Sunday, May 31, 2009

Flat Iron Wars: Chi vs GHD

If you've researched flat irons both CHI and GHD probably have come up as the most known names in the industry. Heres the scoop on the real history behind the iron wars.




Farouk Systems USA came out with CHI irons. They were by far the best styling tool that had ever been manufactured. Every stylist owned a CHI iron. Alot of time and effort went into the research and development of the CHI iron. Then sadly one day Farouk Systems USA was sold and product manufacturing was outsourced. Cheaper quality irons resulted from the manufactuer changes. Problems with electrical wiring shorting out became synonomous with the once hailed and renown CHI brand.

Enter GHD> GHD stands for Good Hair Day.Much simpler and way more catchy than cationic hydration interlink ! GHD marketed its irons to 2 places.BSG which is the main supplier to most professionals and Sephora. Every BSG store you walk into has a mannequin head and a GHD iron. GHD representatives come and stand by the head and pressure stylist to try the GHD while bashing CHI for its problems.




I have 2 of the original CHI irons and I have tried the GHD irons more than once and argued with the reps over the quality difference I see in my original CHI irons and the GHD irons. The original CHI Irons are the basic black ones that say Global Beauty System on the side.I never thought for the life of me I would find another iron I was satisfied with! The GHD does not compare to an original CHI iron in any way shape or form. Anyone who has an original CHI will tell you this. Now the more recent CHI irons are a sad disappointment and the GHD irons blow those ones away.
GHD irons are not exactly cheap either! You can expect to pay between $200 and $300 for one. I have heard from an inside source that the PACKAGE ALONE costs the company about $11 which is of course passed on to you. Makes you wonder what was skimped on to afford such expensive packaging! I would rather have $11 worth of quality instead of a box I am eventually going to pitch.

I decided if my CHI irons die I need to be prepared to purchase a replacement.Over the past 2 years I have tested tons of irons because I decided I do not want to risk a bad CHI and I don't want a GHD. I am not impressed by their pushy sales tactics nor their irons and fancy boxes.So I set out on a mission to check out every flat iron I could get my hands on.

Right now by far my favorite winner for new #1 iron is Infrashine. They are a relatively new company and their irons are just emerging as a major player in the tools department. I tried out an Infrashine iron at a hair show the beginning of May in Cleveland Ohio and haven't stopped thinking about it since. No preconceived notions it just felt right to me.
So June 1st I was at a hair show in Nashville Tennessee, and was sitting having a cocktail with some of the vendors( they all know me cause I'm a hair show roadie )
And guess who I had the privilege of meeting! A man named Paul who is one of the big wigs at Infrashine. When we started talking I had no idea who he was. I asked what he was selling at the show and he meekly replied "oh we sell tools, stop by if you wanna look at any" So stupid me starts to say "well I may do that I'm in the market for a new iron, and the Infrashine is my fav right now!" And I continue to brag on my Original CHI irons. So he starts to tell me about the history of Infrashine.....They made the original CHI irons! When Farouk was sold, the developers got together and came up with an even superior iron and named the company Infrashine. There is actually a little sensor inside that detects when the iron needs heat and deliver heat within 1/16 of a second. Paul had tons of irons disassembled so you could see the actual guts behind the machine and I was highly impressed with the design of the infrashine irons.



Paul actually gave me an Infrashine Redline Iron for free (I love free stuff!)and told me to pass on my unbiased opinion of it. I got home and have used it for 2 weeks straight and I actually gave my mom one of my original precious rare original CHI irons, which is something I thought I would be buried with.




I do not carry nor sell this product.I am not pushing you to purchase this iron because it benefits me in any way. The iron is AMAZING. The people seem great and down to earth which is a definite bonus in my book!


So in the battle of CHI Vs GHD..........Infrashine wins in my books




Here is the link to the Infrashine website, If you are in the market for a new iron I highly reccomend you check them out before making a big purchase.







7 comments:

  1. Such an interesting post! I had no idea about all this history - I have been a GHD devotee for three years, but mine seem to be coming to the ned of their lifespan now...

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  2. Im so happy with this Infrashine iron! Another interesting fact I learned about the Infrashine iron is that the heating elements have a life of 5500 hours and the CHI irons have a life span of 1100 hours. Im not sure what the GHD is but I know I can do some damage with 5500 hours!

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  3. I'd been meaning to ask you for hair straightener advice, this was excellent! Off to see if I can get these anywhere... sounds perfect!

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  4. Wow, this is so insightful! Thanks for sharing this. How interesting that fate brought you to Paul!

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  5. Thanks for this post. I have been looking for a new replacement for my Chi since it is obviously on its last leg. I was looking at purchasing an Infrashine Redline Iron. On Amazon.com there were mixed reviews...something about the electrical connection being shot after 6 months. Has this been the case for you? Are you still loving your Infrashine?

    I appreciate any information that you can give.

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  6. Karmin makes the best in my opinion! ^_^

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