It was actually easier to use than expected – especially for a newbie like me, and while I did have to do a few practice runs, I got the hang of it quite quickly.

“You really want to try and avoid curling the roots or the ends, this is really important if you want to create a modern wave,” Kevin tells news.com.au.“Stick to the mid-lengths for a contemporary look.”

Sleep mode: Most hair tools nowadays come with an automatic sleep mode feature, where the tool will turn off after a set period of time not being in use.

Perfect for those who love big, bouncy curls (think Kate Middleton’s signature wavy blow dry), this tool comes with 30mm and 40mm curling barrels, as well as a firm smoothing brush, soft smoothing brush, round volumising brush, and pre-styling dryer – so you’re really getting your money’s worth.

“Curls lasted three days without hairspray, so many different ways to curl and brushing the curls out changed the look too, I love the beach wave style!”

Let me preface this by saying I am not good with hair. I am fortunate thanks to my Asian genes that I have fine, dead straight hair that’s very low maintenance. I rarely do anything with it and it’s served me well enough but don’t think I haven’t tried. You want what you don’t have after all. Over the years I have struggled with all manner of tools – straighteners, wands, curlers – in an attempt to get those chic effortless curls but it always ended up being too time-consuming and difficult. As a lazy gal, I made peace with the fact it just wasn’t for me.

For some, making your curls last is as much of a challenge as creating them in the first place. Thankfully, there's a few tips and tricks you can use to keep them looking perfect all day long.

If you’ve given up on curling your hair, this new tool by cult hair brand Mermade requires “zero skill” to achieve “soft, beachy waves”.

15) Here’s the result of working several afternoons each week – and several weekend days – for five weeks. The neck is fit to the body (but not yet glued), the body is ready for final sanding, and the neck is ready for final shaping and sanding. To Ceil’s right is Blake, to her left Renee Ripple, who directs the school’s intern program, then yours truly. We make a great team.

Backed by modern beauty muses including Sofia Richie and Rita Ora, and used by celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin to create Hailey Bieber’s laid-back waves at the 2021 Met Gala, adding something to cart has never been more of a no-brainer.

The tapered 32mm to 19mm barrel wand offers you plenty of choice when it comes to what curls you want to achieve on any given day.

And with weekend plans of brunch and Barbie, it was the perfect opportunity for me to put the curler to the test. I wanted to see if the curls would last especially on a cold, windy day and I was not disappointed.

The Muk Curl Stick V2.0 comes with four removable wand attachments of varying sizes, so you can choose whatever curl shape you're in the mood for.

5) Here, she’s sanding the band-saw marks off of the sides. To keep the edges square to the belt, the body is held against a right-angle fence that’s bolted to the belt sander. She also used the belt to sand most of the body to shape.

Enter Mermade’s Double Waver, a game-changing new tool by the cult hair brand that promises soft glamorous waves that even the most inexperienced beauty novice (me) can master. And after trialling the Double Waver a number of times, I am happy to report that it is indeed very simple to use and has given me the dreamy soft waves that I so desperately seek.

4) Routing cavities requires lots of elbow grease, sweat, and vacuuming – that’s why many builders outsource it to shops that use CNC machines to make raw parts. Ceil is doing it the old-fashioned way, drilling as much wood as possible using several Forstner bits, then using the templates and a hand-held router. Because she’s going with lipstick humbuckers, we used my StewMac humbucking router template.

Dan Erlewine has been repairing guitars for more than 50 years. He is the author of three books, dozens of magazine articles, and has produced instructional videotapes and DVDs on guitar repair. From 1986 through his retirement in late 2019, Erlewine was part of the R&D team for Stewart-MacDonald’s Guitar Shop Supply; today he remains involved with the company, offering advice to the department and shooting video for the company’s website and social media. This column has appeared in VG since March, 2004. You can contact Dan at dan@stewmac.com

11) We really did want to do everything from scratch, even cutting fret slots (which was good since bocote isn’t available pre-slotted). Here, Ceil is cutting slots on a table saw with a specialized blade and using a “sled” that slides across the blade at a right angle. The fretboard is face down on the table, with a 25″-scale fret template taped to it. The steel template has 24 notches on one edge that align on a steel pin in the saw fence that correspond to the fret slots: cut a slot, lift the board and template, slide to the next pin, locate, cut a slot, repeat for as many slots as you want (she did 21).

