A hot brush is the tool most people should own and almost nobody does. It is not a straightener and it is not a hairdryer - it is a heated brush you run through dry hair to take the frizz out. One pass, done. For anyone whose hair is basically fine but never quite sits right, it beats a straightener every time.
ghd makes three, and the naming is a mess. Here is the plain version.
| Brush | RRP | Our price | What it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ghd rise | $329 | $271.31 | Volumising. Round barrel, lifts at the root. Body, not smoothness. |
| ghd glide+ | $329 |
$292.05
Lowest in NZ |
Smoothing. Flat brush face, kills frizz in one pass. The one most people want. |
| ghd glide+ max | $349 | $287.05 | The wide glide+. Same job, bigger face - for long or thick hair. |
Prices NZD incl GST, verified 14 July 2026. The cheapest glide+ we could find anywhere else in NZ was $295.00.
rise or glide+?
They do opposite jobs, which the marketing does a poor job of saying. The rise is a round brush - it lifts and adds volume. The glide+ is flat - it smooths and flattens frizz.
Fine, flat hair that needs body: rise. Frizzy, fluffy hair that needs calming: glide+. Buying the wrong one is the most common mistake we see.
glide+ or glide+ max?
Purely a size question. If your hair is past your shoulders or genuinely thick, the max covers more per pass and will halve the time. If it is shorter than that, the standard glide+ is easier to steer around your head and cheaper.
What happened to the original ghd glide?
Discontinued, and being run out cheap - you will still see it around NZ at $199-$215. It is a fine brush. But it is the old model, and the glide+ holds temperature more consistently across the brush face, which is the entire point of the tool. If the run-out price tempts you, know what you are buying.
Do you use it on wet hair?
No. A hot brush goes on dry or nearly-dry hair. Putting it on soaking hair will not dry it and will damage it. If you want wet-to-styled in one tool, that is the ghd duet, and it is a different (and much more expensive) machine.
All three ship free anywhere in New Zealand with the two-year ghd warranty. Crew Stylists, Queenstown - authorised ghd stockist.