The T3 CurlWrap vs. The Beachwaver: I Put These Two Self-Curling Irons to the Test

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Published Aug 8, 2024

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Olivia Dubyak for PureWow

When it comes to curling irons, I have always been a bigger fan of wand styles than ones with clamps to hold your hair in place, simply because the latter's more time-consuming. But then I kept seeing the Beachwaver ($99) all over TikTok and found the twist-free, auto-rotating design absolutely magical. It took the basic curling wand to the next level. Yes, there's a tiny clamp, but the fact that it spins for you seemed like a serious time-saver. I eventually decided I must give it a shot to see how it works in real life.

Then, T3 released their version of the automatic curling iron, called the T3 CurlWrap (was $200, now $130). Their version has a bunch more bells and whistles (including a curl timer that beeps when it's time to release your curl) and is admittedly a little cuter. I was equally intrigued. But which of these hair tools actually performs better? Let's find out.

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beachwaver vs t3 curlwrap review product shots

Olivia Dubyak for PureWow

Both the Beachwaver and the T3 CurlWrap have the same general design to curl your hair with automatic rotation technology so you don't have to do any twisting yourself. They each have buttons to rotate your hair left or right, with a clamp release to let down the curl when it's done. Personally, I think every brand should have a curling tool like this because, once you get the hang of it, it takes a lot of effort out of the wrist work (which I appreciate, since I type all day).

Beachwaver

The Beachwaver

What I Like

curls stay in tact for a long time
affordable
three heat levels
ceramic barrel
heats quickly

What I Don't Like

cord is hard to stretch out
clamp can kink hair easily
difficult to get the hang of

Beachwaver

Value: 20/20
Functionality: 18/20
Ease of Use: 18/20
Aesthetic: 17/20
Curl Longevity: 19/20

Total: 92/100

My Review of the Beachwaver

Pros

The Beachwaver is the OG automatic rotating curling iron and has gained a huge following thanks to TikTok. It's very straightforward in design and only has three buttons: a power button and right/left arrows that let you choose which direction the barrel will spin in. It has a short clamp at the bottom of the barrel, so you can clamp in your hair (lightly, or else you'll end up with a crease), and then use the right or left arrow to wrap your hair. Then, you simply release the clamp to let down the curl and move on to the next section.

This curling iron has a ceramic barrel, which is great for smoothing frizziness, masking dead ends and making your hair look more moisturized and healthy. When I first started releasing the curls, I was a little worried because I used a 1-inch barrel, so they looked a little like Shirley Temple curls, which isn't my style. But I'm someone who has to let my hair cool and set for a while to ensure my curls stay in tact longer, so I trusted the process to the end. Once I ran my fingers through them about 20 minutes after I was fully curled, I was truly impressed with the results. They look very bouncy yet relaxed, and despite its name, not beachwavey, which I like when I'm wanting more of a curl. What I also love about the curling iron is how well it gets to the root of my hair so there's more volume.

The curls held up nicely through the day and still looked cute and in tact after five hours. Note: I used texture spray on my hair before I curled and then hairspray after I combed them out. The shape of the curls definitely fell after a couple of hours, but not enough where it changed the look of the style. In fact, I even slept on them, and the Beachwaver side still left me with some curl in the morning.

before and after beachwaver vs t3 curling irons

Olivia Dubyak for PureWow

Image 1: immediately after curling, image 2: 5 hours after curling (left side of hair: Beachwaver, right side of hair T3 CurlWrap)

Cons

There are a few flaws about the Beachwaver that caught my attention, like the cord, for instance. It's a very plasticky feeling cord that is hard to stretch out because when you wrap it up to store it, it keeps the shape of how it was bent. I can't stand fussing with hair tool cords, so this really irked me while I was styling.

My other big issue with the design is recentering the barrel. With every curl, the clamp needs to be at the top of the iron, and I have to manually turn it back to a start position. I would love if there were a reset setting to auto-turn it to the top to take that extra step out of the transition process to the next section of hair.