While I will say the $499 price tag is a little steep, I do see it could be worth it considering you’ve essentially got two hair tools in one.

“I have the ghd wave wand and this is easily ten times better – the curl holds better and something about the design makes it easier to hold and wrap hair too. Recommend the Kevin Murphy pin clips to hold curls for a good ten minutes once they’re done – minimal hair spray needed,” said one five star review.

2) We talked a lot about the tools Ceil would use, including the what, why, and how of each. Either I or my apprentice of two years, Blake Burkeholder, kept a close watch whenever she used new tools for the first time.

Now if you’re worried about burning yourself, this wand has a protective cool tip which allows you to hold your hair in place safely, a built-in safety stand and a protective heat glove.

This brand new styling tool is designed with curved plate technology, making it so much easier for users to curl, wave or straighten their hair.

Not only does it take all the hard work out of hairstyling, it also speeds up the process so you can get out the door quicker – winning!

If you’ve used your average hair straightener to curl your hair, I think we can all agree it’s not always an easy task. Sometimes you’ll get weird kinks in the hair, or your locks might get caught and pulled in the plates. That’s why I’m a big fan of these curved plates from Cloud Nine as I feel it makes the whole styling experience super enjoyable and just easy.

“The high heat distribution diffuses quickly into the bonds of the hair to help seal the cuticle for all-day, salon-quality waves.”

It features a 38mm – 26mm straight oval shaped barrel that doesn’t taper in, so you won’t be getting super tight curls – just stunning effortless waves.

Set to “blow your socks off”, we’ve broken down what you need to know about Dyson’s new hair dryer — and whether it’s worth upgrading to.

This article originally appeared in VG’s August 2022 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

The adjustable temperature option means you can use the heat needed on your hair type – avoiding excess damage from overheating – and the titanium-finished barrels mean static-free, smooth curls.

As a loyal member of the heatless curls club, curling irons, wands and the like just weren’t something I felt was necessary for me to have.

The Aerodynamic Coanda effect attracts, wraps and curls hair in one swift motion and the clever heat control checks the air temperature over 40 times every second to ensure it stays below 150°C, protecting hair from heat damage.

But when the opportunity to try out the ghd Curve Classic Wave Wand came up, I decided to give it a go and to say that I was impressed is an understatement.

13) After cutting the slots, Ceil glued the fretboard to the neck, then drilled and inlaid the fretboard with her own design of large and small pearl dots that look like bubbles floating upward. I love it!

8) Here, Ceil is shaping the contours using a razor-tooth file (she also used soft and hard blocks faced with sandpaper). It’s hard work, but fun.

1) Ceil started by choosing a fretboard blank of bocote, then we visited StewMac, where she picked out a lightweight swamp-ash body and mahogany neck billet. We made a template by printing a Jaguar drawing and having it enlarged. Not knowing the exact body size, I asked fellow builders Mark and Shawn Penechar at Fountain City Guitars, who know Jazzmasters and Jaguars inside and out.

Curls don't tend to last on freshly-washed hair, so that could potentially be something that's bringing your curls down.

The 19mm barrel tong design makes it easy to clamp, twist and curl. The unit heats up to a maximum of 200°C and takes only 30 seconds to do so, and there’s two variable heat settings to suit your hair type.

Reviewers have proven that it’s not just a gimmick, with one leaving a five-star rating and commenting: “Love the product! I have never been able to curl my hair with a curling iron or straightener and when I’ve got it done professionally it has never lasted more than a couple of hours, where as this product was so easy to use and I could curl it to my liking and to make things better these curls lasted the whole night and I still had a slight wave the next morning.”

