If you’re anything like me, when it comes to the latest trends in black hair, or DIY tuitorials, YouTube is literally my BFF.

Since my freshman year in college, the video sharing site has been my daily go-to on the latest trends in natural hair styles, weaves, and product reviews since my eye opening discovery that there was actually helpful information there beyond ‘Scarlett Takes a Tumble’ remixes.

After receiving confirmation from the latest vid on my subscription list by the beautiful Antoinette of coily-haired duo Around the Way Curls, it’s clear that one particular tool is slowly, but surely making its rounds as one of the best hair discoveries of 2012: the curling wand.

The wand (which is very similar to a curling iron, except without the clip that secures your hair) can be used to manually create full, flowing curls of your own desired size and style.

Benefits of using the wand, per WiseGeek, include:

• The ability to curl the hair closer to the roots. Unlike a clip curling iron, which is used by wrapping the hair around the barrel from the ends up toward the roots, a ceramic curling wand is typically used by wrapping the hair around the barrel starting at the roots and working down to the ends, making it easier to get the wand as close to the roots as possible.
• The hair is not clamped to the barrel. This practically eliminates the possibility of unsightly kinks developing in the hair, providing a perfectly-shaped, uniform curl every time. In addition to this, not being able to clamp the hair in the wand makes it highly unlikely that it will become tangled up in the ceramic curling wand, reducing the chances of severe damage.
• The unique shape of a ceramic curling wand makes it possible for each individual product to provide a wide range of barrel sizes. As there is no clip to work around, many curling wands have detachable barrels, making it easy to switch out different sizes. Rather than have two to three different curling irons to achieve different styles, a ceramic curling wand allows one to have one product with two to three different barrels to achieve the same looks.

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Peep a few shots of Antoinette’s results using the wand on her finely textured curly tresses below. Also, a full tutorial of her curling process can be viewed here.

Will you take part in the wanding trend this winter season?