Velcro rollers, sleep-in rollers, bendy rollers, heated rollers, ceramic curler, GHD, wand, gas curler.

The above is a (non-exhaustive) list of all the things I have tried along the way in my quest for the perfect curl.

So, when I was presented with a new product to try and it dared be called the Curl Secret, I wondered if it sounded too good to be true. You can see why, I’ve been let down before.

The BaByliss Curl Secret is the consumer version of professional tool the Perfect Curl, which hit the market earlier this year to acclaim, so BaByliss are clearly doing something right – but could this new tool transform my poker straight locks into a mass of soft, loose curls? Time would tell.

On sight, the Curl Secret is a surprise. It looks nothing like the curlers, or indeed straighteners, we’re used to seeing. Atop the handles sits a barrel-like chamber where the magic happens. In itself this is a little disconcerting, as you don’t actually see the act of curling taking place.

So we begin. As instructed, I separated my hair into small sections and taking one, I clamp down on the section near the root. The rest of the selected strand is then automatically drawn into the ceramic curl chamber where it is held and heated from all directions to form a curl. When it’s ready, I hear a trio of short quick beeps, and release to form a perfect curl.

It seems a bit too easy – what kind of witchcraft is this? But surely the back will be impossible? Not so. Yes, it is more difficult, as styling the back of your hair is with any tool, but the Curl Secret will only work if you have set up the curl properly – so if you’ve taken a chunk of hair that’s too big for the device, or you don’t have the strand inserted properly, you’ll hear a warning beep telling you to readjust.

BaByliss brought this product to market with a view to making curling as easy as straightening. While this might still be a piper dream (you wannabe straight-haired ladies have it so easy, this is without doubt the easiest and most effective means I’ve tried yet in my search for the perfect curl.

The product is not suitable for those with very long hair or hair extensions, but my hair is below shoulder-length and I can have a full head of curls down in fifteen minutes of less. That’s with limited practice too, so with more experience I’m confident I can knock a few more minutes off that time.

The Curl Secret has two heat settings and three timer settings for different. It takes one minute to heat up to a maximum temperature of 230°C, and safety settings means it will automatically shut-off after 60 minutes.

Her Thoughts: You may find the Perfect Curl slower going than a wand, but you’re less likely to burn yourself. It’s a better curling tool than a GHD, and it’s faster than any form of rollers. I found this tool to be just as easy to operate as they make it look, which is pretty foolproof. It’s not a cheap styler, but in our opinion it’s well worth the price tag, and the only difference from the professional product is one heat and one time setting, along with a lighter overall design and a lighter price tag to match. We’ve already put the word in with Santa for some of our similarly impressed friends and family members. With zero tangles and zero hassle, we're saying Perfect Curl? Pretty damn close. 

 

The Babyliss Perfect Curl is available now, €159.99, from Harvey Norman.