When I’m in a major city, my first stop is The Drybar for an Old Fashioned or a Cosmo-Tai. I love full, curly hair (even if K would prefer I wear my hair straighter). To get the look at home, I’ve tried every curling iron on the market and every YouTube video tutorial I could find. But my results were a mixed bag.
Enter The Beachwaver, the curling iron for lazy people who want gorgeous hair.
The Beachwaver curls your hair by rotating with the push of a button. No more twisting or turning, straining your wrist. No more selecting too much hair for one curl and not enough for another. Just great looking curls, every time.
At least, that’s what they promise.
First, Beachwaver has a learning curve. It took me three tries before I got the hang of portioning hair, clamping it, and pushing the correct button. Also, the handle on the Pro is much larger than a standard curling iron, so it feels hard to hold onto.
Once you get past the learning curve, you notice one thing: This curling iron really works.
Every time I use it, I get gorgeous curls. I use more hair for larger curls, or less hair for tighter ones. Add a little texturizing spray and some Sheriff hairspray and it’s all done. The curls also seem to last longer, perhaps because the heat of this iron is warmer than mine.
My one complaint is that the curling iron really fries the ends of your hair. Like a Thanksgiving turkey, so dry. I add some Hot Toddy heat protectant, but they still take a beating. So I’ve started doubling up with this Wella Thermal spray.
The Beachwaver runs $199 for the pro version, and $129 for the original version. It comes in a 1″ and 1.25″ version. I’ve used both. For more glamorous, larger curls, go for the 1.25.
{image via Beachwaver; this post contains commission generating links}
Would love to see photos of your results along with this review!
I don’t really do photos of myself for the blog, but I did post to my Instagram Stories with a photo. So check it out there!
Could you point us towards an instagram pic or pic elsewhere that shows what your hair looked like when styled w/ the beachwaver?
How would you compare this to the drybar 3 day bender curling iron (if you’ve tried that one as well)?
I have tried that one. It didn’t work for me, at least for creating curls. The clamp didn’t hold them tight enough, and I’ve never mastered the wand technique. I’d go with this one.
Thanks for reviewing the Beachwaver! I’ve been deciding whether to purchase… Did you notice a major difference between the pro and original versions?
No. I would do the regular if I were buying again.
The beachwaver changed my life, no hyperbole. That, and a Brazilian blowout, has given me manageable hair that I can easily turn into soft waves, beachy texture, honest-to-goodness sausage curls and everything in between. I highly recommend the pro, its foolproof: are you curling the right side of your head? Press the “R” button. And vice versa. I have also had both the 1″ and 1.25″ versions. I gave the 1.25″ away to a friend with longer hair, because I didn’t think my hair was long enough for it– the curls wouldn’t hold very well. My hair is naturally curly (but keratin treated) fine, and about 3 inches below my shoulders. The 1″ is great for me. Glad you love it too Belle!
I also second photos to see how your curls turned out!
Also, have you tried the TYME iron? I constantly see ads for this and it looks like the answer to my inability to use a curling iron but would love an honest review if you’ve had the chance to check it out, and to see how you rate it against the beachwaver.
I bought a Tyme iron a little over a year ago after also seeing all of the ads and being frustrated by my inability to curl my hair in a non-Shirley Temple way that actually would still last all day — my hair always had to be curled in aggressive spirals in order for curls to last more than an hour. The Tyme iron definitely took a couple tries to get used to, but now that I have, I LOVE it. The iron gets really hot, so the curls really hold. It does take some work to figure out the right tension for pulling the iron through your hair (slow and tight = tighter curls, faster = larger, looser curls). What I like about it more than anything is that it provides irregular shaped curls and waves, which after adding some texturizing spray, keeps my hair looking more casual and less like I decided to dress up that day. I am sure if you are more methodical in your technique, you can get consistently sized curls — it’s just not the look I’m usually going for. One word of caution: the iron gets really hot and the way you pull it through your hair really can change the type of curl you get… the first few times I tried it, I wasn’t twisting the iron in the right direction and all I would get is hair that was super frizzy. That said, after trying it a few times, it clicked in my brain, and now using the iron feels really intuitive.
Thanks, Annie! Going to pull the trigger – i have A LOT of hair and am all thumbs with a curling iron – and what I’m going for is casual loose waves so it sounds like I should be able to achieve that 🙂 Appreciate your input!!
So easy to use, but the curls don’t stay. I don’t believe it is worth the price. I get better results from a $30 hot tool clipless wand. I unfortunately threw out the box a while ago, so can’t bring it back to target. Would recommend purchasing from target and saving the box in case it doesn’t work out. They are great with returns!
For anyone not willing/able to shell out for the Beachwaver, the gold Hot Tools extended barrel curling iron/wand has proven to be a great lower-cost alternative. It doesn’t automatically rotate, but the longer barrel, high heat, and ease of rotation (I’m not sure how else to describe it) allow me to get Beachwaver-type results in less than 10 minutes on my mid-back length hair.
As you are a DryBar fan, is this similar to their curling iron? Do you have any thoughts or isights on the DryBar one? Thanks!
It would be great if you could post some pictures! Without pictures, it really just looks like you’re trying to gain commission from a vaguepost.
I never post photos of myself on this blog. It shouldn’t be a surprise that there’s not a photo accompanying the post.
I find it interesting that others are caught up on the photo thing. I actually appreciate and prefer a more in-depth explanation (e.g., the above) to highly stylized blogger photos. It’s unusual for the latter to show hair that is similar to mine in texture, length, etc., so random photos don’t actually tell me much about what it’s like to use the product, how long it takes, the learning curve for effective use, and by implication, how it may or may not be a good fit for me. Also, not to pile on, but I definitely associate shady, commission-motivated intentions with the aforementioned stylized photos way more than I do with posts like this one.
Ironically, I don’t plan to buy this product on account of the price point and historical data that tell me that I’m likely not willing to add the time and effort to my rather minimal routine. But as a generally silent reader, I thought it was worth contributing my two cents on the value of this format.
I posted this on the last post re: beach waver but I have to post again because I truly love mine!
I highly recommend the curling iron I link below. I loved it so much that when I left mine behind at an airbnb I purchased it again immediately! I’m not really great at doing anything to my stick straight ultra long hair but this curler really just works! Plus it’s inexpensive ($40). I love that it doesn’t clamp the hair so you don’t get crimp marks. I always get tons of compliments when I use it. And for some reason because it works so well on my hair, I can do loose Victoria secret-esque curls while I wait for my coffee to brew.
Highly, highly recommend.
(https://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Products-Instawave-Automatic-Curler/dp/B00N18RIAS/ref=sr_1_11_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1508370231&sr=1-11&keywords=hair+curler)