Beauty Works Waver review: Get smooth, uniform waves at your own risk
The Beauty Works Waver creates uniform waves on any hair length but lacks one key safety feature
Pros
- Creates uniform waves
- Suitable for all hair lengths
- Excellent temperature range
Cons
- No safety shut-off
- Difficult technique to master
If you’re considering purchasing the Beauty Works hair waver, chances are you’ve seen an influx of endorsements from influencers praising its unmatched wave-ability. I, too, have heard the hype, so I was keen to get my hands on one and put it to the test.
Hair wavers cater to a specific niche: people who like to wear their hair wavy but don’t want to spend hours every day styling it using straighteners or curling wands. With hair wavers like the Beauty Works Waver, you get the same uniform waves every time and, with the right styling products, they can last for days. But is the Beauty Works waver really the best one you can buy?
As you’ll see, I was impressed by the sleek, even waves it produced, but there’s one important feature it lacks. It doesn’t have an automatic safety shut-off to prevent it from burning through energy or, worse, burning your house down if you forget to switch it off.
In my testing, I used the limited edition Molly-Mae waver kit, which comes in a different colour to the original model with extra clips and a comb; rest assured that the waving technology and design are exactly the same across both models.
Beauty Works Waver review: What do you get for the money?
The Beauty Works hair waver has a recommended retail price of £70, which is expensive compared with rivals such as the Remington Progloss 4-in-1 adjustable waver, which retails at £55. However, if you’re patient, you can grab one for as little as £46 when there’s a sale on.
The Works Waver uses three evenly sized 21mm interlocking barrels to clamp the hair into smooth “S” shape waves. The barrels can be opened by pressing the lever on the side of the styler and closed by simply releasing it. The ceramic-coated barrels are nothing out of the ordinary for modern heat-styling tools but they create smooth, frizz-free waves that last a few days before dropping out.
Unlike some hair-styling tools where temperature settings aren’t clearly labelled, the Beauty Works Waver has an LCD screen that displays the temperature. The temperature can be set using the plus and minus buttons below the screen on the handle and there’s a massive range to work with, between 80 and 220°C, adjustable in 5°C increments.
Once the desired temperature is set, the screen shows the current barrel temperature so you can tell when it’s ready for styling. There’s a huge amount of precise customisation here, making this waver suitable for any length, thickness and hair quality.
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Other handy features include an integrated heat stand that raises the barrels at an angle to prevent them from accidentally burning surfaces. There’s also a handy travel case included to protect it in storage.
The one big problem is there’s no safety shut-off. That means your styler won’t automatically turn itself off after a set amount of time if you accidentally leave it switched on; research from Electrical Safety First shows one in 12 women have made this mistake with heat-styling tools before. While the best-case scenario here is that you burn through more electricity than necessary, or you forget it’s switched on and burn yourself, the worst-case scenario is that it overheats and causes a fire. This, of course, is a massive safety concern, so we wouldn’t recommend this styler if you’re at all prone to forgetfulness.
At the time of writing, this waver is also available to buy in a limited edition colourway as part of a kit made in collaboration with influencer Molly-Mae. The waver kit comes with eight lightweight styling clips, a comb and a heat mat, as well as the usual carry case and waver, which features baby pink barrels, silver hardware and a palm leaf design. To clarify, the waver in the Molly-Mae waver kit is, hardware and features-wise, the same as the one reviewed here, but it does cost more at £90.
Beauty Works Waver review: What’s it like to use?
When testing the Beauty Works hair waver, I found it generally easy to get to grips with. It heated up to 180°C in 76 seconds, which allowed me to get styling very quickly. During styling, I held each wave down for eight to ten seconds before unclamping and moving the waver down the hair strand.
The styling process, in total, took around 20 minutes, and I found the waver reasonably comfortable to use, too. The lever mechanism has just the right amount of tension to hold the hair in place, while being light enough to open and close using a thumb or forefinger, meaning it was easy to operate one-handed.
And, having styled my hair at 180°C, I found the waves lasted two days without dropping, even with my relatively long and thick hair. That’s impressive, although other hair wavers, such as the Babyliss Deep Waves waver, gave longer-lasting results – these don’t create uniform “S” shaped waves, though, so it depends on what kind of look you’re aiming to achieve.
It isn’t without its problems, but these are, thankfully, not insurmountable. I initially found it tricky to see where to clamp the next set of waves because the triple-barrel design completely hides the hair while it’s clamped. With practice, however, I got used to it. I also found the opening was on the narrow side, so hair sometimes became caught on the way into the clamp.
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Beauty Works Waver review: Should you buy it?
If you want a foolproof way to achieve uniform waves, the Beauty Works Waver works well. It’s an effective, comfortable tool suitable for styling a huge range of hair types and lengths.
Unfortunately, it’s undermined in a fairly big way by the lack of automatic safety shut-off. That’s why, despite all its positive points, I can’t recommend this waver to everyone.
Don’t fret, though: if you’re as forgetful as I am, there are plenty of worthy alternatives on the market. Just take a look at our roundup of the best hair wavers for some great alternatives.