Beachwaver CO ~ Beachwaver S1.25" Ceramic Rotating Curling Iron | Ulta

I bought the Beachwaver for myself as an early Christmas present and have been playing around with it since. I've read through the reviews on Ulta.com to help get a general understanding of the sentiment around the product to (hopefully) provide you all with a well rounded and thorough review. This review is for the 1.25" Beachwaver.

Beachwaver 1.25"

For starters, this is called the Beachwaver because it is meant to wave hair, not curl it. I think the general disappointment with this product is that many assume that because the wand itself looks like a curling iron that the results will be the same. The results are not the same. I'm not a professional hairstylist nor will I pretend to know everything about hair and styling tools and products. I do, however, know that some products aren't for everyone and who may or may not benefit from a particular product or type of product. I'll start with my experience with unwrapping and actually using the product, then I'll get into the results and why the product works for me.

The wand itself is quite large. I have a 1.25" curling wand that's pretty standard size (length-wise) for a wand of any sort and the Beachwaver is larger and a bit heavier in size and weight. The product itself feels sturdy; it doesn't feel cheap or like it's made of cheap materials at all.

A handful of reviewers state that there's a learning curve to using this product. I don't fancy myself as someone who picks up a new tool and can somehow, magically produce amazing hair, but I didn't find there to be much of a learning curve with this. If you've used a curling iron or curling wand at all regularly, the learning curve will simply be in ignoring your previous reflexes of stopping the actual curling of your hair manually (with your own hands, not the automatic curling that this iron does). Since the Beachwaver rotates automatically, you have to instead press the button to indicate which way you want the direction of the curl to go (there are 2 arrows indicating the direction the iron will rotate). You hold the button down to start the wand rotation and then release once you want it to stop rotating. I found that the first time I used this I just had to mentally check myself as a reminder to release my finger from the button to stop it rotating as my hands were used to just stopping on my own.

The clamp is very small, about an inch wide small. I have thick hair and lots of it so I'm not sure this really cuts down on the time spent styling my hair using this tool. Usually when I'm using my wand, I curl larger chunks of hair so that process takes less time,. If I'm trying to do more of a look like what the BW would provide (beachy/messy/wavy hair) I still need to wave smaller chunks of hair so the time spent is pretty much the same for me. It definitely alleviates some of the annoyance of twirling my wrist while holding the wand and accidentally burning myself somewhere on my forearm. Just one of those little quality of life improvements I'm appreciative of. If you have thinner/finer hair, this tool might cut down on styling time. I am not sure this would be a great tool for those with shorter hair. I think the annoyance of having to press the rotation button so quickly as you work from strand to strand might hinder its helpfulness, but as I have pretty long hair I can't really say--that's probably more a personal preference thing.

I'l give a quick rundown on the type of hair I have and current tools I use before getting into pics. I have long, thick hair. The lower layer and some of the layers that frame my face are a bit finer, whereas the rest of it, like 80% of it is thick, coarse hair. It's straight-ish on the top layer and wavy on the bottom layer. Some of the waves are almost like ringlets but waves instead of curls (if that makes any sense at all)--they are like random strands that are super wavy and then other strands just don't stick together that are wavy but all over the place and not in an actual strand. I have a lot of hair and the coarse strands themselves are thick. I have a 1" GHD hair straightener (used to use a Chi and decided to switch it up) and I have a 1.25" curling wand I got on Amazon for like $35-$40. I forget the brand. When I curl my hair with the wand, it looks a lot like the first series of pics you will see and it holds that style for about the same amount of time as well. When I go to wash my hair on night 2 or night 3 after using my curling wand or the BW, my hair still retains some of the general wave, it's just that the waves themselves have fallen out a lot more. I don't have any issues with using one of these tools and my hair just falling flat or not retaining the wave/curl so if your hair does have those issues you may need to try hairspray or another hair product you like to hold the shape.

Below I have a handful of pictures showing my hair in various stages after using the BW: 1 for right after I used the BW as I prepared for a pre-New Years Eve dinner. 1 from approx. 8 hours later (end of the night shot), 1 from when I (literally) just woke up and rolled out of bed the following morning, and 1 after I've done my makeup a few hours later.

Beachwaver, completed hair style

Beachwaver, approx. 8 hours later

Beachwaver, the next morning

Beachwaver, approx. 4 hours later

Here's 2 more shots from the very first time I used the tool. The first is right after I executed my first attempt and the below is the morning after. I think in this attempt the actual strands of hair seem more beachy/messy-wavy whereas in the above attempt the waves are more aligned with each other, at least until after I slept on my hair. Also, please excuse my no-makeup face--I actually think I still have my nightguard in in that last pic!

Beachwaver, first use

Beachwaver, next morning

So far, I'm really happy with the product. I want to practice more because when I use this tool I want the more beachy/messy wavy hair rather than the more structured waves (which is what I use my curling wand for) so I'll have to be a little more careless in how I actually separate and place the strands in the clamp next time.