By Patrick Avenell

VS Sassoon has unveiled the latest personal care appliance to continue its rich heritage of innovation in men’s and women’s grooming. Called ‘Curl Secret’, this unit promises to simplify the curling process so naturally straight hair can be transformed into on-trend locks in seconds.

Australian distributor Conair claims this is the latest in a series of hair care revolutions pioneered by VS Sassoon, which includes the Goddess Straightener in 2008, the You Curl in 2009 and the Big Hair Styler in 2011.

While it has become common for straighteners to be used to curl hair, this method can be tiresome and lead to burns, said Conair marketing manager Peter Brewer. He also said it was not a truly effective system, because the tips of long hair will often miss out on the curling, leading to what he calls the ‘hook effect’.

The Curl Secret works by drawing the entire length of hair into a circular chamber, where heat is applied to condition curls into the hair. A few seconds later, a tone sounds and curly hair is released.

The user can choose how curly they want their hair to be — defined corkscrew curls, natural waves or soft and loose, for example — and adjust the amount of time in the chamber to bring about that effect.

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It is fair to say the Curl Secret is one of the more peculiar looking appliances on the market. We here at Current.com.au were very curious to see it in action. Brewer obliged, giving us the opportunity to use the Curl Secret on a hirsute mannequin at Conair’s head office in Sydney.

There is no doubt the Curl Secret performs the task it promises. It takes you by surprise in the way it winds the hair into the chamber using its twisting mechanism and the curls it produces are very pronounced.

Brewer said the Curl Secret works best with medium to long hair and will come with a heat protection mat and a soft storage pouch included in the box.

This is definitely a personal care appliance that will require some level of demonstration for potential consumers being introduced to the system in-store.

Brewer has put together a comprehensive marketing program including TV advertising, print ads, social media and point-of-sale in an attempt to get the heavy lifting done before the consumer hits the shop floor.

Here is an example of how Conair will be promoting the Curl Secret, which will be out in late October for RRP $172: