The whimn Team On….Our Go-To Hair Curling Tool
Curls are a gift and a curse. If you don’t have them, you’re desperate for them. You subject your strands to extraordinary heat – tugging, pulling and twisting until you form something you’re satisfied with. Only for them to straighten out after an hour.
If you’re born with them, you probably roll your eyes at all the women who yearn for curls, as you sit there with three hairbrushes knotted in there, stuck since 2001. Curls are a complex thing, but my lord are they gorgeous.
Coordinating curls can be quite the challenge, so to help you get the result you’re after, here are the curling tool recommendations of seven millennial women with very different hair types.
Melissa, Editor
I’m anything but a pro in the hair styling department, so curling irons are one of the hardest-to-master beauty tools for me. That’s until I came across the foolproof ALDI Visage curling iron, a special buy last year for $19. I repeat, $19. I’ve got fine, naturally straight hair cut into a lob, so need a thin wand. Portioning my hair, it takes me about 20 minutes to do my entire head wrapping it around the curling iron barrel – which is just about the level of patience I have and what I’ve found to be the easiest tool. What’s even better is, once done, the style will last a couple of days, going from my version of Hollywood waves to serious bedhead vibes.
Ashleigh, Beauty Editor
I already have naturally thick and wavy hair when its air dried, but to get it to give good curl, I need to help it along a little.
My hairdresser, the absolute strand maestro Anthony Nader, taught me a trick that I’ve used ever since. When my hair is wet, I scrunch through a good dollop of Oribe Matte Waves Texture Lotion (which leaves you with salt-spray waves, sans dryness) before hitting it with the Dyson Supersonic diffuser attachment. The diffuser works to simulate natural drying, with the added benefit of reducing frizz and defining my waves into actual curls. If I really want va-va-voom volume, I tip my head upside down as I move the dryer around my head – does the trick every time.
Bek, Commissioning Editor
My name is Bek Day and my hair is kinkier than I am. Phew. It feels good to say it. A by-product of having kinky, unruly hair is that it’s really more frizz than curl when left to its own devices, which means I’m constantly either straightening or curling the bastard to get it to choose a side. For curling, I can’t go past the Muk Curling Stick. It comes with three different size attachments – for loose waves I use the really fat one and then texturise with sea salt spray, and for more glam I go the medium setting, pin up after I’ve curled and then brush out for maximum impact. It’s easy enough that even ole butterfingers me has only received a handful of second-degree burns. A small price to pay.
Stefanie, Social Media Editor
As a gal with naturally very straight hair, I like a bit of movement when it comes to my locks. While my hair doesn’t hold a strong curl (sorry any and all wedding-related updos), it sure does love a good wave.
I was gifted a ghd by my hairdresser on my 30th birthday, and girlfriends, I haven’t looked back. It’s the easiest (and quickest) way for my hair to get that volume going, and I am now proficient in doing both sides (you have to learn to turn your wrist the opposite way)!
I use the original ghd IV, which is also excellent at taming my pain-in-the-ass fringe after a tumultuous night’s sleep. Can’t live without.
Abbey, Reporter
I was that kid in primary school. The one huffing down bread crust and sleeping in rollers. I have wanted curly hair since before I can remember. Alas, the universe had other plans for me. I have very thick, very straight, very frizzy hair. This means that when left to its own devices, I look like Mufasa. This also means that with a curling wand and a bit of technique, I look like Farrah Fawcett.
Dead and dry strands aren’t good for much, but oh boy do they hold a voluminous curl. Like Bek, I also use the MUK Curl Stick. I opt only for the widest barrel, it’s the only curler I find takes really well to thick hair, and it’s super easy to manoeuvre. I love it so much that once it stopped working after four years of almost daily use, I bought it again.
Edwina, News Editor
To the capable, world-beating women who can curl their hair with a straightener, I salute you. Me? After years of futile attempts, I fell back in love with the reliable, effective curling wand. I’ve tried a bunch over the years and I’m not loyal, nor fussed, about what brand I use – as long as it delivers loose waves that have staying power (easy when you’ve bleached your hair into oblivion) then I’m happy. At the moment I’ve been using the Models Prefer Professional Style Curler that’s $19.95 and available at Priceline. Yes, it’s cheap-cheap but it’s got a 4.4 / 5 star rating because it’s good.
Courtney, Entertainment Reporter
I used to use my GHD straightener to curl my hair for the longest time but when I started bleaching it two years ago it was too hard on my hair so I swapped to a Babyliss Pro (which I chose purely because it’s what my hairdresser uses on me when I’m in). I can adjust the heat so it’s not too intense, it’s the perfect barrel size and incredibly easy to use!