Plus, read up on our reviews of the top FOREO devices for every skin type, and the cult favourite anti-ageing serum celebs and experts swear by.

The editor of news.com.au’s Beauty Diary, Rebekah Scanlan, put the waver to the test on her own super fine hair for a day at the races.

Then make sure you’re getting a great deal on your purchases by visiting news.com.au Coupons, on brands like THE ICONIC, Myer and The Ordinary. And don't forget to sign up to our free shopping newsletter for your weekly dose of sales and shopping guides.

Price: You don't have to break the bank when it comes to a hard-working hair curler. We've found a bunch of picks, all at different price points, depending on how much you want to spend.

Another one of my favourite things about this hair tool is that you get to choose the temperature setting – and it goes all the way from 100°C to 200°C, depending on how much heat your hair can tolerate.

The tricky part was getting a comfortable grip and knowing which direction to curl my hair, so like always, I took to TikTok for guidance and watched how @sophadophaa did her hair with the same wand – outwards and away from the face seemed to do the trick.

I’ve always struggled with curling my own hair, but this unique hair tool makes it so much easier and is an absolute game-changer to my hair styling routine.

Reviewers on the Dyson website agree that it’s pricey, but well worth the investment, with one raving: “After years of wanting the airwrap styler I finally took the plunge and am so glad I did … it feels super soft, shiny and not frizzy at all. The curls also last in my hair which is great”.

Avoid touching them while they're still hot - wait for the hair to cool and then you can play around with the curl and brush it out.

The tool itself is also small and compact, which not only made it super easy to travel with, but also easy to manoeuvre around my head.

You can also purchase something like the ghd curl hold spray to make sure your curls keep their shape - plus it offers a heat protectant to avoid heat damage.

Whether you want to create bouncy curls, classic curls, flawless curls or voluminous curls, a hair curler or wand is a worthy investment. And if you struggle to create the perfect wave at home, leading Australian hair stylist and creator of his eponymous award-winning haircare brand, Kevin Murphy, says there’s a trick.

These products are hand-picked by our team to help make shopping easier. We may receive payments from third parties for sharing this content and when you purchase through links in this article. Product prices and offer details are not assured, and should be confirmed independently with the retailer. Learn more

3) On her second day, a package came from Fountain City – Mark and Shawn sent their acrylic body-routing template, which worked great for marking the cavities Ceil would rout, with one exception – we relocated the bridge and tailpiece holes a bit further back because Ceil was using a 25″ scale.

12) One step we skipped in the interest of time was hand-shaping the fretboard radius. My co-worker Todd Sams did us the favor of creating it using StewMac’s shaper and vacuum-equipped jig. Thanks, Todd!

Five-star reviewers commented “I am so impressed with this wand – it is such great value and does exactly what it should!” and “This gives super natural, almost ‘beachy’ curls, love it! And it’s super easy to use”.

14) Before final neck shaping, Ceil’s last work on the neck was scraping the peghead face clean so we can glue an overlay. She’s using a piece of the leftover swamp ash so it’ll match the body, and it needs to be in place when she does final shaping of the peghead. We’ll see that in part two, and it will be a great look – like a matching-headstock Fender.

The ultra-zone technology helps to lock in those curls for longer while preventing damage, and it’s super quick to use. The sleep mode switches the device off if not used for 30 minutes (great for the forgetful among us), and the ergonomic cool tip ensures you won’t burn your fingers.

While you’re here, get your beauty fix by checking out the best at-home laser hair removal devices for smooth skin and the best fragrances for women that deserve to become your signature scent.

This one from VS Sassoon is cordless and rechargeable, making it great for on-the-go use. It has three heat settings, and all you need to do is insert a small section of hair, hit one of the multi-directional curl buttons, and release to reveal your perfect curl.

