Table Of Content
- Best Budget Pick: Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron
- Bio Ionic Rotating Styling Iron
- Best Multi-Barrel Curling Iron: Hot Tools Pro Artist Gold 3-Barrel Hair Waver
- Prizm Wavy Professional Rotating Curling Iron
- Best Budget: MaikcQ 1.25 Inch Rotating Curling Iron
- Best Overall: Hot Tools Professional 24K Gold Marcel Curling Iron
- Best for Quick Styling Beachy Waves: Mermade PRO Hair Waver 1.25"
- Conair InfinitiPro Digital Curling Iron

This product comes with a wide-tooth comb, a heat-resistant glove, three hair clips, 24 small claw clips, and a box to store everything in, so you have everything you need when you’re ready to style. Honestly, the only thing we’d change is the placement of the curling buttons in relation to the release button — they’re very close to each other and can be mistaken for each other. As you get to know the device this will be less likely to happen, but it takes some getting used to.
Hair Straighteners For Thick Hair 2024 - Forbes Vetted - Forbes
Hair Straighteners For Thick Hair 2024 - Forbes Vetted.
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Best Budget Pick: Conair Double Ceramic Curling Iron
Different barrel sizes yield various styles, allowing you to choose based on the desired look. Thinner barrels, ranging from ⅜ to ½ inch, create tight curls that, when brushed through, achieve a voluminous ’70s aesthetic, explains Cavalcante. Medium sizes, between ¾ and 1 ½ inches, produce curls reminiscent of Sarah Jessica Parker in her Sex and The City days.
Bio Ionic Rotating Styling Iron
“It has an on/off button that also serves as the toggle button to increase or lower the temperatures,” explains Nasya. Because of this, be sure you do not accidentally press the button when you are curling hair since this can cause the device to turn off. Though this iron is pretty lightweight, it’s perhaps the biggest name in the category (for good reason). The body of the tool is equipped with an easy-to-read LED screen, plus and minus buttons to increase or decrease the temperature, and left and right arrows to control the direction. You’ll also find a switch that controls the speed (fast or slow) along the side.
Best Multi-Barrel Curling Iron: Hot Tools Pro Artist Gold 3-Barrel Hair Waver
Cavalcante likes to use tourmaline for individuals with frizzy hair due to its efficient heat distribution and its ability to reduce damage compared to traditional styling tools. To help you navigate this tricky terrain, we’ve tested a range of curling irons, wands, tongs, and stylers for ease of use, how well they curl the hair, and how well the curls last. We also factor in if they have any safety features, and we recommend alternatives for different hair types for those curlers that serve more specific needs. We had almost given up, accepting that our hair would always just slide out of the clamp looking like a wet noodle. Though it’s pretty budget friendly, it comes with pricier features, including three detachable barrels in different sizes, an LED temperature screen, and accessories, like a protective glove, hair clips, and storage bag.

Prizm Wavy Professional Rotating Curling Iron
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The Best Flat Irons and Hair Straighteners 2024 The Strategist.
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It also has an automatic shut-off feature, and most importantly, it works to create smooth, lasting curls. This curling iron uses patented temperature technology which ensures it’s safe to use on all hair types. Whatever you do, don’t take any kind of hot tool to your hair without priming your hair with a high-quality heat protectant first. If you prefer a cream styler, which will be best for dry or damaged hair, try DiGregorio’s pick, OSiS+ Tame Wild Cream, that will defend against temperatures up to 428 degrees. If a lightweight formula is more your thing, Chamarti likes working the L'Oréal Professionnel Vitamino Color 10-in-1 Multi-Benefit Leave-In Spray into hair before blow drying with a hair dryer that's good for curly hair.
For tight curls, use a small barrel, and for looser ones, consider a large barrel. This curling iron, with its 24K gold iron barrel, heats up to 430 degrees Fahrenheit evenly, allowing you to create uniform curls, according to the brand. It’s also easy to use and evenly distributes heat, which allows for faster styling, says Foster. After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the "best" for people over 50 if the only testers we’ve solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30?
Best Overall: Hot Tools Professional 24K Gold Marcel Curling Iron
While this can be used on all hair types, testing showed us that you’ll get best results with this curling iron if you have fine hair. Perhaps the most daunting aspect of selecting a curling iron is navigating all of the barrel sizes. The larger the barrel, the looser your curl will be, so if you want a faux blowout effect or a beachy wave, look for a thick barrel. To put together this list of the best curling irons on the market, our scientists and beauty pros parsed through over 103 test measurements and 836 survey answers.
