Within the past year or so, curling wands have been introduced to the ever-expanding hair styling industry and widely available in high street shops along with the hairdryers, straighteners, curling tongs etc. When I first set eyes on one of these curling wands I thought they were odd looking and couldn't quite work out how it would curl hair. Not long after I went to a friends birthday party and one of the girls had beautiful natural looking curls and when we got chatting I couldn't resist asking how she had created them. As i'm sure you have guessed, she had used a curling wand and told me how simple they were to use and how it is done. I knew from that point I needed to try one out as i've attempted to curl my hair using all sorts of methods and tools over the years and nothing ever seemed to turn out quite right. As it happened, this was around christmas time and I decided to ask my sister for it as a gift (she had been trying to get an idea out of me for weeks beforehand) and she kindly agreed, plus rather smugly she reminded me that she would be able to get me one from her hairdressing warehouse for cheaper as she's a member! (sisters eh!). So I left it up to her which one to pick as being a hairdresser I figured she would have a better idea of what would be good for my hair.

Christmas morning I recieved my gift, which was of course the Babyliss Conical Wand in the 25-13mm size. I was more than pleased with her choice and knowing me only too well she chose the pink one for me. It is also available in Black.

*What's included?*
Besides the pink conical wand, within the box you recieve two protective finger shields, a heat mat and a few leaflets telling you about the styler. The protective finger shields come in very handy as you use your fingers to hold the end of the hair whilst wrapping it around the wand and you will need your fingers to get rather close to the very hot barrel so these finger gloves really do prevent you from getting burnt fingers. I found them rather strange to use at first but after a while you get used to them.

*Features*
The conical wand has a 'safety cool tip' which is of course the tip of the wand, this does not get heated and is sometimes useful to rest your fingers on whilst holding the wrapped hair around the wand, although I found that with my mid-length hair I couldn't always reach the cool tip. The 25-13mm commercial grade porcelain barrel has an ultra-smooth surface for a shiny, glossy finish. The gradual barrel makes the curls fall more naturally than if it were to have an all one size barrel. One feature I particularly like about this conical wand is that it has 25 variable heat settings which makes it so versatile. People with all hair types can find a heat setting to suit their hair type, unfortunately I have rather thick hair so need a high setting myself. The different heat settings also make it easy to vary the looks of your curl, if you want a slight curl then a lower heat is better or for a more defined curl a higher heat would be better. There are heat ready indicator lights which flash red until it has reached your desired heat and then it will turn green to let you know it is ready for use. The wand does not take very long to heat up, even at the highest heat which I normally use. The wand has a comfort grip handle and salon length swivel cord.

*My experience*
Personally, I love the curls that the wand creates. They are very natural looking and it is easy to make loose angelic type curls. However, as I mentioned earlier in the review, I have mid-length, thick hair and I find that to create a whole head of curls with the conical wand takes quite a bit of time. I tend to use it mainly for special occasions or nights out as I just don't have the time or patience to do it on a daily basis. I would imagine that people with hair not as thick as mine would find it fine and it would probably take half the time to create a full head of curls. When wrapping the hair around the conical wand you need to be careful not to twist the hair with your hand as you put it on the wand (hard to explain) because this will leave you with kinks in your curl and bits which don't curl properly as the heat only got to the underside of the twisted hair. This sounds a little complicated but once you have used the wand for a while you will get the hang of it like I did.

*Price*
As I mentioned at the beginning of the review my sister purchased mine from a hairdressing warehouse where she got it cheaper as she is a member. However, Babyliss pro conicle wands are widely available. You can purchase the 25-13mm size wand from various shops at various prices, they range on Amazon from around the £21-£28 mark. There is also a bigger size, 32mm-19mm barrel wand available for around about the same price.

Overall, I good curling wand but prepare to take some time on it if you have thick hair.