I have been using this volumizing hot brush from GHD called GHD Rise for over 3 or so months now, and wanted to share my honest opinion as a normal woman who is not a hair style expert to give you an idea of whether this Volumizing brush from GHD is worth the purchase. If you are looking to or thinking of buying it, the read on.
I already own the GHD curling iron and after having a huge success with that, when I saw this brush, I wanted to give it a try for many reasons and I will also share them. At the end of this post, I also have a YouTube video where I am sharing a cheat sheet of how I finally started using this and benefiting from it. So, if you are interested, you can check that video as well.
Why Use a Thermal Brush?
This was also the main question I asked myself when I bout the Amika Thermal Straightening Brush. I used that brush a lot though specially because my fine hair needed some lift after the 3rd day of hair wash.
If you workout, or your hair tends to get oilier after the second day of hair wash, this brush can help lift the roots without you having to wash your hair, because washing your hair everyday is not a good idea. It damages your scalp.
I used the straightening brush to give my roots a lift, but the problem was that, it turned out to be only good for that, at least for me.
As I always curled my hair, I had to then use a curling iron after I have used the brush which always consumed time, which most of us Women don’t have most days.
Amika does have the round thermal brush but I wasn’t as much convinced with the straightening brush to buy that as well.
So I waited to see what else is out there and saw the GHD Rise. I already owned a curling iron from the brand, so I decided to invest in this brush, which brings me to the next topic.
GHD Rise Complete Review
Price Point
The GHD Rise is priced at $189 which is pretty expensive if you compare it with Amika’s Interchangeable Thermal Round Brush. But at the sometime its way cheaper than the Dyson Air Wrap, which honestly feels like a waste of money to me. Maybe eventually I can save up for it.
While the Amika Thermal Round brush offers 3 different heads, the GHD Rise only has one and that too a pretty narrow one which was kind of a bummer for me. But well, I still wanted to hold on to it and give it a try.
Design
The GHD Rise Hot Brush is designed like a brush with a silicone body and completely modern look, which is the main reason I love the brand so much.
I have been using their curling iron and absolutely love it as well. So, this tool was easy to use, because I expected the handling to be the same. The non-slip handle makes it really easy to work with.
And the one button on and off is always the best thing about the brush.
I really have a tough time deciding temperatures for my hot tool, and with the GHD Rise, all I need to do is turn it on and you would know if its ready to use, but the beep sound that it makes, which is awesome and really cool to see in a hair tool.
If you look at the amika Thermal Brushes bristles, they look metal and I can already imagine all my hair getting tangled and burning while I am styling.
But the wide spread silicone bristles make it really easy for my hair to glide. And the great thing is that the bristles don’t heat up, its the body of the wand that does, so touching them by accident would not lead to any burns.
Isn’t that amazing, I thought so too.
My only complain is that the brush does not come with a cord tie that most brands provide.
I really don’t understand why, this makes it difficult to store it, but I managed to buy a cheap amazon cord tie and use that for wrapping the cord.
Usage & Experience
I have to be completely honest here as I had promised, it was not easy to figure this out. If you are new to hair brush, I recommend having lots of patience.
While a lot of experts might say that you can use it like a wand, but its not. It took me 3 months to figure it out, so I have to say it.
The main problem was that, after brushing my hair would be straight or just a bit of bounce, but I wanted to create my everyday wavy hair style which never happened.
I was getting upset. So, for about a month in the middle I stopped using it, because I didnt have the time to figure it out. And then I tried watching some GHD hair styling videos to figure it out. And I finally cracked it.
You will have to use the end of the brush or the handle of the brush to actually curl your hair and that is the trick. You warm and brush your hair with the brush part and use the handle to shape it.
Once I figured that out, it became a lot easier to use it for my everyday styling and curling. And I even am proud of kind of mastering it now.
During my use of the brush, I suddenly noticed that a few of the bristles were broken, which was really disheartening thinking of how much money I have paid for it.
I am really not sure what caused it, but it happened. But, this hasn’t made any impact on my daily styling.
Result
This brush definitely is a miracle for my 2nd or 3rd day hair which needs a lift, I avoid using it on my just washed and dried hair, but this might be because I have fine hair in general.
Because of he narrow wand, I can really take it closer to my scalp and it wont burn my scalp because the bristles are not at all hot.
I realized that if I just use the brush without combing my hair, it gets really difficult to brush my hair and it gets tangled in the wand.
So, I recommend brushing your hair and getting rid of any tangles before you used the hot tool just so that you get a smoother finish.
The best part is that, by curls last more than a day after I use the brush and I dont even use hair spray afterwards, if I am heading into a humid climate, only then I use a hair spray.
I actually took it to my Mexico trip which I am super excited to share about soon here and this brush actually help keep my frizzy hair intact after multiple hair washing sessions.
At home after styling my hair, I only use the Gisou Hair oil to massage my ends to keep them softer and thats it.
And specially on the days when my roots and my bangs need an extra help to lift, the GHD Rise comes in handy.
Overall Thoughts On GHD Rise
Overall I do rate this product 8 because it felt like an upfront investment before I could even use it properly, so if your hot tool is broken and you are new to round thermal brushes, I recommend buying something else and this so you have a backup.
But once you get use to it, this is an amazing hair brush that you will keep on using and will give you great results. And is also light and compact enough to be taken for travel as well.
Linking below the YouTube video as well, where I am using to style my hair and sharing more details.
Where To Shop The GHD Rise
Listing best places to shop for the GHD Rise.
- GHD Official
- Sephora
- Amazon (25% off)
- Dermstore
