Beauty Works was founded in 2016, making it a much younger company than its more established counterparts. However, the brand has become well known for its hair wavers after frequent collaborations with influencer and former Love Island star, Molly Mae. If you’re sceptical about influencer endorsements, you’re not alone, but we’re here to reassure you that the Beauty Works original hair waver lives up to the hype. Adjustable barrels: Some hair wavers advertise themselves as two-in-one (or more) products. That’s because they can be used in various ways, or adjusted, to create different styles of waves, such as tighter and looser waves. This can improve the versatility of a hair waver to no end, but normally can’t give you long-lasting loose waves like their fixed barrelled counterparts. You could use clips you already own for this, but make sure they won’t weigh your hair down as this could make the curls drop out, defeating the object of using clips. If you want to buy some great lightweight hair clips, we’d recommend the Beauty Works creaseless clips, which come bundled with the brand’s hair waver kit collaboration with Molly Mae. Another central element in our testing is using them on our hair. Not only will we time how long it takes us to wave our hair using each waver, but we’ll also take note of wave size and style, shine levels and how long the waves last in our hair before dropping out. When styling, we always test using the same 180°C heat level, and we don’t use any styling products aside from heat protection spray to protect our hair from heat damage. That means our testing is the same across all wavers. This process can take a bit of practice to master, but once you’ve got the hang of it, it’s easy to create flawless mermaid-worthy waves in a flash.

Perfect for those in a hurry, this hair curler heats up in just 15 seconds and automatically shuts off after an hour. You can easily take the unit with you on a trip as it weighs less than 500 grams and is just 46 cm in length. However, even though this styler creates the loosest waves in the fastest time, it’s not completely without faults. Namely, having tested other triple-barrel wavers, the lever mechanism on the Mermade waver feels much stiffer. This can make it difficult to use, especially if you have small or weak hands.

Best Automatic Rotating Curler

Barrel size: The barrel size of hair wavers refers to the diameter of each barrel and usually sits between 19mm and 32mm. With thinner barrels, you’ll get tighter waves, while larger barrels create looser, more relaxed waves. If you’re a fan of cordless heat styling tools, you might want to consider the Babyliss 9000 cordless hair waver. It’s a very convenient tool that creates great waves on the go, but its limited temperature range and expensive price tag mean it won’t be for everyone.

Key specs – Barrel size: 21mm; Barrel material: Ionic ceramic with infused oils; Temperature range: 160-180°C; 180°C heat up time: 39 secs; Charge time: 3 hours; Battery life: 40 minutes on high heat; Automatic shut off: Yes, after 60 minutes; Other features: Heat mat, glove, heat protected travel storage case However, unlike curling wands and straighteners, which tend to work for most hair types and can be used to create a variety of looks, hair wavers usually create one type of wave, which can make choosing the best hair waver for you difficult. This is especially true if you have short hair because many hair wavers are too wide to give shorter hair a sufficiently wavy look. The Glamoriser Instant Auto Curler features an automatic rotating 32 mm barrel, an LCD screen, and heat settings ranging from 80°C to 210°C. The ceramic surface is infused with diamond oil and effectively protects your hair from heat damage.

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It’s designed well, too: aside from the obvious triple barrel design, the handle is a comfortable shape and the lever has just the right amount of tension to hold the hair without being difficult to open. The temperature controls are also intuitive to control, and the temperature is shown on an LCD screen built into the handle. The main caveat is that this styler has no automatic safety shut-off which means this isn’t the device for you if you’re prone to leaving your heat stylers on by accident. Hair clips: When heat styling hair, one easy way to make a style last longer is to use hair clips to hold the waves in place until they have fully cooled. If you keep them in at the inside point of each wave until the hair cools, they will last longer. The original waver is also available to buy as a limited edition kit that includes lightweight clips to keep your style in place for longer, a heat mat, and a comb to help finish the style.