Best for Quick Styling Beachy Waves: Mermade PRO Hair Waver 1.25"
T3 makes some of our favorite curling irons because they have extra long barrels and leave hair very shiny with curls that seem to last all day, says Michael Dueñas, a celebrity hairstylist, groomer and photographer. This long barrel, which is great for long hair and hard to reach places, styles with ease since it’s held in place by the brand’s ProGlide clip design, which is easy to control and glides easily without snagging hair, according to the brand. Wands have no clamps and relay on the user's ability to wrap around and hold their hair in place — which is why most wands come packaged with a heat-resistant glove (to avoid close-contact injuries). Curling irons with clamps are probably the most common type and allow you to create a variety of curls depending on how you feed the hair, twist/roll the wand, open/close the clamp, and release.
This iron also reaches the highest temperature that we tested, a whopping 450ºF which is ideal for forming long-lasting curls in even thick, coarse, natural textured or hard-to-curl hair. Simply point the wand barrel down while you wrap your hair around the beads, leave it for a few seconds and voila! I have very thick hair and it still only takes around 10 or 12 seconds to curl each section. Finish it off with a little hairspray and you’re good to go all day (or evening) long whether you’re heading to work, having a night out with friends, taking the kids to school or even traveling across the country. If you have straight hair like I do, it’s fun to spruce it up every once in a while with some curls or waves. I’ve tried all the no-heat methods like braiding my hair, wrapping it around socks (look it up) and sleeping in rollers, but all of these require washing it and letting it set for eight hours — there’s not always time for that!
Ceramic and tourmaline tools are a bit gentler on the hair as they don’t get quite as hot. DiGregorio likes ceramic, as she finds they create the most even heat throughout the iron. If you have an issue with the smoothness of your hair, check out a tourmaline tool.
This one is cool when you want to include different styles of curls in one sitting.” Each of the wand attachments is made of tourmaline ceramic to help heat the hair evenly and reduce heat damage. “Lately, I’ve been really loving the T3 SinglePass Curl,” says celebrity hairstylist Ashley Stewart, who notes it forms beautiful, luxurious curls. I like how it doesn’t have a typical on/off button but [rather] a knob on the bottom. CHI’s Spin & Curl is certainly one of the most unique tools you can use to curl your hair, especially for those who have trouble manipulating clip barrels or wands. The rotating curler effortlessly draws hair into a chamber, then uses ceramic heat technology to precisely curl the hair. Automatic curling irons are relatively user-friendly (but read the instructions, no matter what!) and have small springboard clamps that wrap the hair for you.
When looking for a curling iron for short hair, it's important to get it right, since you have limited real estate to get the perfect ringlet — and irons with long barrels aren’t the easiest to maneuver. But because this BaByliss tool has a short wand and a gentle, yet effective clamp, it was super simple for us to form smooth, glorious curls, leaving our shoulder-length hair free of any harsh bends or creases that we sometimes get from other irons. To finish it all off, it heats up in under one minute and automatically shuts off after one hour. The tool sucks a section of hair into the barrel and gives an option of which direction you’d like it to curl in (left, right, and mixed) before stopping after 12 seconds to prevent heat damage.
She uses 1-inch barrels for above-the-shoulder-length hair, 1.25-inch to 1.5-inch barrels for medium length hair, and 2-inch barrels on hair that’s lower than a bra hook. As mentioned, if your hair doesn’t hold a curl well, go with a smaller-sized barrel. ARKIVE Headcare founder, Adam Reed, prefers using one flat temperature for all hair, regardless of its texture or type — 365 degrees, which he says is the best universal styling temperature. “It’ll warm any hair type enough to mold it into the curl you want — if you go above that you risk higher damage, and if you go below that the curls will fall.” Conveniently, ghd Classic Curl 1-Inch Curling Iron is set at this precise temperature. Somehow, we always end up losing a few good strands to deadly clamps, but with the T3, our hair never once got stuck.
That said, we loved the results that we got from this tool, and the price is hard to beat. While we haven't formally tested this exact model in the Lab yet, Drybar's curling wand has performed well in our Lab tests, so it's no surprise this three-in-one pick is a fan favorite. In Lab tests, it scored in the middle of the pack in everything from ease of use to performance to user satisfaction.
“Often, very silky and healthy hair doesn’t hold a curl as well, and therefore needs more heat,” she says. While we’ve used a lot of curling irons that snagged our fine strands in the past, the smooth barrels and an unfussy clamp (with a comfortable grip) on this one allowed our curls to gently roll off when we were done. Our finished look actually lasted four days with this tool — a downright miracle for our hair. We attribute the longevity in part to the helpful temperature guide, which taught us that we’ve been curling our hair with too much heat. With a barrel that’s two inches longer than the average curling iron, this iron is an excellent choice for those with long hair.
However, it’s worth noting that the brand only recommends this tool for people with long- and medium-length hair because of its short clamp. Those with shoulder-length hair or above should swap for a curling iron for short hair. If you hate being tangled up in cords or are short on space, this cordless rotating curling iron from Conair was meant for you.