Hair curling irons are already a godsend of a tool to have in your arsenal. From big romantic Hollywood curls, to relaxed beach waves, a trusty curling iron can do it all.
If you don’t get enough practice, don’t master the right technique, you’ll end up with limp curls that you’ll waste your time slaving away on. If you’re really clueless, curling irons can turn your hair into a nasty fried mess too!
What if there was just some kind of magical curling iron that does all the work for you?
Well, it’s your lucky day, because technology is our best hair fairy godmother!
Automatic hair curlers are taking the world by storm.
If you don’t know what an automatic curling iron is, or haven’t seen any of the auto hair curler reviews all over social media lately, do not worry! They’re as simple as you can imagine.
Automatic hair curlers do all the work for you. Most models have rotating barrels that wrap your hair around the iron to make perfect curls.
All you have to do is lay your hair on the rotating barrel, let it wrap your hair around the hot iron and release!
There are even brands that only use hot air to slowly pull your hair into the barrel and curl it.
Just like traditional curlers, the barrels come in all different sizes, and can be used by just about any length of hair–any except very short hair, that is.
That’s probably the only limitation of just about any automatic curling iron. Because it wraps hair into a coil in a chamber, it doesn’t have as much room, and control for very short hair.
But for hair that’s shoulder length or longer, then this convenient tool is going to make its way into your holy grail hair styling items.
For different kinds of hair lengths, textures and thickness, plus your own personal style preference, there may be a few different things you’d want to consider in your own choice of automatic curling iron.
To narrow down those choices, here are some of the best automatic curling irons we’ve tried.
Best Automatic Curling Iron: Our Top Picks
Best automatic curling iron for beach waves – Amika Autopilot Rotating Curling Iron
Beach waves are so in style right now! That’s no surprise because with the loose, relaxed look of this particular type of wave, it gives you such a classic, effortless look that you can wear just to just about any occasion.
But the thing with beach waves is, they can be just as fickle as they are so laidback to look at. With traditional curlers, you’ll have to grapple with curls that might look too hard and structured, ruining the intended effect of beach waves.
But with an automatic curling iron like the Amika Rotating curling iron, you’ll get consistent results every time. This makes your beach waves nearly as easy as a day at the beach!
Amika is already renowned for their extensive line of hair care products. So it’s no surprise they’ve come out with such an easy to use automatic curling iron too.
It has a 1.5-inch barrel, which is the most perfect size for making big loose beach waves on medium to long hair. You can definitely use this product in a pinch as well, as it heats up pretty fast and keeps that temperature nice and even for perfect waves and curls.
Its barrel is also made in a way that it leaves your hair shiny and glossy with every pass. No dried and fried hair here!
Pros:
- Simple to use
- Big barrel for waves and long hair
Cons:
- Clip may be too loose to work on very fine hair
Best automatic curling iron for fine hair – CHI Spin N Curl Hair Curler
Automatic hair curling can get a little tricky for fine hair. Especially with more traditionally designed clip and barrel type of curlers, it makes it hard to wrap it around the barrel and keep it clamped in place. The heat can also be especially damaging to finer hair. .
So, unique problems like these need unique designs to address them. The CHI Spin N Curl is a shape like no other you’ve seen before. It can only be described as a flame or tulip-like tool.
It has a chamber at the very top, and the way it works is by feeding your hair sideways into the chamber so it can automatically spin and curl your hair.
It also makes it a whole lot easier to wrap fine hair around a barrel, unlike the more traditionally designed options out there.
This also has a small 1-inch barrel which makes it the perfect thickness for fine hair to be fully wrapped around it.
It has three different preset temperatures that work well for fine, medium and coarse hair. It also has different time settings you can experiment with for different waves, ringlets and curls.
Pros:
- Can be used on fine hair
- Multiple settings
Cons:
- Might take longer to use on long, thick hair
Best automatic curling iron for thick hair – KISS Instawave Automatic Curler
Thick hair can sometimes be such a pain to curl. The results are always gorgeous for sure. But to get through thick hair fast, you’ll need a curling iron with a big barrel and high heat.
The KISS Instawave does both of those things perfectly. With a 1.25-inch barrel, the Instawave Automatic curler can take bigger sections of hair at a time compared to smaller curling irons with say, a 1-inch or half-inch iron.
It also heats up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, making it ideal for curling very thick hair that requires more heat, without being too hot and dangerous like other professional tools can be when put to everyday use.
The barrel is also coated with ceramic which makes for the shiniest, glossiest curls that don’t leave your locks parched.
If you’re going for a more textured, relaxed look, try out the 2-directional spinner that makes perfect waves and curls in just about any direction.
Pros:
- Barrel is a versatile size for both curls and waves
Cons:
- May not work well on thick but short hair
Best cordless automatic curling iron – Conair Unbound Cordless Auto Curler
Now that you know exactly how automatic curling irons can cut out half the work, do you think they can possibly be made more convenient? Well, the Conair Unbound Cordless Curler is going to be the answer to that.
