14 best curling wands | Tried-and-tested 2024
<p>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 hold onto a curl well, but the roots tend to fall flat. For this experiment, I tested each of the 14 curlers on freshly washed hair, with just a misting of heat protector to prep. </p><p>Keep scrolling to find out what happened and my honest verdicts… </p><h2 class=”body-h2″>Best curling tongs</h2>”/>
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Best curling wand for: Reducing heat damage
Dyson Airwrap™ Complete Long Multi Hair Styler
Dyson relaunched their famous AirWrap styler with newer (and fancier) tech. The current version comes with over six different attachments for straightening, smoothing, blow-drying, waving and curling. When it comes to the curling function, the AirWrap uses the Coanda effect to attract damp hair to the barrel, drying it into a loose ringlet.
Temperature: Dyson’s genius heat control measures airflow temperature over 40 times a second, to ensure it stays under 150°C to prevent serious heat damage.
Staying power: Drying the curls into damp hair does give them a little extra staying power, but if you’re prone to your strands falling flat after a few hours, it’s worth misting some hairspray to set the style in place. Check out our full video review, here.
Best curling wand for: Variety of curls
mdlondon mdlondon WAVE Heated barrel brush multi-styler Casal Blue
You might be thinking ‘Is this even a curling tong?’ and the answer is yes, because this innovative waver has retractable bristles. Said bristles will deliver you voluminous curls that the 70s would be jealous of, but when retracted, you get the smooth barrel that’s perfect for mermaid-esque waves.
Temperature: You get a whopping five temp settings with this guy – ranging from a low 150°C to 210°C – so you can customise your curling experience depending on your hair type.
Staying power: I misted some of my trusty KEVIN.MURPHY BEDROOM.HAIR after to help lock everything into place, and while the curls did hold, they definitely drooped like tulips by the end of the day. I think this is partly due to me using the waver at a lower temp to minimise damage (you can’t win, can you?), so next time I might whack it up a notch.
Best curling tong for: A soft wave
ghd Curve Soft Curl Tong
This large-barrel curling tong has a ceramic coating that ensures waves look smooth and shiny. It’s a 32mm width, so if you want loose yet polished-looking curls, it’s worth investing in.
Yes, it’s expensive, but this curling tong has been designed with the ‘user experience’ in mind. It has a cool-touch tip so you can avoid burning those fingers, a super-long cord, and it automatically switches itself off if left unattended for 30mins or more – so you don’t get that ‘did I leave my tongs on?’ fear, every morning on the way to work.
Temperature: Heating up to 185°C, it’ll curl hair without damaging the strands.
Staying power: Looser waves have a tendency to drop out much faster than tighter curls, especially if – like me – your hair is pin-straight. That being said, my waves stayed intact the whole day and evening (yes, I did load up on hairspray after styling). The following day my hair still had a slight bend and volume to it.
Best curler for: Beginners
BaByliss Hydro-Fusion Anti Frizz Curl Secret
Ok, I’m not going to lie, I was a tad sceptical of this automatic curl 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 which hold the hair in the curl chamber for different amounts of time, meaning you can tailor the settings to your hair type.
Staying power: The ringlets are pretty tight (although loosen out when brushed), so they stayed put all day.
Best curling wand for: Defined curls
ghd Creative Curl Wand – UK 3-pin plug
Now 26% Off
The tapered barrel of this wand goes from 28mm to 23mm, meaning you get a looser voluminous curl 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 will curl hair without damaging the strands.
Staying power: Ah-mazing staying power. If your hair never holds a curl make sure you give this wand a try. Once curled my hair stayed wavy till I next washed it, with only a slight drop.
Best curling tong for: Slippy hair that’s hard to curl
Remington PROluxe You Adaptive Curling Wand
Now 33% Off
What I LOVED about this curling wand (other than the flawless-looking wave it gave my hair), is the slightly grainy textured barrel. It grips onto hair, preventing strands from slipping down and ensuring an even, perfect-looking curl.
