The Marcel wave was made with hot tongs, and it is widely credited to the French hairdresser Marcel Grateau in the 1870s. Sources split on whether it was 1872 or 1875, but they agree on the important part: a wave made with a heated iron and a practiced hand. Grateau later moved to the United States and, in 1905, received U.S. patent 806386 for a Curling-Iron. Every curl since has been some version of the same problem: getting heat and shape to agree with each other.

The Shark hair wrap is a newer answer. It is Shark's name in search for the FlexStyle auto-wrap curlers, the barrels that use airflow to pull a strand around themselves. The brand says they automatically wrap, curl and set hair with Coanda technology, which is a fancy way of saying a stream of air will follow a curved surface. If you have ever watched a leaf drift around the back of a spoon under a tap, you have seen a little of it. What I like is that your hand stops doing the difficult part.

The trick is to know which barrel and which head you are buying. The first grid has the pieces. The FlexStyle 1.25 inch Auto-Wrap Curlers are the classic size for loose, long waves, and the .95 inch pair is tighter. The IonCurl 1.25 Coanda Curlers are the newer generation, the IonCurl system in Lilac is the full set, and the IonCurl Oval Brush is the head for a smooth, rounded blow-dry before the curlers go in. Add the SpeedStyle DeFrizzFast Diffuser if your hair curls on its own, and the IonCurl Wide Tooth Comb or the SpeedStyle Lift & Stretch Wide-Tooth Comb if you want to start with smooth, well-dried hair.

Try this before you buy a new tool: wrap one section of hair around a plain one inch barrel, hold it for a few seconds, and let it cool fully before you touch it. That single curl tells you how your hair holds a shape, and that decides whether you want the fast air-wrap tool or a classic iron.

Shark's own curlers are not the only game in town, and TechRadar notes that air-wrap curls can be less consistent and shorter-lasting than tongs. So here is the other side of the shelf. T3's CurlWrap is an automatic rotating iron with a longer barrel, and the SinglePass Curl X is a 1.25 inch ceramic barrel that stays out of your way. Drybar's Wrap Party wand and its 3-Day Bender 1 inch digital iron are the friendly ones for anyone who wants a visible temperature setting. ghd's Chronos Curve is a tapered wand for a natural, varied curl, and the Bio Ionic Gold Pro and BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium 1 inch wands are the salon-style wands. Mane's Let's Bounce is the one for a bouncy, defined wave.

A pairing I like: use the air-wrap tool on the sections around your face, where you want the curl to look soft in a photograph, and a wand on the back, where a stronger curl will still be there at the end of the night.

What I would skip: a tapered wand if you have very short layers. It will give you a lot of curl at the ends and not much else.

Start with the simplest rule of heatless curls: the hair has to be almost dry, and it has to be set for long enough. Damp hair in a roller does not make a curl, it makes a very long morning.

Vero Lineage's Lift 12 roller and clip set is the structured option, built for volume at the crown and body through the lengths. Kitsch's Satin XL Flexi Rods are soft enough to sleep in, and a bendy rod gives a rounder, springier curl than a roller. Sleepy Tie's Medium and Large ties are the fabric ties you wrap hair around overnight for waves. The Steam Bar's Satin Sleep Bonnet then covers it all, so your pillow does not undo the work, and Slip's Silk Pillowcase is the softer surface for nights when the bonnet comes off.

Oribe's Hair Alchemy Heatless Styling Balm is a good companion for these methods, since a little product on the lengths is a sensible partner for a set that dries slowly. Crown Affair's Scrunchie No. 001 is the gentlest way to tie a shape up without a crease.

A pairing I like: flexi rods on slightly damp hair after a shower, then the bonnet, then a light shake out in the morning. The curl looks less like an appointment and more like you.

What I would skip: sleeping in tight rollers the night before a long flight. A soft rod or a tie will be kinder to your neck.

One habit to borrow from stylists: put the product in when the hair is damp, then leave it alone. Scrunch once, and resist the urge to touch it until it is dry, because touching is what makes curls frizz.

Mousse is the lightest way to add hold. RŌZ's Milk Styling Mousse and Crown Affair's Texturizing Air Dry Hair Mousse both suit waves that need lift without stiffness, and OUAI's Air Dry Foam does the same job for anyone who wants to leave the house with damp hair and a plan. dae's Dreamriser adds heat protection to a mousse, which is useful when you plan to blow-dry afterward.

For defined curls and coils, reach for a gel. Bounce Curl's Ceramide Jelly is a medium-hold jelly, Kérastase's Curl Manifesto is a gel-cream for a softer set, and Oribe's Curl Gelée is another medium-hold formula. Olaplex's No.10 Curl Defining gel is aimed at frizz. The brands describe them as hold and definition products, and I read that as an invitation to test, since your hair sets the rules.

A pairing I like: mousse at the roots for lift, and gel through the lengths for shape. Two products doing two jobs beats one doing both badly.

What I would skip: a strong-hold gel on hair you plan to brush out into waves. It will crunch and stay crunchy.

I think the Shark hair wrap is a good tool for people who have never been able to curl their own hair. It does the hard turn for you, and that is a real gift on a Tuesday morning. Start with the 1.25 inch curlers, use a heat protectant and a low setting, and let each curl cool before you touch it.

The brand says it regulates temperature for no heat damage, but I would still keep a protectant nearby, and the American Academy of Dermatology reminds us that excessive heat damages any hair type. Marcel Grateau had his tongs and a very steady hand. You have air that does the wrapping for you. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Dyson Airwrap Dupe and Curl Cream for Wavy Hair That Will Not Weigh Waves Down.