The Right Way To Blow-Dry Your Hair

Why is it that my hairstylist can work wonders with my hair but when I try it at home it looks a little different? Perhaps because she knows the right way to use a blow-dryer? I'm going to give these tips a try.

Get the Tools
The right dryer : Don’t distort curls with too much power―1,400 watts is enough. Curls don’t call for a high temperature, either. Stick with the low and medium settings for temperature and air. Medium heat is best for pre-drying hair. High heat manipulates your hair’s shape, and air sets a style.

Nozzle/Diffuser: Don’t discard this. It is key to a smooth look and keeps hair from getting too close to the heat.

Round brush or paddle brush: Straighten strands, make ends flip, or create waves with this tool. The bigger the surface area of a brush, the faster the drying time. Use a great brush – boars bristle brushes will give you shine, nylon brushes will give you control.

Use the Right Styling Products
Fine and thin strands do better with lighter products such as mousse or gel mousse combinations.

Medium textured hair can behave well with lighter products such as mousse or gel mousse as well as with regular gel, glaze, liquids and creams.

Thickly textured hair needs heavier products such as extra strength mousse, gel, creams or wax.

*A general rule of thumb – the finer your hair, the less product you can use.

*Keep in mind that the less styling products that you use, the softer the set.

Straight Hair
Step 1: Pre-dry and Section
• After toweling your wet hair, set your dryer on medium heat. Blow hair until it’s 80 percent dry.
• Gather the hair on top of your crown and secure it with a clip. Begin drying the lower layers with a brush, using more heat. Point the dryer’s nozzle downward to help smooth hair and create shine.

Step 2: Dry Top Layers
• Remove the clip and use it to hold the now-dry lower layers back and away
• Blow-dry the top section. Aim at the roots to add volume, then work toward the ends, using the brush to pull hair forward and out.

Step 3: Shape Ends and Finish
• Remove the clip. Flip all hair back. Part and dry hair around the forehead.
• Blast with heat, and set with cold air. For a straight finish mist with hair spray.

Curly Hair
Step 1: Apply Leave-in Conditioner
• After applying a leave-in conditioner through wet (but not sopping) strands, flip most of your hair to one side. With your fingers, work it into four manageable sections, from roots down to tips. Finally, hold the ends, shake your hands from side to side, then release to allow curls to spring back up to the roots.

Step 2: Diffuse at the Roots
• Set your dryer to low or medium heat.
• Place the diffuser right at the roots, starting at the nape of your neck. Gently hold ends away from the dryer, letting them dry naturally (blow-drying curly ends, which tend to be dehydrated, makes them frizzy). Move the diffuser around until all roots are dry.

Step 3: Smooth and Finish
• Put a pea-size drop of pomade on your palm and rub your hands together.
• Grasp your hair in front, as if you were sweeping it into a ponytail, and run your hands from the hairline to the ends. Then let the curls go. Massage your scalp at the roots to add fullness.
• Naturally curly strands should be touched as little as possible by the hands and fingers when diffusing or drying.

A Few More Tips
*Allow plenty of time to blow dry so that you create your dream style. Speed blow drying can cause frizz and other issues to pop up.
*Use a heat protectant product if hair is prone to damage.
*If your hair is prone to frizz, keep your fingers out of your hair until it is 100% dry.
*Finishing a section with a blast of cool/cold air from the blow dryer will help to close the newly created texture or lock in the straightness of the section.
*Always try and use the dryer downwards because using it upwards can cause frizzy hair.
*To control static in your hair, spray hairspray on your hairbrush and brush it through your hair from the roots to the ends.
*Begin styling the hair when the scalp is completely dry and 80% of the hair is dry. (I never have time to do this...)
*Get rid of any blow dryer older than five years. The older the blow dryer, the higher the chance that the temperature gauge is damaged.
*Give your hair a break once in awhile and let it just dry naturally.

If you follow these tips, you should have celebrity-styled hair right?