I think I can say with a good degree of certainty that the volumising deep waver is going to be one of the most sought after hair tools this year. It doesn’t matter what hair trends influencers predicted last year - they had no way of knowing what marketing campaigns were in the pipeline or how consumers would react to them. Enter the TYMO Rovy deep waver - as seen on Facebook and just about everywhere else!
If your head hasn’t been turned yet, trust me, it will be. This is a tool that volumises the hair while it curls - even short hair - in as little as five minutes. It has built-in safety features, including a beep that tells you when a section of the hair is ‘done’. It heats up in seconds and has been designed to guard against burning. In fact, it’s so safe, you can use it up to the roots.
It’s not just the video demos that are engaging social media users. Happy customers are getting in on the act too. Check out the comment sections under Facebook ads and you will see women of all ages, from all over the UK and beyond sharing images of the looks they have created with the deep waver. It took me all of about a minute to decide I wanted one.
I’ve got long hair, but it’s quite limp. There’s no ‘movement’ or texture to it. Tousled beach waves, especially during the spring and summer, went from being a passing interest to: “I want hair like that!” In fact, I became obsessed with getting the TYMO deep waver literally overnight.
Unfortunately, there’s an issue with this product. It is sold by a US-based company and all advertising, even on social media, directs you to an American website. Yes, it does cater for UK consumers. In fact, TYMO has gone out of its way to welcome UK customers to its brand. However, there’s a shipping fee, one to two week delivery time and the potential to end up with an electrical product that has a US plug. While the company does offer a UK plug option, some people have ended up with the US one anyway.
Enter… Amazon, the only outlet in the UK officially selling the Tymo Rovy deep waver.
Where’s my deep waver?
Not only does Amazon sell the original TYMO Rovy deep waver, it also sells the Compact version which promises tighter curls and can be used on short as well as long hair. I wanted the Compact version, and (yippee!) it was a Prime item when I came across it. Price? £69.99 with free next-day delivery for Prime members. I had no hesitation in ordering one.
I ordered it on a Wednesday, which was perfect. It would arrive on Thursday, ready for me to use at the crack of dawn on the Friday - ahead of a Zoom meeting with two academics from the University of Sussex. They are leading a major research project into primary breast cancer patients’ journeys in terms of information and how they consume it. As a two-time primary breast cancer victim (I don’t like the word ‘survivor’), they wanted to talk to me. And… I wanted to look nice.
The important thing for me was to look healthy and fashionable. I didn’t want to come across as a has-been or someone who hasn’t properly recovered from all the treatments I’ve undergone. I wanted to convey the person I am on the inside via my appearance. Makeup is no-sweat, whereas my hair, on the other hand, is a bit of a challenge. I thought the deep waver would give my locks more of a youthful bounce.
But, it wasn’t to be…
My TYMO Rovy Compact deep waver was a no-show on Thursday. I finished work early and rushed home to ensure I didn’t miss ‘the Amazon man’. Sure enough, the van did pull up outside my house, but there was no big package. All he had for me was the heat protection spray I’d ordered to go with the waver.
I checked online and noted that there had been an issue getting the product from an Amazon facility in Bristol to the delivery depot in Exeter. I was disappointed, because I knew it wouldn’t arrive in time for my Zoom meeting. However, I was quite certain it would be delivered on Friday and that one day very soon I’d be rocking beach waves as I strutted out in my new ASOS borg coat.
Only, it wasn’t delivered on Friday. Or Saturday. Or Sunday. I got in touch with Amazon when it initially failed to arrive, and didn’t manage to glean much from a conversation I had with a very nice but, ultimately, unhelpful customer service agent. I woke up on Monday to see Amazon had given me one option - to request a refund. They said the deep waver was ‘possibly lost’, but didn’t invite me to re-order it. This led me to believe that the waver was probably out of stock. I mean, I couldn’t have been the only person desperate to get my hands on one. It’s a viral product!
I was absolutely fuming. Why couldn’t I have been told on the Thursday that it wasn’t coming, or was unlikely to come? I stayed in for three-and-a-half days, waiting for the deep waver to arrive! And, on each one of those days, I woke up with a little bit of hope. Granted, that hope faded rather quickly as each day wore on. Ever had a sinking feeling?
Onto my next port of call…
The Vinted deep waver scam
There are a lot of honest sellers on Vinted. I know because my daughter has bagged some real bargains on the platform. Unfortunately, it is also a recognised hang-out for scammers. Guess who encountered one on her very first purchase?
