The Unger Report: Hollywood Hair

NPR producer Rob Sachs in his natural state, before going under the hot iron...

Day to Day's Brian Unger

From "Frampton Comes Alive" to radio diva -- Sachs after the hot iron treatment.

Dean Banowetz of Davenport, Iowa, is revolutionizing men's hairstyles. You may not know his name, but Banowetz styles the hair on every contestant on the hit TV show American Idol.

Day to Day investigative reporter Brian Unger and his intrepid producer Rob Sachs recently learned an important lesson about achieving success in Hollywood: it takes great hair, and a great stylist.

"Dude, I am so not just only hair," Banowetz insists. "I can be a friend, I can listen, I can take action on what needs to be done... not just hair. You know, hairdressers do hair, but I'm a little different, because I change lives, one head at a time."

Banowetz is a self-proclaimed "hair ho" who pulls down $2,500 a day. And he's pioneering a new process that straightens men's hair, using a utensil that resembles a set of salad tongs.

Sachs took the chair recently for a demonstration. In its natural state, Sachs' hair is an ideal candidate. "He has that long 'Frampton Comes Alive' look -- that tussled, mountain man look," Unger says.

After some work and a bit of sizzle, Sachs looks like... well, a diva -- a flat-haired, glamorous diva. To which Sachs replies: "I'm no diva, I work in radio."