Hair products on test: Cloud Nine micro hair wand :: Hair products

Carla wavy hair - Cloud Nine micro hair wand on test - hair products - beauty - allaboutyou.com

As a connoisseur of curling gadgets, I’ve tried out countless curling tongs and waving products to achieve silky-smooth, wavy locks, so when asked to try the Cloud Nine micro hair wand, I wholeheartedly jumped at the chance. I’m not a fan of the sleek, straightened look - I much prefer to create a relaxed groove in my hair - so any products that promise to achieve laid-back, tousled tresses are a huge help to my daily styling routine.

My hair already has a natural wave, so my locks usually react really well to heated products, sometimes a little too well – a few disastrous experiences with heated rollers come to mind where my hair has ended up in tight Victorian doll-esque ringlets. Not exactly the glam look I was going for. Despite a few hair-raising incidents, I’ve persevered with electronic products and have found my hair length (a mid-length bob) to wave really well with GHD straighteners. They’re simple, quick to use and I’ve become a bit of a dab hand at creating wavy locks in less than ten minutes, so they’re perfect for every day styling.

But if you want a more defined, sexy party look that creates a bit more of an impact, then the Cloud Nine micro hair wand is just the product for you. It’s designed for shorter hairstyles, so if your hair is longer than neck length, it doesn’t quite have the desired effect (there's a larger wand available for longer hair styles). On my mid-length bob, however, it worked like a dream. I love a messy, slightly tousled wave, rather than perfectly defined curls, so this product is great for the look I wanted to achieve.

The heated barrel heats up in seconds, with two different heat settings - both of which are extremely hot! I didn’t anticipate quite how warm the wand would get, and decided on my first attempt not to use the heat-resistant glove, which was a big mistake. I ended up with a nasty burn on my finger, so I’d absolutely recommend popping this on, as it helps to keep your hair firmly in place when twisting it around the barrel.

Shaped like a wand with a tapered end, the idea is to wrap small sections of your hair, starting from the wider section of the barrel, and wrapping in an upwards motion around the barrel (which should be pointed upwards) descending to the smaller, tapered section. If you’re after bouncy, loose curls then just use the thicker section of the wand, and similaraly if you’re after tight ringlets, keep your hair wrapped around the smaller end of the barrel. It only requires about 10 to 20 seconds to create a loose wave, so it’s not too time consuming to create the look you’re after.

Admittedly, I had to try this product a few times before I could quite master the technique. The first time I burnt myself, the second time I just couldn’t get to grips with curling my hair in an upwards motion – it felt slightly alien because I’m so used to using GHDs. However, the third and final ‘first’ attempt was thankfully successful and once I’d mastered the upwards hair-wrapping technique, it created a party-perfect defined wave that looked subtle but gorgeously glam.