I’m going to be completely honest with you, I love my hair – it’s currently my favourite feature. It used to be my boobs, but then I had two children and as a result they’ve dropped down a place or two on the list. So my lovely, long blonde hair has swooped in and taken the top spot. However, regardless of how much I love it and the fact that I’m a beauty editor with many hair products at my disposal, I do not want to spend any time styling it. I own one of the best hair dryers in the world (Dyson Supersonic Nural, in case you were wondering) and yes, I even have the Airwrap, although it’s currently gathering dust under my bed, but I prefer to take the easy approach. I like to let my hair dry naturally – although I never skip my hydrating products (Arkive’s The Good Calmer is my absolute go-to) – and rarely take a brush through it, because I really like that undone beachy waved look. Sparse would be the word I would use to describe my styling routine.
On occasion though, I do like to change up my look and opt for something a little more playful. And about four years ago I discovered what I consider to be one of the most brilliant hair tools to ever grace the beauty market: Toni & Guy Deep Barrel Hair Waver. This styler ticks every box for me – it’s incredibly easy to use, it takes less than 15 minutes to style my entire head of hair and it costs less than £20.
So what is a deep barrel hair waver? Well dear reader, it’s not really like your traditional curling wand or tong, it’s essentially a giant crimper – but don’t let that description put you off. This is not some cringe 90s teen hair tool, this styler creates beautiful deep waves in an instant.
I first clapped eyes on it when I was, as I so often am nowadays, scrolling through Instagram. I saw how quickly it transformed hair and I knew immediately that I needed to get my hands on it.
As I mentioned above, I own a multi-styler that allows you to create all sorts of looks – in the past couple of years these types of hair tools have been at the top of everyone’s wish list – but as a low-maintenance (a.k.a. lazy) person the Toni & Guy tool called to me for its quick and easy approach.
(Image credit: Katie Thomas)
There really are no bells and whistles to this tool – it has an on and off switch, a handle lock and a little dial that goes from 1-25 (not entirely sure why) which controls the temperature. 25 will get it up to the maximum temp of 200°, but if you have seriously damaged or fine hair then just turn it down accordingly. Unlike all the fancy tools that launch nowadays there’s no way of telling when it’s hot enough to use, but I tend to give it a minute before I start styling.
Before using the Toni & Guy Barrel Hair Waver
(Image credit: Katie Thomas)
My hair has a very subtle natural wave to it, which I tend to accentuate by sleeping in a low bun (again, a low maintenance styling tip.) Because my hair is long, it’s really heavy which weighs everything down, meaning around my crown can look a little flat.
After using the Toni & Guy Barrel Hair Waver
(Image credit: Katie Thomas)
Hello, wonderful waves! I took these pictures for the purpose of this article and I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that it took 12 minutes to get from first first image to the second. Seriously, I timed myself.
To completely style my hair, I section it off into layers. I start with the hair underneath and work my way up. Because the plates are quite wide, you can style large sections at a time. I’m sure I’m breaking all of the hair rules here, but I didn’t even brush my hair before styling – just clamp down for about five or six seconds and then move down my lengths.
If I know that I’m going to use the waver then I’ll be sure to apply some heat protection spray first as it does get hot on the highest setting. And to finish I’ll put a little moisturising cream on the ends and then I’m done. This is honestly, super speedy styling at its finest.
My favourite styling products to use with the tool
Kérastase Chroma Absolu Sérum Chroma Thermique
This serum suits my hair type perfectly. As I bleach my hair it’s really frazzled so I need something to smooth and feed my hair and this does that, all the while protecting it from high temperatures.
Hair By Sam McKnight Happy Endings
I absolutely love this product for nourishing my dry ends. I use it every day and always opt for the smaller 30ml packaging and keep one in my handbag, like I do my lip balm.
