When did finding the best curling tong get so confusing? There are countless styles of wands out there and they all give different curls; from tightly defined ringlets to loose beachy waves. But how do you know which shape wand will work for you?
Well, I’ve tried to take some of the mystery out of curler shopping, by showing you exactly what each style of tong/wand/styler does to the hair (or my hair, to be more precise). Because I don’t know about you, but when it comes to beauty I need visual aids. I want to see if the results are worth dropping all that hard-earned cash on…
So, first things first, a bit of background info for you: I have long(ish) hair and it’s kinda dry towards the ends thanks to a fading balayage. This means the mid-lengths and ends will hold onto curls really well, but the roots have a tendency to fall flat. For this experiment, I tested each of the curlers on freshly-washed hair, with just a misting of heat protector to prep.
Here’s what happened…
Babyliss Curl Secret Auto Curler
Best curler for: Beginners
Ok, I’m not going to lie, I was a tad skeptical of this automatic curling machine (surely it’s easier to just use a wand, right?) Well, not necessarily. This snazzy machine ‘sucks in’ a strand of hair and rotates it around a heated core, it’s then released into a perfectly formed ringlet. It takes a little while to get to grips with how it works, but once you figure it out it actually makes curling the hair really easy.
Temperature: There are two heat settings of 210°C and 230°C, and three timer settings that hold the hair in the curling chamber for different amounts of time, meaning you can tailor the settings to your hair type.Â
Staying power: The ringlets are pretty tight (although loosen out when brushed), so they stayed put all day.
Price: Dhs2,700
Shop here.
GHD Curve Creative Curl Wand
Best curling wand for: Defined curls
The tapered barrel of this wand goes from 28mm to 23mm, meaning you get looser voluminous curls at the top of your hair, and tighter, defined curls toward the ends. Similarly to the first GHD tong, the barrel has a ceramic coating, so hair stays smooth and frizz-free. Waves look clean and defined after curling, but you can opt for a dishevelled finish by running your fingers through the lengths and giving strands a blast with some texture spray. It also has a cool tip to help avoid burnt fingers and a 30-minute automatic off-switch for peace of mind.
Temperature: It heats up to 185°C, so it curls hair without damaging the strands.
Staying power: Ah-mazing staying power. If your hair never holds curls, make sure you give this wand a try. Once curled my hair stayed wavy till I next washed it, with only a slight drop.
Price: Dhs1,346
Shop here.
Beauty Works Flat Iron Wave Bar 25mm
Best curling tong for: Long hair
Designed by celebrity-fave hair extensions brand, Beauty Works, this curling wand has one of the longest barrels I’ve ever seen (seriously). Made with long hair in mind, the XL wand ensures that heat is evenly distributed from root to tip.
The flat iron bar creates cool S-shaped waves, as opposed to round ringlets. Whilst the ceramic coating ensures hair cuticles remain smooth and frizz-free.
Temperature: The clever wand has an adjustable temperature of 80-220°C, so can be dialled up or down to suit your hair type.
Staying Power: I was pleasantly surprised by how well these waves lasted. The narrow-shaped ‘bar’ gave curls a tighter set, meaning they lasted till my next hair wash.
Price: Dhs450
Shop here.
Cloud Nine The Waving Wand
Best curling wand for: A faux blow-dry
If you love the look of a bouncy blow-dry but have no idea how to recreate the look at home, you need this waving wand in your life. The barrel is huge, at 36mm it’s one of the fattest I’ve found, which means rather than creating ringlets, it simply gives a soft ‘S’ bend to the sections. After styling, hair appears fuller and there’s a thickness through the mid-lengths and ends.
Temperature: The temp control means you can adjust between high, medium, and low heat, or opt for the automatic temperature setting.
Staying power: It’s dependent on your hair type. The subtle wave lasted only a couple of hours in my fine, straight hair (even with a lot of hairspray). But a colleague with naturally thick, curly hair, used the wand and her waves stayed put all day.Â
Price: Dhs739
Shop here.
DryBar The 3-Day Bender Digital 1-Inch Curling Iron
Best curling tong for: Classic curls
This clever curler has a rotating clamp, which allows for extra movement when styling. The barrel itself features ionic technology designed to seal the cuticles of the hair, for less frizz and extra shine. It heats up quickly (within 60 seconds) and evenly, to give perfect-looking ribbon curls. There’s also a 60-minute automatic safety shut-off – so you don’t have to get ‘the fear’ on your daily commute that you forgot to turn it off.
Temperature: The high-tech curler has a customisable temperature dial that can go all the way up to 226°C.
Staying power:Â The 1-inch barrel has incredible staying power, just add a touch of hairspray and your waves should be intact till your next wash.
Price: Dhs919
Shop here.
Toni & Guy Style Fix Curling Tong
Best curling tong for: Travelling
First things first, this teeny-tiny curling tong is adorable. It’s so small but somehow the barrel is big enough to give clean, ribbon-like curls. Being a travel-size tong, it’s shorter than a regular styler, so if you have long(ish) hair like me, you may run out of room on the tong for the ends. This means, curls will look defined through the top-to-mid-lengths, but looser at the ends. Whilst the mini tongs will save space in your suitcase, the one downside is the cord length, it’s only 1.8m, so you have to stand pretty close to a plug socket when styling.
