Beachwaver B1

Beachwaver B1 — Rotating Curling Iron, 1-Inch Barrel

Get salon-quality beachy waves in half the time. The B1 is our most popular barrel size , invented by celebrity hairstylist Sarah Potempa for everyday women who want twice the curls without wrist-turning. How it works: Place hair in the short, beveled clamp. Press the button to rotate curls left or right — release to stop. Works on all hair types, lengths, and textures.

Key specs: 3 heat settings (290°F, 350°F, 410°F) to dial in the perfect temperature for fine, thick, or color-treated hair.

Why it wins: No kinks, thanks to the rotating mechanism and beveled clamp design. Control loose beachy waves, tight ringlets, or blowout texture. 2 million sold. Reg. MSRP $99.

Questions we get asked

Is a rotating curling iron actually better than a regular one?

Yes, and in two different ways depending on whose hair you're doing.

On your own hair, a normal iron is awkward for a reason nobody says out loud: you're holding it upside down and backwards. That's the problem it was invented for. Our founder Sarah Potempa is a working hairdresser, and when a beauty editor asked her how to get beachy waves at home she realised the honest answer was 'stand behind yourself', which isn't possible. So she sketched a barrel that wraps the hair for you. You clamp, hold an arrow, and it turns — either direction, one hand.

On someone else's hair it saves your wrist, and that's not a small thing if you're doing more than one head. With a normal barrel you rotate your whole forearm for every section. We found this out backstage at our first New York Fashion Week doing roller sets and 1940s hair: nobody had to turn a wrist and the team finished thirty minutes early. Sarah still uses it on celebrity clients every week, and on her own daughter, which is the real test.

Is it a professional tool? Can I use it on clients?

It's used on runways and on celebrity clients every week, and it started in a salon rather than a lab — Sarah invented it as a hairdresser, for hairdressers and for everyone else. Two things make it worth having behind the chair. It's faster per section once you stop rotating your arm, which compounds across a full day. And the barrel turns in both directions, so you can mirror the curl on each side of the face without switching hands.

If you're working professionally, the Pro Series is the one to look at: 310°F (154°C) to 450°F (232°C) on a digital display, so you set an exact temperature for each client instead of choosing between three.

Can I use it on my child's hair?

Sarah does, on her own daughter. Two things make it easier on a wriggly head than a normal iron: you only need one hand, so the other stays free, and the rotation only runs while you hold the arrow down — let go and it stops immediately. Use the lowest setting, 290°F (143°C), on young or fine hair, work with a heat protectant , and there's a 30-minute automatic shut-off and a cool safety tip at the end of the barrel. As with any heated tool, an adult should be the one holding it.