Does It Really Do That? Air Curler & Curl Secret

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Moving into the holidays, a lot of women look to change up their hairstyle a bit. You've probably seen commercials for products that claim to help as a lot of them have been running lately.

Many viewers wanted KDKA-TV Anchor/Does It Really Do That? reporter Jennifer Antkowiak to check out the Air Curler and Curl Secret to see if they really work.

Jen recruited a group of girls whose school activity requires them to spend some time on their hair - the St. Bart's JV Cheerleaders.

They wanted to cut down on the amount of time they spend styling their hair before games, and they need a style that lasts through a lot of cheering. They were excited and eager to help test these products.

The girls commented on having seen the Air Curler commercial, saying, "It really does look like a cotton candy machine." The Air Curler says it will spin your hair like a tornado to dry and curl it in seconds. The moms like the multi-tasking possibility.

The Air Curler is a plastic vent that's supposed to fit on all hair dryers. The instructions say to make sure your hair is clean, tangle-free, and damp. You're supposed to use medium heat, and then turn the setting to cool for a little bit at the end to set the curl. As directed, the girls section off some hair, and drop it in the Air Curler, making sure it doesn't come out the bottom. It takes a little bit to get the hang of it, but, Jen and the girls could see the hair spinning and curling. With one section done, what did our first tester think?

"It's pretty! It's pretty! I love it!" she says.

Several say that the results are better than what they expected. Everybody wanted a turn, so they kept curling. One of the moms who was helping, pointed out that even using the rubber band adapter to make sure the Air Curler fits, and stays on the hair dryer, it kept slipping off, and she felt like she had to constantly adjust the plastic vent attachment.

The instructions say results will vary, and Jen wanted to see how the Air Curler would work on different textures of hair. A girl with smooth, very straight, dark hair said it's hard for her to get a curl. The Air Curler gave her more of a loose wave, and it didn't stay in very long.

Another girl said she gets frustrated trying to tame her full, coarse, hair. She said it tends to get frizzy, and she was hoping for a nice smooth curl. She didn't get it with the Air Curler. It made her hair stand out in a way that made her laugh. "No way!" she said.

Those two girls definitely wanted to try again with another product, Curl Secret. It's a hand-held curling tool that's very different than a normal curling iron. It has a chamber that spins and curls the hair inside the unit. To use it, the directions say to make sure hair is clean, dry, and tangle-free. You section off some hair, place it across the Curl Secret, making sure that the side with the circle opening is closest to your head, and squeeze to close. Curl Secret sucks the hair up inside, and beeps to let you know when it's done. There are three settings that allow you to have a variety of loose and tight curls.

Does it work on our girls who struggle for curls?

Yes, it worked on both of the girls with different hair textures, and others who tried it, too.

So, Does it Really Do That? The Air Curler worked for some of the girls-and those girls, of course loved it. But, Curl Secret got more thumbs up, because it worked for everyone.

Jen pointed out there's quite a difference in price between the two products: about $15 for the Air Curler, and around $100 for Curl Secret.

Both can be found online and in stores.

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