This New $60 Hair Serum Replaced My $499 Hair Straightener in An Emergency

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A few weeks ago, I experienced a hair emergency. On the scale of disasters in New South Wales that day, given it was localised, it did not make the news.

Fortunately, crisis was averted by the ghd, Sleek Talker Wet to Sleek Styling Oil ($60), an elixir I’ve since crowned the perfect product for shining hair (not all heroes wear capes).

Because my hair rescue and Sleek Talker’s subsequent coronation are also unlikely to be covered by the mainstream press, I’m reporting them here.

My Hair Crisis

My hair crisis occurred on a humid, rainy day. I needed to be seen in public, so had washed and blow-dried my hair. I wanted to hub-cap level shine, and was ready to straighten.

I reached for my hair straightener and couldn’t find it. Anywhere.

Notable to this story are my hair extensions. When I style my hair extensions, they look incredible. I feel like a glossy-haired goddess. When I don’t style my hair extensions, they look coarse, tangled and dull and make me feel like a British reality TV starlet, making her way home after a particularly rough night.

I naturally have a range of hair tools I can wield to ensure I’m left feeling in the latter category.

Shine-inducing, frizz eliminating these hot tools include the ghd, Helios Hairdryer ($335), a collection of curling wands, and my beloved Cloud Nine, The Wide Iron Pro Hair Straightener ($499). It’s the Cloud Nine to control my hair on humid days that otherwise leaves it in a frizzy, unkempt mess.

It was the Cloud Nine Pro that was on that fateful day, MIA.v(It was later discovered under one of seven pillows on my bed).

That morning, my sense of object permanence was shattered and I was left panicked, vulnerable and disorientated. I felt the window I had to salvage the situation shrinking and a day of distractingly terrible hair closing in on me.

Considering myself doomed, I threw this unknown product into the situation.

Related: I Got Emrata’s “Revenge” Extensions and They Made Me Wish I Had Someone to Divorce

The ghd website describes Sleek Talker Wet to Sleek Styling Oil as a product that “smooths, softens and protects hair.” It also promises users the opportunity to “take your style to a new climax.”

In my emergency-induced state of terror and stress, climax of any kind seemed unlikely. I was in damage control mode. I pumped the suggested four to five drops of Sleek Talker into the palm of hand and worked from mid-lengths to ends with low expectations.

Sleek Talker Results

Blow dry finished, I found myself stunned. Adding Sleek Talker Hair Styling Oil left my locks looking like they’d been Cloud Nine-d to perfection. They had the polished finish usually achieved with ceramic plates and a special, glassy luminescence.

Ultimately, I was late to work because I couldn’t stop taking photos of my hair. My silky locks also distracted me all day, a result I attribute to the Argan oil in the formula.

Distractions caused by good hair are always better than distractions caused by bad hair and while Sleek Talker did not make the news, it did save my morning and has given me many good hair days since.

Sleek Talker FAQ

While marketed as a “styling oil”, Sleek Talker has the slippery consistency of a serum rather than a traditional oil. While silicones get a bad rap, I don’t oppose them in hair care. Colour-treated hair is porous, which means it can soak up products designed to hydrate, and my hair is artificial copper. My goal is shining hair, and I find when I apply hydrating oils, this absorption process can leave my locks duller and darker.

Conversely, silicones smooth the cuticle, creating a light reflective surface, exactly what I want. At $60, it’s not inexpensive and given only a few drops are required, it should last as long as your, hopefully-located, hair straightener does.