Temperature: Small but mighty, this tong reaches 210°C, so it has the power to curl even thick, unruly strands into a ringlet that will stay intact all day.Â
Staying power: The high heat means hair will hold onto ringlets till you next wash, but be sure to prep strands with a heat protector to avoid unnecessary damage.
Price: Dhs185
Shop here.
Amika High Tide Deep Waver
Best curler for: Natural-looking waves
The three large ceramic barrels (18.5mm each) of this tool ensures the hair is given a natural-looking wave. The chunky size of the curler means it can get through the hair quickly, taking only about 10mins to style all of the hair. Add a little spritz of hairspray and use a wide-tooth comb to loosen the waves even more and give a natural-looking finish.
Temperature: The dial ranges from 50 to 198°C, allowing it to give either a loose or defined pleat to the hair.
Staying power:Â Unlike traditional ringlets, mermaid waves tend to have much longer staying power, these stayed intact for days.
Price: Dhs450
Shop here.
Lee Stafford Chopstick Styler Curling Tong
Best curling wand for: Corkscrew curls
If you’re craving fluffy, corkscrew curls, this one’s a winner. It heats up incredibly quickly and the skinny, rectangular barrel curls each section of hair in mere seconds. So the process isn’t as time-consuming as I thought it would be.Â
The 80s perm vibes are strong, so if you fancy channeling your inner Baby from Dirty Dancing, be sure to pick this one up…
Temperature: It heats up to 200°C, so hair curls faster. Plus, there’s a cool tip to make styling burn-free.
Staying power: There was a slight drop in bounce at the roots after a day, but these curls will stay big and bouncy till your next hair wash.
Price: Dhs914
Shop here.
Remington Curl Revolution Curling Tong
Best curling tong for: Beachy waves
It takes a little while to get the hang of this styler, but once you do, it delivers b-e-a-u-tiful waves. You have to take a 1-2 inch wide section of hair and pass it through the plates to begin, then you press a button and the barrel begins to rotate. As it turns, the strand of hair is pulled through the plates and twisted, creating soft curls. Essentially, it curls hair in the same way as you can with straighteners, but the rotating barrel makes it easy for the clumsy of us to cheat smooth, well-rounded waves.
Temperature: The adjustable temp dial has five settings that go up to 230°C, so be sure to use a heat protection spray.
Staying power: This gave me beachy, Victoria’s Secret-style waves that lasted two days.
Price: Dhs470
Shop here.
Toni & Guy Deep Barrel Waver
Best hair waver for: Mermaid waves
If you fancy channeling that inner mermaid, this is the styler to invest in. Toni & Guy’s Deep Barrel Waver gives dreamy tumbling pleats to the hair, similar to what you’d get if you slept in braids, but the waver ensures an even, long-lasting, frizz-free finish, that you wouldn’t get with an overnight plait.
Temperature: The tourmaline plates have an adjustable heat that goes up to 180°C, opt for a cooler temp for looser waves and a higher setting for more defined waves.
Staying power: The higher the heat setting the better the staying power, my waves lasted around two days.
Price: Dhs149
Shop here.
T3 Whirl Trio Interchangeable Styling Wand
Best curling wand for: Versatility
This has three interchangeable wands that can be attached to the base, a tapered cone, a large barrel, and a medium-sized barrel (that I used for the picture). It gave my hair soft, fluffy waves that could be styled with a spritz of sea salt spray for a beachy effect, or brushed out, to create old-school Hollywood waves.
Temperature: There are 5 heat settings that go up to 210°C, making it suitable for all hair types.
Staying power: The softness of the waves means they don’t have as much staying power. I loaded up on hairspray but the curls had pretty much dropped out after a day.
Price: Dhs1,500
Shop here.
Babybliss Diamond Waves Curling Wand
Best curling wand for: Natural-looking waves
This spiralled bumpy wand means that each of the curls can vary in width and definition. As you twist a section of hair around the styler, parts of it will fall over small sections of the barrel, whilst other parts wrap around wider areas. This gives each strand a unique texture, rather than identical-looking ringlets.
Temperature: The wand heats up to 210°C in 40 seconds.
Staying power: Curls will stay in shape for around 2-3 days (or until your next wash).
Price: Dhs225
Shop here.
Lee Stafford Rainbow Shine Waver Wand
Best for: Textured waves
There’s no denying that this bumpy wand looks weird, but have faith, because it actually creates a really cool wave throughout the hair. The textured wand gives strands a combination of both tight and loose curls, which ensures the hairstyle looks super-natural overall.
Temperature: The Rainbow Shine Waver Wand heats up to 220C in just 2 minutes, plus it stays ultra-hot, so you can be sure your curls will hold.
Staying power:Â The high heat of this curling tong ensured my waves stayed intact for longer than usual. Be sure to load up on heat protection to avoid any excess damage.Â
Price: Dhs156
Shop here.
Via Cosmopolitan UK