There are many different types of hair curls that the best curling iron can make. No matter if you want tight ringlets or loose waves, what you need is the right technique.
It’s also important to have the right curling iron for the job.As these devices come with different barrel sizes and have varying features, certain designs create specific looks.
That being said, the market is filled with a lot of curling iron brands and models, making it difficult to find the perfect one.
Hence, below, we’ve reviewed five fantastic curling iron models for you to consider for all types of curls.
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Our Pick
Best Curling Irons - Comparison Table
Best Curling Irons - Reviews
Conair is one of the brands that available on the market that belong to the affordable price range. The best part is that their styling tools are known to perform similarly to more professional brands. The Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron has a few interesting features you’ll want to use to your advantage.
Product Highlights
The main features of the Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron include:
- Double ceramic: The barrel of the curling iron is designed using two layers of ceramic. This helps to distribute heat more evenly and limits the amount of frizz your hair experiences after styling.
- ¾-inch barrel: With a ¾-inch barrel, you can achieve small curls. Not only is it great for making ring curls, but it can also be useful for touching up natural curls.
- Thirty heat settings: If you’re someone who really likes to customize their hair tools, the Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron has 30 heat settings. You can warm the curling iron up to 400°F.
- Turbo heat boost: If you find one area of your hair is troublesome, use the “Turbo Heat Boost” setting to instantly style curls. This curling iron also comes with a 30-second heat up cycle.
What's to like about the Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron
One of the best features the Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron has to offer is its auto shutoff. Your curling iron will automatically shut off after some time when it’s not in use. This is ideal for younger users or people who are in a rush in the morning.
We also found that it works really well with thick and coarse hair, as well as fine hair. Finally, the Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron has a swivel cord. The cord will move with you, which prevents tangles and makes it easier to style your hair.
What's not to like about the Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron
If you intend on using the clamp on the Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron, you’ll be disappointed. We found that the clamp isn’t secure enough to hold your hair in place. In addition, because the ceramic is too smooth, people with shorter hair might find it difficult to use.
When using the Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron, you have to pay close attention to the temperature control. Due to its poor placement, you might accidentally knock the switch.
Pros
Cons
The SUPRENT Professional Curling Iron is a great alternative to professional curling irons. It boasts a couple of features that you’d typically only find with expensive ones.
Product Highlights
The main features of the SUPRENT Professional Curling Iron include:
- High-temperature warning: There is a heat-sensing ring placed on the top of the curling iron. It changes from red to white as the temperature of the curling iron raises. This way, you’ll be able to tell if the curling iron is on or not when not in use.
- Specialized tip: The SUPRENT Professional Curling Iron also has a special tip that prevents thermal conductivity. This is ideal for preventing scalding on your scalp or hand.
- Ceramic coating: The entire curling iron is coated in ceramic, so it heats your hair more evenly. Ceramic is also useful for protecting the moisture, oil, and cuticle present in your hair.
- Five heat settings: You can choose from five various temperature settings. The maximum level is at 440°F.
What's to like about the SUPRENT Professional Curling Iron
The main thing to like about the SUPRENT Professional Curling Iron is that it can achieve professional looking hair without any effort. We also appreciated the heat-resistant tip, as it stopped the very tip of the curling iron from getting too hot while styling. As another advantage, this curling iron seemed to tame frizz while styling better than other expensive curling tools.
What's not to like about the SUPRENT Professional Curling Iron
We didn’t like how there are only five heat settings that you can choose from in the SUPRENT Professional Curling Iron. This encourages you to use higher heat levels on your hair, which leads to damage.
We also found that the stand for the curling iron started to get very hot. When resting the iron on the counter, it could damage the surface.
Pros
Cons
What makes the Anjou Curling Iron so interesting is that it has similar features to other irons on this list. It also comes in three different barrel sizes so that you can have control over the size of your curls.
Product Highlights
The most notable features of the Anjou Curling Iron include:
- Best for medium to long hair: The curling iron falls just under nine inches in length, which makes it best for medium to long hair. Compared to trying to style long curls with a shorter wand, which is difficult.
- Ceramic coated: Coated entirely in ceramic, this curling iron helps to preserve the strength of your hair. It also offers frizz-less styles without the need of a styling product.
- 60-second heating: The Anjou Curling Iron offers a 60-second heating cycle and heats up to 410°F.
- Rotatable cord: With a fully rotatable power cord, it swivels up to 360°, and the total cord length is two-and-a-half meters.
- Thermally insulated tip: To prevent scalding, the tip of the curling wand is thermally insulated.
- Adjustable heat settings: Users will be able to choose the right heat for their hair from 200°F to 410°F.
