This wet-to-dry styler isn’t as scary as it looks

If you were a tween when hair straightening became popular, the odds are you did something silly that makes you super cautious nowadays.
For me, it was letting my primary school best friend attempt to curl my hair with a straightener, which she did by saturating one strand in hairspray and then grabbing it with the hot plates. The sizzling sound was lesson enough: straightening and moisture is a no-go.
However, wet to dry styling has come a long way in the last 15 years. The blowdry brush has made waves worldwide by making blow-drying a lot simpler, and now stylers like the ghd Duet 2-in-1 Hot Air Styler will take your hair from wet to dry and styled in no time.
While my hairspray curling venture had left me anxious about styling wet hair, I was excited to get to try the Duet for myself. These are my honest thoughts.
NOTE: Prices are accurate at time of publishing.
The Duet Styler is a few years old now, but still a popular product among ghd fans. It functions as a blow-drier and a straightener, with what the brand calls a ‘revolutionary air drying chamber’. It has an air grille on both plates, which is perforated to allow for airflow, with two panels on either side to help smooth the hair as it dries.
The airflow is concentrated via a nose seal, which directs it out at a low temperature to avoid giving you heat damage.
The styler can function as a straightener with its ‘shine shot’ button, which turns off the fan and allows the plates to heat to 185°C. This is designed to help you put the finishing touches on your hair and leave it straight and shiny.
I was surprised by the size and heft of the ghd Duet Styler to begin with. However, it does have a lot of technology packed into it, so it makes sense to weigh more than your usual straightener.
I flicked it on and waited for the beep to tell me to begin, and I was also surprised at how loud the Duet Styler was – probably because the shape had me thinking ‘straightener’. However, it’s no noisier than any other hair dryer or blow-dry brush.
I got to styling my hair and quickly saw that it was going from wet to dry and that my hair was tame, if not entirely straight. It took me a few tries to get the technique going, but I eventually got the hang of it.
After drying off a section of hair and noticing it was quite frizzy, I switched to the Shine Shot mode to straighten it. I didn’t realise it took some time for the motor to power down, and then for the plates to heat up. Doing this intermittently while styling seemed like it would take too long, so I kept drying it and decided to straighten my hair in Shine Shot mode once I was done.
While my hair was straightened by the end, it wasn’t the smooth finish that I’ve come to expect from most ghd straighteners, but I know this product is another kettle of fish. However, I often blow-dry my hair straight to put it into curling rods, so the ghd Duet would be perfect on days I’m planning to do that.
I’m on the fence about whether I would buy one myself. On one hand, I love the concept, and I’m certain my technique and overall styling would improve if I had some more practice. On the other, I’m also happy to straighten my hair once it’s air-dried.
However, the one big pro is the time-saving. When you can nail the straightening, it makes hair washing day easier. The time spent is cut drastically when one tool can dry and straighten simultaneously.
The ghd Duet is usually $595, but you can get it on sale for $476 here. While it’s an investment, those who want to save time on their hair should definitely consider getting one.
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