As a Vinted virgin, I wasn’t 100% sure how the site works but decided it was worth a shot. Maybe, just maybe, there was someone out there who had bought the TYMO Rovy Compact deep waver and decided mermaid hair wasn’t for them. I used the search bar to hunt down any listings.
Ta-dah! Immediately, there it was - the Compact deep waver. The seller’s reason for wanting to get rid of it? “Tried it once and it wasn’t for me.” Sounded good to me. But, hang on a minute, surely the price was wrong? Under £4!
This is a product that, even secondhand, I would expect to pay around £50 for. The price was suspicious. I decided to look at the seller’s profile. No proper name and no picture. They didn’t have any seller reviews, either. But they were selling other items, including clothing. I thought, You know what, I’m going to take a chance. I’ve got buyer protection, so what’s to lose?
I paid for the item and didn’t expect any movement on my order for some hours. I start work when it’s still dark, so the sale went through shortly after 4am. Would you believe it, literally less than five minutes later, I received a copy of the postage label! I know I’m not the only person in the world to work weird hours but, come on, what are the chances of that?
I knew I’d been scammed then. Later that day, I noticed Vinted had blocked the seller. There’s been no communication since. I guess, I need to wait seven days and then request a refund - while keeping an eye on the post for an empty box.
After two failed purchase attempts and a promptly cancelled Prime membership (which gave me a certain amount of satisfaction), I was faced with two options:
Buy the TYMO Rovy Compact deep waver from TYMO in America.
Look for a similar product that is easier to source in the UK.
The nuclear option
After so much disappointment, I decided to give up on the Compact deep waver. Hence the start of feverish online product searches. I have researched every single deep waver on the market - from the Babyliss Deep Waves waver to Mermade Hair’s Double Waver. I’ve scoured eBay, Argos, TikTok, catalogues, every supermarket chain, department stores, and beauty websites.
Needless to say, thanks to cookies, I’ll be seeing deep wavers every time I go online for months!
Bottom line? The one I’ve eventually plumped for has fantastic reviews, is one of the cheapest out there and, better still, it’s available from multiple outlets - including Tesco. I bought it directly from the brand on eBay. The cost? £12.99 with FREE delivery. What is it? The Envie Volume Waves deep waver.
This tool has four heat settings and can also be customised to create a variety of different beach waves. So I will have the tight curls I want (hopefully) while also having the option to go for looser ones, if I want to. I expect it to arrive within the next three days. I will post a review below with images. I have high hopes for this product, and it’s saved me a small fortune.
What's the difference between a hair waver and deep waver?
In case you don’t know, a deep waver is not a crimper. It uses an S or V-shaped curling mechanism to create clearly defined waves and curls. Because of their design, they can add volume to the hair. Original three-barrel wavers simply create a loose kink in the hair.
What a carry on this journey has been! I suppose I shouldn’t allow myself to be quite so influenced by online marketing. On this occasion, I’ve got a feeling I am just one of many thousands who have got the deep waver bug after seeing TYMO’s oh-so-effective advertising. It’s not a journey I would wish to repeat in a hurry.
Here’s to perfect, tousled beach waves and a gloriously long, hot summer!
Envie Volume Waves review
I ordered this product yesterday - and it arrived just after lunchtime today. Fantastic, considerng it cost me a mere £12.99 with free delivery. I can't fault the price or delivery.
The waver has been thoughtfully designed. It has a twist locking mechanism to open and close the barrels, a choice of heat settings and button-slide wave styles. The grey and Barbie pink colour theme is modern and striking.
I couldn't wait to give it a try. I washed and conditioned my hair (using PLouise Hair To The Throne products, of course!). I then applied a heat protection spray before using a hairdryer. I left the ends of my hair to dry naturally.
Envie Beauty's Volume Waves waver took literally seconds to reach my chosen heat temperature - it goes all the way up to 210 degrees (UK). I went for one a little lower and chose a middle-size wave style. After pinning up the top layer of my hair, I got to work on the underneath.
This tool is fabulous. It's so easy to use and curls/waves the hair effortlessly with no burning or strange smells. I kept the flat side of the tool closest to my head to prevent burns. In total, I spent less than 10 minutes creating a full head of waves. The result: the beach waves I wanted. I finished my look with a drop of hair oil, which I rubbed into my fingers before lightly distributing it through the length of the waves.
To make them even more tousled, I am going to repeat the process when I next wash my hair but loosely twist each section of hair before putting it in the device and using a bigger wave setting.
I'm going to have a lot of fun using this waver. It's an absolute bargain and exactly what I was looking for. Seen those ads for a waver costing £70 or more? This one is a great alternative. It works. It's cheap. Best of all, it's really easy to use!
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