On the evening of October 10, 2018, Dyson unveiled the Airwrap in New York. Stylist reported that it had been six years in development, and called it a tool designed for wet hair, for "voluminous curls, natural waves and smooth blow-dry finishes", the first tool of its kind. Its trick was the Coanda effect: a spinning vortex of air around cylindrical barrels that draws hair in and wraps it. The whole idea is one handle, many attachments.

That is the detail that defines it, and it is the detail this Dyson Airwrap dupe edit is built around. Dyson says it took approximately 500 prototypes to perfect the curling barrels, which tells you how hard the barrel is to get right. So what follows is not the original. These are pieces from other labels that share that auto-wrap idea, or the one-handle, many-attachments idea, so you can get the look of a barrel that does the wrapping for you.

Start with Shark. The FlexStyle in Stone is a white and gold handle with two auto-wrap curlers, an oval brush, a paddle brush and a concentrator, and one twist flexes it from dryer to styler. The Glam in gold adds a diffuser and a wide-tooth comb, which I would want for waves on curlier hair. The T3 Aire 360 in champagne has ceramic CeraGloss barrels rather than plastic, plus a round brush and concentrator, and it is dual voltage for travel.

Then there are the single curlers. The Conair Auto Curl in lavender and white wraps strands with 360-degree surround airflow, and the Laifen AutoCurl in pink pulls hair into an open slot. For October, I would pair a loose, wrapped curl with a chunky knit and a slip skirt. Check one thing before you commit: whether the barrel sits left and right or switches direction, because that decides how many passes the back of your head takes

Brush attachments are the other half of the Airwrap story, and a hot air brush is the simplest way to get that dry-and-shape step in a single tool. The Revlon One-Step Volumizer PLUS 2.0 in pink is an oval brush with an ionic bristle barrel that dries and volumizes in one pass. The Conair INFINITI PRO LED Infrared in cream and pink dries with gentle heat and has a red-lit barrel, which I find oddly reassuring.

The BaBylissPRO pair is where the materials get interesting. The compact Nano Titanium in blue is made for drying and styling on the go, and the 2 1/2 inch oval combines nylon and boar bristles. Pairing nylon with boar is the detail I would look for on any brush that wants to read as a styling brush and not a plain dryer.

The TYMO Volumizer has a rose gold titanium barrel that generates negative ions and infrared heat, and the oval barrel is shaped for root lift. The Hot Tools 24K Gold in gold and black is a single-step brush with consistent heat.

Test it in your hand: the barrel should turn smoothly through a section and the bristles should feel dense, not sparse. What I would skip: a brush with a barrel narrower than your usual round brush if your hair is long, since you will be there all morning.

Dyson's hair care story began with a dryer: the Supersonic arrived in 2016, two years before the Airwrap. So a dryer with real attachments is a fair relative. The Shark SpeedStyle in black has three attachments, and the ProFlex in Strawberry Matcha, pink and green, comes with four.

The Laifen SE2 in white has three magnetic nozzles, which I would call the detail that sells it, because attachments that snap on stay on. The Laifen Swift Premium in navy and gold comes with a diffuser, a concentrator nozzle and a carry bag, and it reads like something you could pack for a long weekend.

For a softer look, the T3 Aire IQ in rose has two concentrator nozzles and a diffuser, and it adjusts heat and airflow to your hair and the attached nozzle. The Conair DigitalAIRE 2.0 in navy is dual voltage and travels light, and the TYMO Boost in champagne pink is a brushless 1875W dryer with a nozzle, comb attachment and diffuser.

Check that the nozzle clicks on firmly and that the diffuser has enough prongs to spread air over curls. Pair the dryer with a round brush for volume, or a diffuser for waves. What I would skip: a dryer whose nozzle you cannot take off to clean the filter.

Yellow is the thing you notice first with Drybar. The Single Shot in yellow is a round blow-dryer brush for a smooth blowout with volume in one step, and the Double Shot is the oval version that combines the hot air of a blow dryer with a round brush. I would reach for the oval on fine hair that wants a long, smooth line.

If a classic round shape is what you want, the Revlon Root Booster in black and pink has a 1.5 inch barrel that dries, boosts roots and creates bold styles. The T3 AireBrush Round has EvenFlow technology and a silver barrel, and the Hot Tools Black Gold has a detachable gold-toned barrel that gets close to the roots.

The ghd Duet Blow Dry in white dries and shapes at the same time for a smooth, bouncy finish. The Shark Glossi in Lychee is a pink round brush that works as a blow dryer brush and a hot tool, and the Conair 2 Inch Frizz Free in rose gold has ionic technology and large bristles.

Fit the barrel to your length: a 1.5 inch for shorter cuts, 2 inches for long hair. What I would skip: a barrel that is too small, because you will be winding the same piece three times in October humidity.

Every Airwrap story has a smoothing step, and these are the tools that do it with a flat or a brush. The Shark SilkiPro in Rose Petal is a 3-in-1 wet-to-dry straightener, styler and dryer, and it comes with comb attachments, so it feels closest to the one-handle idea.

The BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Compact straightening brush in blue has a Nano Titanium plate and black teeth, and it is small enough for a gym bag. The Drybar Brush Crush in yellow combines the heat of a flat iron with the structure of a paddle brush. The ghd Glide is a ceramic hot brush with an ionizer that smooths dry hair, and the Conair Smoothing and Straightening Brush has Tension Control Technology and tourmaline ceramic heat.

The Revlon Smoothstay XL is an extra-large heated brush for straightening and smoothing, and the Dreame Silky is cordless with an LED temperature display and a travel case. The Conair INFINITI PRO Infrared straightener has long narrow floating plates and ceramic plates.

Run a hand over the plates or teeth: smooth ceramic, no snagging, and a heat display if you can get one. What I would skip: a brush that is far wider than your sections, because you cannot smooth around the face. I would pair a sleek section with a trench and a cashmere scarf.

I would start with the barrel, since that is the part Dyson spent years on. If you want auto-wrap curls, pick a Shark FlexStyle or the T3 Aire 360 and decide whether you want the ceramic barrels. If you mostly want volume and smoothness, a hot air brush or a round brush dryer covers it.

Then I would add a dryer with attachments for the in-between mornings. The Airwrap began as one handle that did a lot, and that is still the best test for any Dyson Airwrap look-alike: does one tool let you finish the whole look. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Thermal Brush Guide and Dyson Airsmooth.