If you’re after glam loose waves, this wand is perfect for you. It features a four inch ceramic barrel making it ideal for those with long hair.

From the big brand names like ghd to the newcomers on the scene like Mermade Hair, we’ve rounded up the very best hair curlers to help you get the hair of your dreams including the new Mermade Hair Double Waver, which is a “game-changer” for hair novices.

Weight: If you're styling your hair with a heavy hot tool, chances are your arms will start to get tired and sore. Look for something that's super lightweight.

7) She used a 7/16″-radius cutter with a shaper bit to round-over the edges. To help hold the body firmly in place, I taped a 20-pound granite plate on each side of the body.

“The curler is by far the easiest to use and provides curls based on your needs – you can have the tight curls or the beautiful beach waves.

After a few practice runs and some help from the experts this was her take on the Mermade Waver: “I’m not going to lie, I absolutely loved the finish of this product. It looked just like it did on Instagram and was also like nothing I’ve ever rocked before:” she wrote.

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I prepped my hair with the TRESemmé Hair Styling Thermal Protection Spray 300ml ($5.60 at Amazon Australia) and began curling away with care at 9am and finished roughly at about 9.30-45am (not too shabby for a beginner tbh), and topped it off with the O & M Original Queenie Mini 100ml Hairspray ($19.95 at Adore Beauty) so the curls last longer.

Variety of heat settings: The same level of heat is not ideal for all hair types, i.e. if you have fine or dry hair, a high heat will snap the cuticle and cause breakage. Look for a curler with a variety of heat settings.

After a whole day of walking around, eating and sitting in a cinema, the curls had loosened up a tiny bit but there was no insanely dramatic difference, in fact they honestly still looked as fresh as they were that morning which was super impressive.

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If you’re attached to the curly look but you’ve got bleached or damaged hair that’s not quite up to the intensity of heat styling, this oil-infused gold curling iron is for you.

After shaking out my curls, I was so happy with the results after using it for the first time. No practice or trial runs needed at all! And I got so many compliments when I rocked the hair for the first time, which is all a girl can ask for. And these waves hold. They lasted all day and did not drop at all. The next day I brushed it out, giving me another day of softer waves. The day after that, I pulled it back in a high pony and I still had a voluminous wavy ponytail.

Ceil wanted to build a Jaguar copy, and she’d planned to use an off-the-shelf body and bolt-on neck, but I challenged her to make it from scratch and with a set neck.

Since the first run, I have used the Double Waver when I’ve been in a rush and clamped my hair quite haphazardly (I definitely did not overlap the curls) but once I shook out the waves, you could not tell that some of the sections were uneven. For a girl who’s looking for a no-fuss quick way to style my hair, this is exactly what I am looking for.

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9) With the body complete except for hand-sanding, Ceil turned to the neck. After squaring a rough-sawn mahogany blank on a jointer (creating two flat surfaces at 90 degrees to each other), she cut a 1/4″ slot down the center and installed a StewMac Hot-Rod Low Profile two-way truss. Here, she’s band-sawing the neck to rough shape, starting at the peghead.

“I was headed to the races — so it was the perfect place to put my waves under some stress. And I am thrilled to report back that after hours standing outside in the elements, the waves lasted. Even the next morning they were still locked in, albeit a bit looser and softer, something I was still digging.”

Perth mum and businesswoman Tara Simich came up with this unusual looking triple barrel hair waver when she realised how hard it was to get the perfect “mermaid wave” that’s all over Instagram.

If you like to alternate between silky straight hair and luscious loose curls, a straightener like this one that can double as a curler is your best bet.

The heated and contoured tongs create flawless waves or curls, and with the unit’s ability to heat up in just 15 seconds, you won’t have to wait long to get styling. There are five heat settings, and a hinge lock and automatic shut-off for safety.

It features a revolutionary round 28mm to oval 23mm tip to give you the most effortless, natural, “woke up like this” waves.

