Curling Irons & Wands
The Best Curling Irons for Beach Waves in 2026
Beach waves are an under-curl, not an over-curl. Most people make them too tight and then fight the result.
Updated September 2026 · Sawyer V.
Beach waves need a larger barrel — 1.25 inch and up — and deliberately incomplete technique: leave the ends out, alternate the direction, and brush the shape loose once it has cooled. A tight, uniform curl is the one thing that will not read as a beach wave.
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Quick picks
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. Prices come from the live price layer; where none is available the button says so rather than showing a number we cannot stand behind.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T3 SinglePass Curl X extra-long barrel curling iron Available at 1.25 and 1.5 inch with a 6.5 inch barrel — the right geometry for a loose wave. | Long hair that needs a big, soft shape | |
| 2 | Shark FlexStyle air styling and drying system Auto-wrap curlers that set the shape as the hair dries, and it converts to a dryer. | Waves without a clamped barrel | |
| 3 | Dyson Airwrap multi-styler (Complete Long) The lowest published wattage on the site, and curls that set as the hair dries. | Fine hair where an iron is too much | |
| — | Shark FlexStyle IonCurl hair styler No published attachment list, so you cannot confirm the curler you need is in the box. We’d skip this | Not this job, on published information |
1. Best barrel for waves
T3 SinglePass Curl X extra-long barrel curling iron
Best for: Long hair that needs a big, soft shape
Available at 1.25 and 1.5 inch with a 6.5 inch barrel — the right geometry for a loose wave.
Barrel diameter sets the wave and barrel length sets how much hair you can shape per pass. T3 publishes a 6.5 inch extra-long barrel, which on long hair means fewer passes and a more consistent shape down the length.
Available in 1.25 and 1.5 inch, which is the range beach waves actually want. Published weights of 13.2 oz and 15.1 oz respectively, cord excluded, so you know which one you are lifting.
Nine heat settings, and for waves you want to be nearer the bottom of that range than the top: a loose shape does not need the heat a tight curl does. 100–240 V, 8 ft swivel cord, two-year warranty.
What’s wrong with it
No published wattage, and the 1.5 inch version at 15.1 oz is the heaviest curling tool here — noticeable on a long session.
Published specifications — T3 SinglePass Curl X extra-long barrel curling iron
| Wattage | Not published |
|---|---|
| Heat settings | 9 heat settings |
| Speed settings | Not applicable |
| Weight | 10.6 oz (1 in), 13.2 oz (1.25 in), 15.1 oz (1.5 in) — cord not included |
| Cord length | 8 ft, 360-degree swivel cord |
| Noise (dB) | Not applicable |
| Attachments | None supplied |
| Plate / barrel | CeraGloss ceramic barrel, 6.5 in long |
| Dual voltage | Yes — auto world voltage, 100–240 V |
| Warranty | 2-year warranty |
Every figure above is taken from T3 Micro — SinglePass Curl X product page. “Not published” means the figure does not appear on that page — it is not an estimate withheld, it is a number the manufacturer does not state. How we compile these.
What it costs to run for a year
T3 does not publish a wattage for this tool, so there is nothing honest to compute. The formula is watts ÷ 1,000 × hours a year × your rate per kWh; if you find a rating plate on the handle, 65 hours a year and 18.34 cents per kilowatt-hour will get you the rest of the way.
3. Softest result
Dyson Airwrap multi-styler (Complete Long)
Best for: Fine hair where an iron is too much
The lowest published wattage on the site, and curls that set as the hair dries.
For fine hair, this produces the softest version of a beach wave available, with the least direct heat of anything here. 1,300 W is the lowest mains rating on the site.
Curling barrels, smoothing brushes, a round volumizing brush and a drying nozzle in the Complete Long configuration. The long barrels matter for waves — a short barrel on long hair produces a curl rather than a wave.
1.4 lb, three heat settings, three speeds, 8.5 ft cable, two-year limited warranty.
What’s wrong with it
The most expensive way to get a wave, 120 V only, and the hold is softer than an iron gives — which is the point, until it drops out.
