9 Best Curling Irons of 2025, Tested for All Hair Types

Curling irons and I have a complicated history. It’s a scarring relationship, built on burns, breakage, and the faint smell of singed hair. If you grew up in the early 2000s, you remember the cheap, clampy contraptions that left you with burnt fingertips, regrettable hairstyles, and—if you weren’t careful—a neck hickey that wasn’t from your high school boyfriend. But despite the occasional battle scars, curling irons have been a rite of girlhood. Bouncy ringlets for middle school plays, romantic waves for senior prom, a tousled blowout for graduation. The pursuit of the perfect curl is as old as civilization itself. The Romans wielded heated iron rods (calamistrum) to sculpt Venus-like spirals. Medieval wig wearers would bake their curls at the bakery, where they would wrap them inside a protective pastry cut and toss them into the oven. The Victorians, ever committed to aesthetic suffering, warmed their curling tongs over open flames for polished waves. A scorched strand here, a sear ... Read full article.