How to 'brush' up on your blow drying skills!

With the holiday season upon us, many of us have dinners and parties to attend, and visit with friends and family that we don’t always get to see. While scheduling a shampoo and blow dry styling with your hair stylist is usually the easiest way to get your hair looking beautiful for these events, not everyone has the time in their holiday schedule. Many of my clients lament to me that they’re just not happy with their hair when styling at home, and I’ve found over the years that a lot of people simply just don’t know how to blow dry their hair. Not knowing a few simple tips, can really make it a difficult endeavor! Here’s a quick breakdown to try and make it easier for you to do your own gorgeous blowout at home!

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PRODUCT FOR YOUR HAIR TYPE IS IMPORTANT TO MAKING YOUR STYLE LAST!

Adding a mousse will help to hold your style longer, as will a blowout spray or bodifying lotion. (Bodifying lotion is my new favorite product for almost anyone, it adds softs, shiny body, AND eliminates frizz without being heavy or sticky!)  A serum will help with very unruly or dry, dull hair. You can always ‘cocktail’ and add a serum to your handful of mousse before applying to your hair. Some of my favorite mousses are Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Hydrocream Whip, or Paul Mitchell Extra Body Foam; I believe that Suave also has an extra body foam out, that a lot of my clients seem to like, and for half the price. As for a blowout spray, Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Hydromist Blowout Spray is amazing! This is suggested for someone with fine hair, no frizz, with a lack of natural body. Lastly, my favorite bodifying lotion is Body Me, which is a new OSIS Schwarzkopf product. My all-time favorite serum is Paul Mitchell Super Skinny. All should be available in salons, and Suave at your local drugstore.

INVESTING IN A GOOD BRUSH WILL SAVE YOU TIME AND FRUSTRATION!

A brush is very important when drying your hair. Long straight hair, a paddle brush can do the trick. Although, most women are looking for more body than what a paddle brush can provide. I suggest a ceramic brush, this brush will heat up easily, and add bounce. The smaller the brush, the more body you can get. (Too small, and you may get it stuck in longer hair!) If you pick a brush that is too large, you will still end up with fairly flat hair. An amazing invention for home styling that I’ve discovered is the hot air brush.  Instead of using your blow dryer and a separate brush, you can use the hot air brush. The air literally blows out of the brush itself, and you’ll have one hand free! I believe Sally Beauty Supply, Walmart, and Target carry these generally in the $25-$45 range. It’s a great little investment! They usually come with two different sized attachments for different lengths and styles of hair. Course or very curly hair usually benefits from the use of a natural bristle brush. They are a little more expensive than a ceramic brush, but will smooth much better and add a lot more shine to your hair!

STEPS TO A GORGEOUS BLOWDRY!

-Drying your hair with your fingers, 80%-90% before even whipping out that brush, can save you tons of time and frustration! You can flip your head upside down and dry away! (WARNING: Some types of extremely course or curly hair may not benefit from this!! Hair of that texture needs to be blown our strand by strand with extra concentration at the roots for optimum straightening!)

-If you have bangs or a cowlick on the front of your head, I would suggest styling those with a brush right away before finger drying the rest in order to avoid them drying in an unwanted direction, as sometimes they can be stubborn!

-Use Clips! I find butterfly clips the easiest, and they can hold the most hair up securely. ($2.00 for a package of 10 clips at Sally Beauty Supply) Clipping your hair into sections after finger drying will keep the sections that you are not currently concentrating on out of your way. Taking a 1-2 inch section of hair all around your head, and let the rest get clipped up and out of your way. Dry each section, and continue your way up your head until you’re done.

                -Make sure each section is completely dry, damp hair will NOT hold a style, and will only fall as it dries!

                -When drying each section, be sure to point the blow dryer in a downward direction, blowing the hot hair from roots to ends. This will smooth down the cuticle of your hair and allow light to bounce off the hair, making it shiny. Blowing the strand upwards will open up the cuticle and cause more frizz.

                -Blasting the “cool” button on your dryer onto the strand after it is completely dry for a few seconds helps to shine and style in.

For longer, layered hair, dry the very top section of your head, then throw 3 or 4 Velcro rollers into the top. ($2-$12 a package at Walmart or CVS) Put them in rolling the hair back and blast with hot air from the dryer, and then blast with cool air for a few seconds. Use a tiny spritz of hairspray (don’t overdo it and get the rollers stuck!), and take a few minutes to put your makeup on or brush your teeth, then take them out.

Beautiful bouncy, salon hair that you did at home on your own!!

Have a wonderful holiday season everyone!!