10 best hair curlers, tried and tested for salon-worthy hair at home

This innovative hair styler deserves the huge beauty buzz around it, with its game-changing tech, speedy results and the fact it’s an all-in-one tool that will dry, smooth, straighten and curl. Its recent upgrade has made it even better, especially when it comes to curling.

This latest version comes with new and improved attachments that make curling even easier than before. The older model required you to change barrels, depending on what direction you wanted the curl to go. Now, all you have to do is flick a switch – so there’s no barrel-changing required. Choose from 30mm or 40mm curling barrels, to create loose, undone waves or more defined classic curls – the choice is yours.

Rather than relying on heat, this clever tool uses airflow to style strands, which also blows the hair around the barrel for you. It takes a little practice but, once you get the hang of it, you’ll find it super straightforward to use, especially if you’ve found more traditional tongs too fiddly in the past.

With a volumising brush and two smoothing brushes to help you blow-dry your hair to perfection, this hair styler really is all you need and more. Its only downside is its mega price but, when you break down what you get, coupled with performance, this really is worth the investment.

You can trust Remington for purse-friendly hair tools that perform. The brand has several top-notch hair curlers that don’t break the bank, including this one, which is our favourite yet from the brand. It uses tech that adapts to your hair and styling needs to give you the best temperature for optimum results but you can also go manual, with one of its nine temperatures ranging from 130C to 210C.

The styler’s ceramic coating has an anti-slip texture that grips the hair, making it easy to wrap around the conical-shaped barrel for natural-looking uneven curls that stay in shape all day. We found you can also play around and create tighter spirals at its narrower point at the top of the wand and looser waves at the bottom. A top choice for getting creative.

This one should be top of the list for anyone that’s struggled to master curling techniques in the past – be it with straighteners or curling wands. BaByliss’s next-generation automatic waver does all the hard work for you. All you have to do to create beautiful loose spirals is place sections of hair (between 3cm and 5cm) into the ceramic curl chamber, and it will do the rest.

No matter how long or thick your hair is, the curl chamber is large enough to automatically suck in strands and wrap it around once you close the handles together. You’ll then hear four beeps, which tell you to release the wave as a blast of cool air sets hair in place. Cleverly, it has wave direction buttons, so you can choose which way you’d like your curl to face.

It took us a few sections to master using this hair tool but you can’t really go wrong, as it has built-in sensors that detect if the hair isn’t placed correctly. We couldn’t believe how quickly we could style our locks and how well the carefree curls stayed in place all day.

Bellissima is an Italian electrical hair tools brand that’s relatively new to the UK. Within its range of hair tools is this clever hair waver that creates S-shaped crimps that even The Little Mermaid’s Ariel would be proud of. What sets this tool apart is the fact you can rotate the plate, so you can choose between narrow or wide waves to suit your style and hair type. It works just like a crimping iron, where you work down sections of hair, overlapping to get an even result.

It couldn’t be easier to use, and works fast – you only need to hold it in place for five seconds per set. You’ll then be left with wavy crimped beachy kinks that can’t be imitated by traditional hair curlers. We were also impressed with how tousled our strands looked on second-day hair, to add to the effect.

For tight and defined spirals, the thinnest barrel in the ghd collection should be your go-to. It uses the same heat tech as the rest of the first-rate curlers in the line-up – a consistent and moderate 185C, so, you can trust it won’t damage or burn your precious strands.

The skinny 14mm wand enables you to create super-tight corkscrew curls with major Eighties perm vibes. Simply use thin sections of hair wrapped closely around the wand, using the heat-resistant glove to prevent burning your hand. You’ll be surprised at how speedy this look is to create, as you only need to hold sections in place for a few seconds.

This isn’t a one-curl wand, either. We found, with a little practice, you can create voluminous ringlets, using larger sections of hair spread out across the barrel, as well as brushed waves, for a more relaxed look. You can expect them to last, too, as our tester’s curls looked just as fresh the day after styling.

You may be familiar with the popular Beauty Works waver, which creates dreamy mermaid S-shaped kinks, but this is the jumbo version that creates bigger, bouncier beach waves. It works the same way, using the crimping-style method of working down sections of hair. Simply decide how far up you’d like the curl to start and clamp sections of hair, working down the stands. Hold the tool in place for up to 10 seconds – the longer hair is clamped, the more defined the texture will look – and voila.

Don’t be put off by its bulkiness, as it isn’t heavy. Its design is what makes it so quick and simple to use – so much so, we even found ourselves effortlessly fitting it into busy morning routines. Brush hair through with a wide-tooth comb to loosen it, or spritz with hairspray to hold a smooth uniform effect – we love both looks.

If you need an extra-long barrel for your long locks, look no further, as this 32mm curler was made with you in mind. With standard tools being too short to curl sections in one, this size ensures hair can be tonged in one go.

It heats up in just 30 seconds, even though it’s a larger barrel, and it has a variable temperature control – making it a good choice for fragile strands that need the heat dialled down. We created effortless, free-flowing curls in around 15 minutes, by pointing the tool downwards and wrapping sections of hair around the barrel. For a softer look, brush out curls so they loosen for glam old-school waves. Either way, they last all day and night.

This latest-edition steampod is much more than just a straightener, as it creates waves and curls like a dream, too. If you’re not familiar with the tech behind it, it does things a little differently. It uses an integrated mini water tank to steam hair, which promises to cause less damage than conventional tools.

We’ve created smooth, poker-straight styles and red-carpet-ready bouncy curls with this tool, as the new rounder design, teamed with new wider floating ceramic plates coated in aluminium, makes light work of any style. The speedy results are what makes this tool stand out from the crowd, even if you have thick, tougher-to-style hair, you’ll be impressed with how effortlessly this tool glides through strands. We found styles, be they straight or curly, lasted well throughout the day, too.

This may look like your average curling iron but it’s so much more. Founded by US celebrity hairstylist Sarah Potempa, whose clients include the likes of Camilla Cabello and Bella Hadid, this is a self-rotating wand and it comes in a range of fun designs.

To create long-lasting, frizz-free, bouncy curls, all you have to do is clip the end in place and press for it to rotate and wrap the hair around the wand. It’s faff-free, making it ideal for beginners, but professionals will love its speediness. We like to set curls in place with a spritz of hairspray for more glamorous Old-Hollywood waves that last all day or brush through hair, for more beachy vibes that last until wash day.

With smart tech and a touch interface, this hair tool feels like the future in our hands. Simply input your hair type and texture, and it customises the heat to the best temperature, to create beautiful, bouncy, damage-free curls that last for days.

This iron is on the larger side, with a one-and-a-quarter-inch-wide barrel perfect for mid-length to longer styles. It has a clamp that we found makes styling much easier to control. Simply secure the end of your hair section in place for easy wind-up. However, you can still use it as a wand, wrapping hair around the barrel, if you’re used to that technique.

You’ll quickly master cascading curls that, most impressively, last until they’re washed out. Consider us impressed.