Beauty Ed’s picks
Is your ancient curling tong gathering dust in a drawer? Charley W-H road tests the gadgets that will change how you style your hair forever...
Hair tool heroes
Lee Stafford Chopstick Styler, £19.99 BEST FOR: CORKSCREW KINKS
Tight curls are having a bit of a renaissance and the easiest way to get them is with this extra-skinny wand – because the smaller the tong, the smaller the curl. We love the swivel cord so you don’t get in a tangle over the hard to reach bits. Ideal for adding texture to shorter styles as you can wrap short sections around the slim wand.
Andrew Barton Vita-revive Age Defying Super-ionic 19mm Tong, £24.99 BEST FOR: ANTI-AGEING Unfortunately, if you’re not careful, using heated appliances can take its toll on your hair, especially if it’s fragile and fine. But this tong has an inbuilt hair ‘anti-ager’ in the form of super-ionic technology and magnesium oil, to give you shiny, healthy curls.
Babyliss Big Hair Styler, £34.99 BEST FOR: RED CARPET VOLUME
This is basically a rotating round brush that blasts out hot air to ‘curve’ your hair into some serious oomph. Doing the back takes a bit of practice, but it’s still so much easier than a brush and dryer combo.
Scünci Instatwist Braiding Styler, £29.99 BEST FOR: EASY BRAIDS There’s no escaping plaits this summer (blame the catwalk, people) and this smart tool may persuade you to give them a go. I was worried about it getting tangled in my hair, but it does all the hard work for you, creating a plait ridiculously fast. You just need a few practice runs first.
Toni & Guy Style Fix Waver, £29.99 BEST FOR: ON THE GO GLAM
Last-minute invite to somewhere fancy and your hair’s in no fit state to be wined and dined? Panic not! Whip out this handbag-sized tool to get a style fix wherever and whenever. It works just as hard as a normal-sized version but in a super compact size. We put it to the test at creating Emma’s vintage style waves and the verdict was a big thumbs up.
Instyler 32mm Wet2dry iron, £49.99 BEST FOR: THE NEW HAIRDRYER? Skip your usual blow-dry and still get an amazing look without damaging your hair? Sounds impossible, right? Well, this high-tech wonder dries hair by whisking water out of the strands into a rotating barrel – bear with us – which is then vented away safely and quickly. Because the barrel and curved plate are ‘floating’, your hair’s never crushed, so you finish up with a smooth, glossy blow-out.