Published specifications — Dyson Airwrap multi-styler (Complete Long)
| Wattage | 1,300 W |
|---|---|
| Heat settings | 3 heat settings |
| Speed settings | 3 speed settings |
| Weight | 1.4 lb |
| Cord length | 8.5 ft |
| Noise (dB) | Not published |
| Attachments | Curling barrels, smoothing brushes, round volumizing brush, drying nozzle |
| Plate / barrel | Coanda airflow barrels; no clamped heat plate |
| Dual voltage | No — 120 V |
| Warranty | 2-year limited warranty |
Every figure above is taken from Dyson — Airwrap Complete Long product page. “Not published” means the figure does not appear on that page — it is not an estimate withheld, it is a number the manufacturer does not state. How we compile these.
What it costs to run for a year
$15.50 a year
1,300 W × 65 hours a year = 84.5 kWh, at 18.34 cents per kilowatt-hour. The hours assume 15 minutes a session, 5 days a week — that is an assumption, not a measurement, so swap in your own if it is wrong.
What makes a wave rather than a curl
Three things, and only one of them is the tool.
- A larger barrel. 1.25 inch and up. Fewer turns per section is what makes a wave read as loose rather than set.
- Leaving the ends out. A curl that goes all the way to the tip reads as done, not undone. Stop an inch or two short.
- Alternating direction. Curling every section the same way produces a uniform, styled look. Alternating breaks it up into something that looks like it happened by itself.
And one more free step: once every section has cooled, run your fingers or a wide brush through the whole thing to loosen it. This feels like undoing your own work and it is the step that turns curls into waves.
Barrel size against hair length
Barrel diameter and what it gives, by hair length
| Hair length | For defined curls | For beach waves |
|---|---|---|
| Short / bob | 0.75–1 in | 1–1.25 in |
| Shoulder length | 1 in | 1.25 in |
| Mid-back | 1–1.25 in | 1.25–1.5 in |
| Waist length | 1.25 in | 1.5 in and up |
Longer hair has more weight pulling the shape out, so the same barrel gives a looser result the longer the hair. This is why a barrel that works on a friend's bob will not work on your waist-length hair.
Why waves drop, and what to do about it
Same reason every curl drops: released while warm. A wave has fewer turns than a curl to begin with, so it has less shape to lose before it reads as gone — which makes cooling before release even more important here, not less.
The counterintuitive part is that you should still cool each section fully even though you are going to loosen the whole thing afterwards. Set it properly, then break it up deliberately. Setting it loosely in the first place just gives you hair that falls flat.
Temperature
Lower than you would use for a tight curl. A loose shape does not need as much heat to take, and beach waves are frequently done on a whole head of hair at once, which means a lot of total exposure in one session. Both ghd and Dyson name 365°F as a normal styling temperature for typical hair; for waves, at or below that is sensible.
More on where those numbers come from at the styling temperature table.
Price per use, at 5 uses a week over 5 years
| What you pay | Cost per use | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|
| $30 | $0.02 | $6.00 |
| $60 | $0.05 | $12.00 |
| $100 | $0.08 | $20.00 |
| $150 | $0.12 | $30.00 |
| $200 | $0.15 | $40.00 |
| $300 | $0.23 | $60.00 |
| $400 | $0.31 | $80.00 |
| $500 | $0.38 | $100.00 |
5 uses a week for 5 years is 1300 uses. Both figures are stated assumptions, not measurements — halve the life and every cost per use doubles. We publish the ladder rather than a worked example for one specific product because a price we typed into a sentence would be wrong within a week.
Questions people actually ask
What size barrel is best for beach waves?
1.25 inch and up, scaled to your hair length — waist-length hair wants 1.5 inch or larger because the weight pulls the shape out. Anything under an inch produces a defined curl rather than a wave.
How do I make my curls look more undone?
Leave the last inch or two of each section out of the barrel, alternate the direction of each curl, and once everything has cooled, run your fingers or a wide brush through the whole thing to loosen it.
Why do my beach waves fall out so fast?
Because a wave has fewer turns than a curl, it has less shape to lose before it reads as gone. Cooling each section fully before releasing matters more here than for tight curls, not less.
Can I get beach waves with a flat iron?
Yes — bending the iron through the section gives a flatter, more S-shaped wave that suits the undone look well. It takes more practice to keep even than a barrel does.