The festive season is fast approaching, and alongside shopping for Christmas gifts and advent calendars, we’re already thinking of hair and make-up ideas for the most social time of the year.

Whether you favour a little seasonal sparkle, or like to treat yourself to some skincare TLC, one thing’s for sure, social soirées are an excellent excuse for going all out with bright lipstick or a new hairdo.

It’s even better when you can achieve that party-hair look at home, which is why we’re always keen to find tools offering easy, salon-quality results, from straighteners and curlers to hot brushes and rollers. Plus, finding a hair styler go-to means avoiding expensive salon trips (hopefully).

Which is why we were intrigued by BaByliss’s new hair tool: the wave secret air. Billed as being the way to achieve salon-worthy gently tousled hair, in keeping with the French-wave trend, it also promises to create a long-lasting curl. Designed to suit all hair textures, the tool has wrap, cool and curl technology.

BaByliss is already an IndyBest tried-and-tested brand – we’ve previously reviewed its straighteners, men’s hair clippers and hot brushes – but how does its latest offering fare? To find out, we’ve been trialling the wave secret air since its launch.

How we tested

We spent two weeks trialling the BaByliss wave secret air, using it for daily styling and evenings out. We closely examined the effect on hair, how easy it is to use and whether we’d incorporate it into our haircare routine on a regular basis going forwards – all while looking at the product’s price point. Read on for our full review.

BaByliss wave secret air

Heat settings: 180C, 200C, 230C

Cord length: 2.5m

Suitable for: All hair types

Included extras: Storage bag, heat-protection mat

The wave secret air comes complete with a drawstring pouch for storage and a heat-protection mat. Before use, it’s important your hair is clean, dry, combed and free from product, to get the best results.

It feels quite heavy compared with other curlers we’ve tried, but admittedly it does seem robust and hard-wearing. We were impressed by the design too, as the black body with a rose-gold metallic finish looks luxurious and befitting of the investment £150 price tag.

Following the instructions, we sectioned off our hair and popped a strand of approximately 3-5cm wide into the tool, with the open section facing towards our head. There are three heat settings to choose from –180C, 200C and 230C – and we opted to use it on the middle setting.

Pressing the handles together secured the strands in place, before it drew the hair into its ceramic curl chamber as the digital motor simultaneously made a whirring noise. A unique sensation at first, once the strands are in place, this stops and the bleeping starts. As we kept holding the tool shut, we listened out for four beeps in a row, which means it’s finished.

We then opened the handles, which activated the cool-air technology said to help set the wave. We released the strands and saw a gently teased, tousled wave. So far, so good.

Interestingly, there’s anti-tangle technology included too, and we’re told this means if hair isn’t placed correctly, is in poor condition, or isn’t combed through, sensors will detect and release the strands. It’s a reassuring element if you’re prone to hair-styling disasters.

Because of how quickly we got the knack of using the tool, it became a speedy process to work through a whole head of hair. Additionally, on days when we were in a rush, just adding a wave to a few sections was enough of a texture boost to make our hair look ‘done’. We also liked brushing the waves out for a fuller, more laidback look.

As promised, the cool-air feature did set our ‘do’, because the tousled waves remained in place all day. While we re-worked some sections before heading on an evening out, there wasn’t much need to, we just fancied freshening up.

This is a simple tool for a chic low-key look for party season and beyond, which we think would suit most hair lengths too.

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The verdict: BaByliss wave secret air

A hair tool that we found extremely simple to operate, the BaByliss wave secret air created easy, long-lasting waves in our hair. Although the £150 price is undeniably a considerable spend, it delivered on its performance claims and the effortless-style it created stayed put for hours on end.

Want more hair-styling options? Check out our Bellissima eight-in-one hot air styler review