It comes with a heat-proof glove to protect your fingers, and its ceramic coating means that you’ll protect your hair from heat damage and enhance shine. Win-win.

You may be wondering how different this is to Mermade’s wildly popular OG Pro Hair Waver. Good question. While I don’t own the Pro Waver or the Pro Mini Waver, I’ve tried a friend’s one a couple of times before. The Double Waver is more compact, lighter, and waves hair faster. For me, I prefer the double waver with its smaller barrels (25mm) as I find the tool lighter to hold and easier to manoeuvre around the head. You have much more control with this. I’m also a big fan of the protective anti-scald outer plates, which means the exterior does not get super hot, making it easier and safer to handle. Compared to the triple barrel, I find the Double Waver gives you a more natural-looking, beachy wave which I’m a big fan of!

10) With the neck shaped and tuner holes drilled, we used a 1″-radius cutter on a shaper table to round the back of the neck; it’ll be final-shaped with files and sandpaper.

The Remington Nourish Hair Wand offers variable heat settings to suit your hair type, and an automatic shut-off as well as a heat protective glove for safety.

Give me a multi-step skincare routine and a flawless base makeup look, but when it comes to styling my hair, I get super lazy. That’s why I was pretty excited to try the 2-in-1 Contouring Iron Pro from Cloud Nine.

“This curler is my go to and always get compliments on my hair when I have used this amazing curler. Best money a girl can spend!”

With hundreds of models available, it’s impossible to test every model out there. To help you find the best hair curler, we tested well-known brands at different price points. In addition, our shopping team read hundreds of customer reviews and looked at test results and ratings from product review sites to find the best hair curler from premium to budget to help you achieve the curls of your dreams. We also asked leading Australian hair stylist, Kevin Murphy for his expert tips on how create the perfect wave at home.

Reviewers say it’s surprisingly good for the price, with one writing: “Was buying this one as a make do till getting a good (expensive) one, but it works really well and I don’t see the need to spend more when I am happy with the results this one is giving me.”

A five-star reviewer said “Creates a curl easily and it holds. I use as a straightener and a curler and it’s great for both”.

The larger PRO 32mm is ideal for big and bouncy hair, and if you’ve got shorter hair or prefer a tighter wave, the Mermade Hair Waver Mini 25mm is ideal.

“Hair curling irons are a really good tool to have – not only do they cut down on the time it takes you to get through your early-morning styling routine, the heat is going to give you longevity and create curls that aren’t going to drop by the time you get to the office (or zoom meeting),” says Kevin.

So if you’re looking for a hair tool made for people who cannot for the life of them style their hair, this is for you. I cannot recommend it enough for finally giving me long-lasting soft waves with very minimal work (and skill) required. It’s my new favourite hair tool!

“This isn’t only the most simple way but will also give you a modern wave. When you are styling the sides of your head, hold the tong in a vertical direction but when you are styling the front or back of your hold the tool in a horizontal direction and always avoid the roots.”

If you've tried everything and still fail, you may want to look into something like hot rollers. For example, the BaBylissPRO Professional Jumbo Roller Hairsetter 12 pc from Adore Beauty is a great buy for creating voluminous curls - simply roll them into your hair, let it do its magic while you complete the rest of your routine and voila. Say hello to bouncy, curly hair!

When I say the Double Waver is easy to use, I mean it. Here’s what I did: After spraying with a heat protection spray (don’t skip this step! I’m currently using Schwarzkopf got2b Guardian Angel Heat Spray), I clipped the top section of my hair up and then worked from the back of my head forwards. In each section, I simply clamped a small section of my hair with the tool, starting from the top near my scalp, working downwards, and making sure I overlapped the previous curl for a seamless wave. Once the bottom half was done, I repeated the process in the top half. That it is. And it was so fast – I’d say I clamped my hair for a couple of seconds each time. For my whole head, it took me a maximum of 10 minutes I’d say – not bad for a whole head of beachy effortless waves.