s full-size dryer (iStock/The Independent)

You can travel far and wide, but we dare you to find a hotel hair dryer that is anything more than average. As anyone who’s tried to style their hair on-the-go can attest, they’re often weak, loud and ultimately no better than letting your hair dry naturally.

The obvious solution is to lug your favourite device everywhere you go. However, hair dryers tend to be bulky and heavy, not to mention they take up vital room if your travels are limited by baggage weight restrictions.

Enter the travel dryer. Admittedly many of them are barely a step above hotel room fare, but if any brand can buck the trend it’s ghd. The go-to brand for hair tools of all shapes and sizes, its flight travel dryer packs all of its usual technical wizardry into a device that’s compact and travel-friendly.

Ghd promises that it packs 70 per cent of the power of the brand’s full-size dryer, but when we got it out of the box, we were baffled how something so small could be so mighty. Dreaming of future travels, our tester got to work using it in her regular styling routine to see how it held up.

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ghd flight travel hair dryer

ghd flight travel hair dryer indybest.jpeg

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Attachments: One (precision drying nozzle)

Motor: 1800w

Weight: 422g

First and foremost, this hair dryer is tiny. That’s a given for travel-size products of any kind, but we were still shocked.

It’s clearly been designed with practicality in mind, utilising a folding handle and smaller than average barrel. You can be rest assured it’ll work wherever you travel as it’s dual voltage. Most notably, it’s incredibly lightweight, coming in at just 422g – perfect for hand luggage or a handbag.

From a technical perspective, some of the features are similar to ghd’s other hair dryers. Safeguard technology means it switches off if it’s held too close to hair, which helps prevent hair damage. You can also toggle between low and high speed settings.

But most importantly: how well does it dry your hair? Our tester has very long, thick hair, and if there was any difference in the length of time it took to try, it was minimal. It doesn’t feel quite as powerful as a full-size dryer – which is to be expected – but it still feels much more powerful than full-size offerings from some of ghd’s competitors.

Read more: 10 best hair straighteners for sleek hair with minimal damage

To keep devices like this so small, they have to be stripped down to basics. In truth, sometimes we get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of options on very ambitious styling tools, so we weren’t too fussed about that. The only way it (very slightly) hindered the experience was the fact that temperature-wise you only had the options of the cool shot or the full blast of 65C, which sometimes felt too hot and harsh. However, considering we would only be using this on-the-go, it’s a minor complaint and it never left our hair feeling singed, especially when prepped with a moisturising hair oil. We also found the cord a smidge too short, but again, this is to be expected.

Those with curly hair will lament the absence of a diffuser — you only get one attachment, which is a precision drying nozzle. This was great for producing both super sleek styles and bouncy blow dries. The weight of the dryer also helps with the latter; at no point did we experience aching arms from lengthy styling.

The verdict: ghd flight travel dryer

Functionally, the ghd flight travel model is the most practical hair dryer we’ve ever used. It’s lightweight almost beyond belief, easy to slip into your bag, and makes easy work of thin and thick hair alike.

You do get less control over styling than non-travel dryers from ghd. However, this is to be expected from something that exists purely to maintain some semblance of normal life on the move.

Like all of ghd’s tools, it feels like the standard all similar products should aim to replicate. Even some full-size dryers could learn from this kind of easy, powerful styling. It goes without saying, but this is a marked step up from the hotel hair dryer.

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