Imagine the ease of using an automatic curling iron, minus the hassle of having to plug it in! You can take it anywhere with you and conveniently curl your hair, retouch in between events, or just chuck it into your bag if you’re trying to beat the morning rush.
It’s also a type of curler that challenges the typic barrel design. This tool looks like a cylinder and has a chamber that serves as your curling iron.
All you have to do is gently lead the end of your sectioned hair into the chamber, and ta-da! It does all the work for you.
In the chamber, it twirls your hair around the barrel, and depending on the timer, you can create anything from tight ringlets to soft waves.
It also has different heat settings that can work for just about any hair texture.
The only downside is probably the fact that you have to charge this overnight to get it to its maximum 1-hour unplugged use. But hey, that’s the price of the extra convenience you get from this tool.
Pros:
- Multiple heat and timer settings
- Portable and compact
Cons:
- Long charging time
- Only 60 minute-unplugged use
Best automatic curling iron for short hair – BaBylissPRO Professional Curl Machine
Now, at first glance, the BaByliss Professional Curl Machine might not look like your run of the mill curling iron. You might look at it and wonder, “Where the heck is the barrel?”
Well, it doesn’t have one! Not a very traditional one, at least. This may need a couple of tutorials before you get it down to a routine that you like best, but it’s fairly simple to use.
All you have to do is to hold it with the “open side” facing you. Then, feed a 1.5-inch por smaller section of hair into it and close the clamp. Then, all you have to do is to run the curling machine down the entire length of your hair. Voila! Perfect curls.
You might be wondering, does this really do anything to improve the quality of your curls, or is it just another gimmick to try and help them stand out from all the rest?
The unique design actually serves a pretty unique purpose as well. Unlike traditional barrels which have clamps to hold your hair against the iron, this one doesn’t.
The problem with clamps, especially with short hair, is that shorter hair can be a lot harder to wrap around a barrel completely. The end result? Burnt fingers, a scalded head–none of these are good news.
This is why the Babyliss design is revolutionary as this particular shape gets rid of the barrel completely and just like magic, curls even the finest and shortest hair.
They’ve also paired this with technology that’s already tested and proven in the realm of hair styling–such as titanium plates for quick, but even heating.
Pros:
- Easy to use on short hair
- More compact than traditional irons
Cons:
- May take longer to use on thick hair
- Only creates tighter curls
Best automatic curling iron for long hair – SalonTech Spinstyle PRO Automatic Curling Iron
I’m sure for a lot of long-haired people out there, curling your hair can be a bit of a struggle. It takes a while to wrap your hair around the barrel perfectly, and along the way there can be some unwanted pulls and snags.
Well, the automatic curling iron trend is the one for you to hop onto. A bigger barrel like the one on the SalonTech curling iron is going to make your life so much easier.
With longer hair, a bigger barrel means you won’t need to spend as much time trying to wrap each section around the iron with each pass.
The 1.25-inch barrel is also the most versatile for longer hair, still letting you do tighter curls if you wanted to, while also keeping the option open for waves that are bigger and more relaxed.
It’s also guaranteed glossy locks with this one, with the ceramic coating giving shiny hair with your curls.
Pros:
- Versatile barrel size
Cons:
- May not work on thin hair
Best automatic curling iron for long thick hair – MIRACOMB Hair Curler
Maybe you’re the type of person blessed with luscious, long thick hair. While having long thick hair is usually something people envy, it can definitely be a pain when it comes to curling.
Not all curlers are thick or long enough to make it easier for you to curl your hair. Hence having to work in smaller sections for an even longer period of time.
The MIRACOMB Hair Curler is going to be a gamechanger for your hair. It has a pretty thick barrel already–1.25 inches to be exact. But the real star of the show here is its length.
It has an extra long barrel, giving you more room to take in the entire length of a section, without having to work in tiny pieces at a time.
It has 9 different temperature settings too! That’s double, or triple the usual number on standard curlers. So, whether you need some gentle heat, or need to go full blast on your thick hair, there’s a perfect temperature for you.
Pros:
- Extra long wand
- Automatic shut off
- Smoothing ceramic barrel
Cons:
- Can only create looser curls
FAQs:
Do automatic curling irons work on long hair?
Absolutely! Just about any hair length, except very very short hair can get a lot of good use out of automatic curling irons. It all depends on the type of iron you use. For longer hair, the traditional clamp and barrel style would be best.
If you can find a barrel that’s 1.25-inch or bigger, it’ll make it a lot easier and less of an arm workout for you too!
Are auto curlers bad for your hair?
Automatic curlers are just like any other heat product. They might look and function differently, but at the end of the day, they are still heated irons for your hair.
The best way to prevent damage is to use a heat protectant, and to make sure that the temperature you use isn’t one that will damage your hair.
Plus, you can also try and use them sparingly, not everyday, if possible to prevent further heat damage.
With the added convenience of the automatic quality of these curlers can be tangles, snags and pulls if you don’t use the tools properly. So, make sure to read up on the instructions and follow them closely when you give these auto curlers a try.
So, if you want to turn your hair curling from achy arm workouts to easy, quick passes of a wand, then the automatic hair curler trend is one that’s here to stay.