While I love the simplicity of this hair tool, it could benefit from a couple of setting options that let people better take advantage of all this curler has to offer. For example, an option to practice the clamp-and-turn process without heat while you learn to get the hang of the product would be phenomenal. On my first try, I had a ton of kinks and funky-shaped curls because I kept turning it the wrong way and moving the clamp too much.

This brings me to my final pet peeve: The clamp can make a deep kink on your hair if you just let the clamp sit the full way down on your ends. I found it looks much better to keep a light touch on the clamp release so it doesn't press down so harshly.

$99 at Beachwaver

$99 at Amazon

beachwaver vs t3 curling iron review t3 curlwrap

The T3 CurlWrap

T3

Value: 18/20
Functionality: 20/20
Ease of Use: 18/20
Aesthetic: 20/20
Curl Longevity: 17/20

Total: 93/100

I love all T3 straightening and blowdrying products, so I knew this was a must-try, especially given how much I loved the function of the Beachwaver. The CurlWrap is an automatic curler to the extreme. Literally, there are so many setting options, including nine temperatures, a home button to reset the barrel angle, a practice feature to try the curling process with no heat, a voice function to give you styling tips as you use it and a curl timer that beeps when it's time to release your curl.

The CeraGloss material the barrel is made from is so good at smoothing my hair, especially if I air-dried it and there are some frizzies. While the lengths of the barrels on both irons is 5.5 inches, the clamp on the T3 is a bit longer and wider, which is fantastic for longer and thicker hair.

When I first started out using the CurlWrap, I loved that I was able to use the practice mode on the tool so I could figure out how to properly use the arrows without any heat. This allowed me to get the curls done nicely right off the bat without any unnecessary creasing.

The curl results from this iron were very pretty and effortless looking. I ended up not combing them out with my fingers but more so just shaking them out to help them fall better. Because my curls don't stay as well with this curler, I didn't want to pull or mess with them too much to avoid any of them falling straight.

Cons

While the endless number of options and buttons on the tool are great in theory, sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming. After several uses, I really only use a couple of these buttons (aside from the power and barrel direction tool, which are musts, I still use the home reset button and one of the nine heat settings). I thought the timer was going to be something I used, but I realized I end up ignoring the beep and releasing the curl on my own intuition, based on how big or small the section I'm curling is.

There's something about this ceramic blend material that does two things I don't like: my hair slips out of the clamp more easily (especially if I'm using a smaller section), and my curls do not last as long as others, despite how pretty they look. I do get volume at the root upon just letting go of the curl, but by the time I finish my whole head, the volume at the roots has already deflated.

~~$200~~; $130 at T3

~~$200~~; $130 at Amazon

Bottom Line

If you have fine hair that does not hold curl all too well, your result with the T3 really will be the 10-minute version (yes, that was a Taylor Swift joke). I got more of a wavy, relaxed curl with this tool, which is great if that's what you're going for, but I personally wouldn't use this if I'm looking for a fully curled head to last me all night long. If you have coarse hair that needs some frizz taming, you are going to love the T3. My friend with thick, textured hair used this and wanted to steal it from me.

Fine-haired girlies who want a full curl, the Beachwaver is a great pick. While you don't get all the bells and whistles and cuter aesthetic than you do with the T3, the finished product will last you longer and look curlier (you can also get it in a 1.25-inch barrel, too).

It's clear that from the design and the curling result that these tools really were neck-and-neck, and the T3 was my number one pick overall because of how thoughtful the design is. Even though the curls didn't last in their fullest shape as long as they did with the Beachwaver, they still had a pretty, undone look. Personally, I will be using both of these tools depending on the look I'm going for, and no matter which you choose, you'll love the convenience of an auto-rotating curling iron.

Olivia Dubyak

Commerce Editor

Covers commerce content, including personal and collaborative reviews and product roundups across beauty, home, fashion and family verticals
More than 5 years of professional experience in journalism
Studied journalism at Duquesne University

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