Hair gadgets are a high-risk business. They promise – and cost – so much, while their results are too often underwhelming, overcomplicated or flat-out disastrous (I know of at least three regular readers who have had to cut hot brushes out of their chewed-up hair).
So I feel compelled to tell everyone who regularly tongs their hair into waves that Babyliss’s new Wave Secret Air Styler is different, genuinely problem-solving, and would deliver even with a baby chimp at the helm.
Allow me to explain, because I know that many people will be as intimidated as I was when I eyed the machine suspiciously at launch …
The unit itself looks like a hair straightener with a hernia. To operate it, you clamp in a section of hair (much as you would if straightening), close the handles and hear the whir of the bulbous protrusion (the waving barrel) safely and smoothly winding the hair into the heated chamber.
When the hair is waved (after no more than a few seconds and with zero movement or input from you), the styler beeps, and you simply release the handle to reveal a wave that is shockingly perfect. And repeat.
I wait until my whole head is curled and has cooled, before shaking out the waves into something a bit looser, and fixing with hairspray. It is the easiest imaginable thing to use, it requires zero aptitude for hair styling and, crucially, it never tangles.
I have tried repeatedly to get it wrong in the name of research, but no: I see fast, immaculate mermaid waves every time. (One thing to consider is that unlike with tongs, the Wave Secret doesn’t allow you to adjust the shape and type of curl you achieve. Its genius is, in some ways, also its weakness, in that it delivers just one, even, wave type).
Is the not-inconsiderable £150 price tag worth it for those who only wave their hair on high days and holidays? Not really – I’d stick with tongs or pay a hairdresser. But if wavy hair is your signature “I have made a bit of an effort” look on smart days and nights out (as it is for many), the Wave Secret Air Styler will make getting ready a much faster and easier process, and you will use it to death.
It’s also ideal if you don’t have the mobility skills to operate ordinary tongs – provided you can manage the weight of the unit, close it and then hold it still, nothing more is required of your wrists.