Temperature: There are nine temperature settings to choose from, ranging between 130°C to 210°C. Or you can opt to use the wand’s clever built-in Intelligent StyleAdapt Technology, which learns about your hair and styling technique, and then automatically adjusts the barrel temperature, personalising it to you.
Staying power: One of the best I’ve tried, this clever curling wand kept my waves intact all day long.
Best curling tong for: Long hair
Beauty Works Flat Iron Wave Bar 25mm
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. 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. Check out our full video review, here.
Best curling wand for: Versatility
T3 Whirl Trio Styling Wand with 3 Interchangeable Barrels
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: 5 heat settings go up to 210°C, making it suitable for all hair types.
Staying power: The softness of the waves means they look in-cred-ible, but it also means they don’t have quite as much staying power – load up on hairspray to avoid any drop.
Best curling tong for: On a budget
VO5 Wave Barrel Hair Wand
This waving wand gives an effortless bend to the hair that looks incredibly natural. If you want loose ‘S’ waves this oval-shaped wand is well worth checking out. At £25, it’s pretty affordable for a curling tong but still has a ceramic-coated barrel for smooth styling. The base of the wand is designed to be interchangeable, so you can purchase different-shaped barrels from VO5 (all of which can be clipped onto the base).
Temperature: It goes up to 210°C, so can be used on most hair types.
Staying power: These loose waves have a little less staying power than some of the others on this list, but if you use inch-wide strands and hairspray each section they’ll stay intact.
Best curler for: Natural-looking waves
Amika High Tide Deep Waver
The three large ceramic barrels (18.5mm each) of this tool ensure 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: Unlike traditional ringlets, mermaid waves tend to have much longer staying power, these stayed intact for days.
Best curling wand for: A faux blow-dry
Cloud Nine The Waving Wand
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 giving hair a curl, 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.
Best curling wand for: Polished-looking curls
Mark Hill Pick ‘N’ Mix Handle + Elipse Barrel Waver
It comes in two pick-and-mix parts (meaning you can use the handle with other curlers and wavers, only replacing the barrel). For under £35 for both parts, I wasn’t expecting too much out of this waver, but I’m happy to admit I was 10000% wrong. The weird-shaped barrel gives a beautiful soft wave to the hair, the wider middle means that the mid-lengths have a soft curl, whilst the ends pull in a little tighter.
Temperature: Whilst the wand gives a dreamy wave, you don’t get any fancy thrills. There’s an on/off switch to activate the heat, but no temperature dial, so you get what you’re given when it comes to heat.
Staying power: Saying that, I loved the finished look, and my soft waves stayed for most of the day.
Best curling tong for: A classic curl
Drybar The 3-Day Bender Digital Curling Iron, 1 Inch
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: The 1-inch barrel has incredible staying power, just add a touch of hairspray and your waves should be intact till your next wash. Watch our beauty lab review, here.
Best curling wand for: A corkscrew curl
CHOPSTICK STYLER Heroine Curling Wand, 10mm
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 a mere seconds. So the process isn’t as time-consuming as I thought it would be.
Temperature: It heats up to 200°C, so will curl hair fast. 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 put till your next hair wash.
Victoria Jowett is an award-winning journalist and the Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan UK. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work in beauty journalism and oversees the , , and content across all of Cosmopolitan’s platforms. She’s worked in the beauty industry for over 13 years (and tested 1000s of products), making her an expert when it comes to recommending beauty brands that truly work. Having started her career working weekends on a makeup counter, Victoria began interning at the likes of and , before landing her first Beauty Writer job at weekly fashion magazine, LOOK. Joining Cosmopolitan in 2016, Victoria has always remained a beauty fanatic and has been lucky enough to interview everyone from Britney Spears to Kourtney Kardashian about their beauty routines. Follow her on LinkedIn.
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