What's to like about the Anjou Curling Iron
One of the things you’re sure to like about the Anjou Curling Iron is how it curls your hair. You’ll find that this curling wand creates curls that last throughout the day.
We also found that the wand heated very quickly, which is useful if you’re in a rush in the morning. Another advantage is that the cord was entirely free of tangles because of the useful swivel feature.
What's not to like about the Anjou Curling Iron
The main issue we had with the Anjou Curling Iron is the power button placement. While curling your hair, you may accidentally turn the unit off.
The temperature buttons are also poorly placed on the handle, and you may unknowingly adjust the temperature. The thumb lever also gets very hot over time, so you will have to use the included glove to prevent burns.
Pros
Cons
Instead of relying on a single curling iron, why not have five to use? The Xtava 5-in-1 Curling Iron Set comes with plenty of attachments and accessories.
Product Highlights
The main features of the Xtava 5-in-1 Curling Iron Set include:
- Five attachments: There are five different things included with the curling iron. You’ll receive barrels with different sizes including 1.25” (clipped), one inch (clipped), 0.75” (clipped), 0.70”/1” (clipless/tapered), and 0.30”/0.75” (clipless/tapered).
- Tourmaline ceramic coating: With the tourmaline ceramic coating, the curling iron will heat evenly and reduce frizz. You’ll also notice your curls will be shinier and bouncier.
- Digital temperature control: You can easily adjust the temperature of the wand to nine different settings. The device heats up to 410°F.
- Auto shutoff: As an added safety feature, the Xtava 5-in-1 Curling Iron Set automatically shuts off after one hour.
What's to like about the Xtava 5-in-1 Curling Iron Set
The first thing you’ll notice about the Xtava 5-in-1 Curling Iron Set is that it gets very hot in under two minutes. As there isn’t a thermally insulated tip, you will have to use the included heat-resistant glove.
You’ll also love the swivel cord and the overall length of the power cord. You can easily style both sides of your hair with ease. Switching the barrels was also easier than we thought it would be.
What's not to like about the Xtava 5-in-1 Curling Iron Set
The main concern with the Xtava 5-in-1 Curling Iron Set is that there’s nothing that is cool to the touch. You will have to manually hold your hair around the barrel, which can be dangerous.
Similar to other curling irons, we found the temperature button is placed right where you turn the iron. This means you could accidentally adjust the temperature without knowing.
Pros
Cons
The Ouiast Curling Iron is designed similarly to most other curling irons. With a built-in clip and a fast heating barrel, it’s ideal for most styles. You’ll also appreciate the included styling tips and heat-resistant gloves.
Product Highlights
The main features of the Ouiast Curling Iron include:
- Ceramic coating: Much like the other curling irons on this list, the Ouiast Curling Iron is coated in ceramic. It helps to disperse the heat evenly along the barrel and keep your hair moisturized.
- High heat settings: Compared to other irons, the Ouiast Curling Iron has a higher level of heat. The maximum temperature for the iron is 430°F.
- Quick heat cycle: In 30 seconds, your curling iron will be heated to its maximum temperature.
- Auto shutoff: For peace of mind, the Ouiast Curling Iron automatically turns off after 60 minutes.
What's to like about the Ouiast Curling Iron
The most useful feature of the Ouiast Curling Iron is its auto shutoff, which is useful if you forget to turn the iron off. We also found that it has the best-sized barrel for long hair. The built-in clip also secures hair easily, even with the ceramic-coated barrel.
What's not to like about the Ouiast Curling Iron
We found that there isn’t anything that makes the Ouiast Curling Iron better than others. It didn’t create salon quality curls that lasted all day with or without any hair product.
It’s also not useful for very fine hair that doesn’t hold a curl well. The Ouiast Curling Iron is especially challenging to use with short hair.
Pros
Cons
Best Curling Irons - Buyers Guide
With so many curling irons available on the market, it can take a while to sort through the best models. Apart from having to try to figure out what brand to get, you must also find one that has the features you need. With this buyers’ guide, you’ll be able to know what you really need to look for when you start shopping for a curling iron.
Curling Iron Types
Generally, there are two main types of curling irons to take into consideration, and they are the clamp irons and wands. In the past, curling irons only came in the clamp variety. Both types are useful, but they produce very different styles.
With a clamp iron, you’ll be able to create bouncing curls with a high level of volume. You can also use them to create retro curls. On the other hand, curling wands are best for tight curls, loose waves, or more natural styles.
Barrel Materials
There are several different types of barrel materials to choose from. The most popular include:
- Ceramic: Discharges negative ions to create smooth and silky styles. It also easily slides through hair and prevents breakage.
- Titanium: Best for thick hair and creates smooth and silky styles. What makes titanium unique is it uses infrared technology to lessen the damage, and it heats up very quickly.
