Cloud Nine vs GHD straighteners: Which is better?

Looking at performance and features we want to find the hair straightener that is going to work the best for the most amount of people. While some features are going to be good for everyone, like even heat distribution and floating plates, we are also looking for some variety. Afterall everyone has different hair, and each hair type benefits from different treatment. The only way to accomplish this is by offering the user choice.

For the most part, both GHD and Cloud Nine offer those one-size-fits-all features. Every classic straightener these brands range come with auto-off, snappy heat up time, floating plates and technology to provide even heat distribution. Every straightener from GHD and Cloud Nine have auto-off features called 'Hibernate' and 'Sleep Mode' respectively. These kick in after 30 minutes, apart from the GHD Chronos which switches off after 10 minutes. They also all have floating plates, which just means there is a space between each plate allowing the hair to slide through without getting crimped and caught. Plus they all heat up within 35 seconds, although Cloud Nine's Original Iron is the fastest at just 20 seconds.

Where the brands really differentiate themselves is within temperature choice. Cloud Nine allows for degree level temperature control, ranging from 100°C - 200°C on every device apart from The Touch Iron which has a smaller range of 165°C - 195°C. GHD on the other hand uses what it calls "the optimal temperature" which is 185°C. The problem is that 185°C isn't optimal for every hair type. Thin, fine hair can benefit from much lower temperatures between 120°C - 140°C, while coarser, thick hair can handle upward of 200°C and may need it to hold a style.

According to GHD's various product pages, the majority of the brand's testing has been done on brown caucasian hair, so if that isn't you then the temperature may in fact be suboptimal. Plus, the damage from this temperature was testing against a "competitor styler working at 235°C". Hair can start to melt at 228°C, so that doesn't really seem like a fair comparison to us. 

Performance and hair health do tie together, but we think hair health is important enough to have its own category. What's the point of having beautifully styled hair if it is all fried off? This isn't the 2000's emo era. Styling with heat can irreversibly damage your hair if you're not careful, so the main thing to look out for is temperature control. Hair actually starts to damage at just 60°C, and at 140°C that damage can become structural and irreversible. Some brands like Dyson are taking this number really seriously - their new Nural Supersonic hair dryer has a 55°C operation temperature.

Naturally lower heat means less damage but of course sometimes you need something hotter to achieve the style you're after. Since GHD doesn't actually give you a choice in temperature, we have to recommend Cloud Nine. Most of its straighteners have a 100°C range for you to work within, to find what is right for your hair.

It sure feels like we're repeating ourselves a lot, but the Cloud Nine Original Iron really ticks a lot of boxes for fine hair as well. Mainly we have to call out the temperature control.

Fine hair in particular can be prone to breakage and damage from high heat, so having the option to go as low as 100°C simply gives you more healthy heating options. GHD products, for the most part only give you the one heat option, and 185°C may be too hot for especially fine hair. Our advice? Go for the wider heat range.

Of course you could also consider Cloud Nine's Mini Iron. It has all the same specs as the Original Iron, except with a smaller form factor and smaller plates. It gets a higher score from us because it is lighter, and cheaper than the other devices, but it could mean a longer style time. Especially if your hair is long.

When you have thick hair, you need a hair straightener that can make light work of it and the Cloud Nine Wide Iron Pro ticks those boxes. Not only does it go up to 200°C, which your lucious locks may need, but its extra wide plates means it can handle more hair at once.

On top of that, the Pro comes with Revive Mode which uses Axial Vibrations to minimise friction and snags in your hair. When you have a lot of hair that could potentially get snagged or kinked, these vibrations make a world of difference. Note that Revive Mode only uses 150°C however, so it may be better as a finishing run for most thick haired queens.

Apart from looking cute, the design and ergonomics of a hair straightener are surprisingly important. If you've ever had one with weird button positioning, or a short cable then you know what I'm talking about. Once again Cloud Nine wins out against GHD here, but the competition is a bit hotter.

Every GHD straightener has a cable length of 2.7m, while Cloud Nine has 3m. It isn't much of a difference, but having a bit more slack to work with is never a bad thing. They also all have a 360° swivel cord so you won't end up tangled up.

Each brand has straighteners sitting between the 400-500g range, so straightening your hair won't turn into an upper body workout. For comparison that is around the same weight as most salon-quality hair dryers. Conversely both the GHD Chronos and the GHD Original are upwards of 600g, so those might get your biceps pumping. Cloud Nine doesn't provide the weight of its 2-in-1 Contouring Iron, so we can't say for sure how the whole range stacks up, but the rest are under 500g.

Price-wise the two are complicated to compare. Cloud Nine is cheaper overall but has a shorter warranty period. GHD has a smaller returns window, but also has the cheapest straightener of the lot. You'll need to look at what is more important to you - outright price, or ongoing support.

Generally GHD hair straighteners are more expensive than Cloud Nine devices, apart from the GHD Original which is the cheapest of the lot. Half of GHD's classic range are $400+, while only one Cloud Nine straightener hits that price point.

Out of the box GHD does have a better warranty however. Every straightener comes with a three year warranty, as opposed to Cloud Nine's products that come with just a year. You can upgrade the brand's wands and irons to three years provided you register the product within 14 days of purchase.

Cloud Nine's return policy is a bit better capping out at 45-days while GHD's is just 21 days. 

Notably neither brand have a repairs program independent to their warranty repairs. Even though straighteners tend to last you a long time, we would love to see more transparency from both manufacturers about how to get more longevity out of your straightener.