The invention relates to a curling iron (1) for forming curls or waves in hair, comprising a handle (2) and an attachment (3) connected thereto, wherein there are curl tongs (4) which extend in the axial direction of the attachment (3) and which are actuated using the handle (2). Essential to the invention is that the curl tongs (4) are movably mounted in the axial direction (5) of the curling iron (1) in order to be able to easily remove hairs wound around the attachment (3).