- 24k Gold: Very expensive and remains very hot. Gold styles very well, but dehydrates your hair and can cause significant damage.
- Tourmaline: Similar to ceramic, tourmaline is useful for protecting your hair. However, tourmaline discharges six times more negative ions and makes your hair shinier.
- Nano ceramic: Best for any type of hair, nano ceramic barrels are universally useful with both low and high heat settings.
Other barrel materials include Teflon, nano titanium, nano tourmaline, and chrome.
Curling Iron Size
Choosing the right curling iron size is dependent on the type of curls you want to have. The rule of thumb is that the thinner the barrel, the tighter the curl it can create. Most manufacturers will have many different curling iron sizes to choose from, but there are a few that are the most common.
Anything less than one inch will give you really tight ringlets and help to perfect natural curls. On the other hand, between one and two inches will give you medium-sized curls. Lastly, anything larger than two inches will provide you with large wavy curls.
Power and Temperature
The power of your curling iron determines its total heat, and the heat level determines the kind of curl it can make. Curling irons with high power ratings get hotter, typically over 400°F.
The hotter the curling iron gets, the better or longer the hair curls will hold, but it will also damage your hair significantly. Ideally, you’ll want to choose a curling iron that heats no higher than 450°F.
Safety Features
There are two primary safety features that most curling irons offer. First, they will have a heat-resistant tip that you can hold while curling your hair. Second, they typically have an automatic shutoff.
If you’re someone who is likely to forget to leave your curling iron on, you will need an auto shutoff feature. You’ll also find that some curling irons come with heat-resistant gloves to prevent burns.
Best Curling Iron FAQs
Are Ceramic Curling Irons Better for Your Hair?
With curling irons, you’ll notice companies will market their ceramic technology. This is because ceramic coated barrels are truly better for your hair.
Positive ions in the shafts of your hair are responsible for dullness, breakage, and damage. When ceramic is heated, it discharges negative ions that promote shininess and fullness.
You’ll also find that ceramic helps to retain moisture and the natural oil of your hair. This helps it to stay stronger and healthier.
How to Curl Your Hair with a Curling Iron?
There are actually a lot of ways to curl your hair with a curling iron. Depending on the style you’re trying to achieve, watching online tutorials is best.
For tight curls, you’ll want to hold your hair tighter to the iron for longer. Looser and wavier curls are best achieved with lower heat settings and faster styling. However, if you make your curls too tight, you can brush them out for the perfect wavy texture.
How to Clean a Curling Iron?
Over time, hair products are going to build-up on the barrel of your curling iron. To properly clean and sanitize the barrel, you will need some household tools such as a toothbrush, rubbing alcohol, and a soft cloth.
- Step One: Dip the toothbrush in the rubbing alcohol and softly brush the surface of the iron. This should remove any gunk and excess build-up.
- Step Two: Using the soft cloth and warm water, wipe away any extra dirt until the barrel is shiny.
- Step Three: Take the dry side of the soft cloth and wipe the curling iron dry.
What Size Curling Iron for Short Hair?
As someone with short hair, it’s hard to find the right curling iron size. Your best option is to stick with a ½-inch barrel. This gives you the ability to wrap your hair around the curling wand easily.
You’ll also find that it will provide you with a tight enough curl that you can work with. For shoulder length hair, a 3/8-inch wand may also be useful.
How to Use a Curling Wand?
Curling wands are another popular type of curling tool. Unlike curling irons, wands typically aren’t built with a clamp and have tapered ends. First, you’re going to need a heat-resistant glove, as your hand will be close to the barrel.
- Step One: Turn the iron on to your desired heat setting and wait for the preheat cycle to finish.
- Step Two: Take a one-inch section of your hair and wrap it around the barrel of the wand.
- Step Three: Hold the hair in place for three to four seconds and then release your hair.
- Step Four: Complete the curl with a finishing spray of your choice.
FINAL VERDICT
When buying a curling iron, you’ll want to make sure that you choose a unit that is easy to use. You’ll also want one that easily creates different types of curls.
Our choice for the ideal curling iron is surely the Xtava 5-in-1 Curling Iron Set. You’ll receive five different types of barrels as well as a heat-resistant glove for safe styling.
We also loved how quickly the iron heats up, making it far easier to achieve the styles you desire. With the ceramic coated barrels, your hair’s natural shininess will be preserved and enhanced.
When compared to other curling irons, the Xtava 5-in-1 Curling Iron Set performs superiorly. You will also have access to clamped and clampless barrels in one kit. An added advantage is the longer lasting curls that the ceramic barrels create.
Users will also have multiple styling options and variable temperature settings. No matter if you’re a beginner or a professional stylist, it’s a useful kit to have.