Not so simple: How to dry hair with a hair dryer
Text: Daria Burkova
It would seem to dry the hair easier: turn on the hair dryer in the outlet, press the button and move your hand back and forth until the hair dries. Alas, in most cases, such a simple technique leads to the fact that the hair becomes too dry, and the styling can only be called creative. With each trip to the beauty salon, we look at how the master takes a hairdryer in the same way, and cannot understand how to repeat this magic at home.
The most meticulous people collect information during trips to the salon, ask the masters to place their hands (do it right the first time - on the verge of fantasy) and watch video tutorials on YouTube. The problem with hair dryer drying is so common that many salons even introduce both group and private lessons for clients who are taught - yes - yes - to drive them right and right. During practice, each acquires individual methods of taming hair and begins to understand how to direct the air, where to hold a hair dryer, and where - comb. Not everyone can take personal (and group lessons) on hair-drying with a hairdryer, and not everyone is ready to admit their own impotence. We understand what we did all our lives wrong and how to fix it.
Preliminary preparation
We know that makeup begins with skin preparation, and the same story with hair drying. Surely you observed in the salons endless manipulations with hair, which could seem to be a meaningless loss of time, a skillful circus for the entertainment of a client or just a hairdressing salon a mystery covered in darkness. In reality, all this is done for the right texture. Agree, on a well-peeled and moisturized skin tonal cream lies especially supple and smooth. The situation with hair is the same. And if you additionally use a primer for makeup (read - lotion for blow-drying), this will only add to the result of durability.
Beautiful hair styling begins with washing the head, applying conditioner and regular use of the mask. The task of the latter is to improve the quality of the hair from the inside (to restore, moisturize, sate - each according to needs), and the conditioner to smooth the hair cuticle, which is opened by shampoos and even masks. On the days when you use a mask, it is first applied to it, and only then - air conditioning. According to the top stylist Sebastian Professional Urban Design Team Rufad Akhundov, in most cases hairdressers offer moisturizing shampoos, conditioners and masks to clients of the salon. It is they who prepare the hair most qualitatively for the subsequent application of styling products and blow-drying.
This is especially important for creating curls with the help of a brush while drying hair: wet curls look more resilient and easier to style. In this case, the use of air conditioning is almost the most important step. The air flow should be directed parallel to the length of the hair, so that the air slides along the cuticle. If you pre-use conditioner, the hair after drying will be much smoother and shiny. But more about that later.
After washing
The most important thing to do right after washing your hair and applying all the necessary tools is to overcome the desire to twist hair under a turban from a towel. Yes, it is convenient. But on this the advantages of the ritual native to the heart end. The whole secret of beautiful styling in the smoothest possible cuticle, and coarse fibers of towels, especially terry towels, nullify the work you did in the shower. The maximum that can be done is to wrap the hair in a towel for five minutes (yes, as in the salon) so that it absorbs the excess moisture.
Here's a salon life hacking: take a medium-sized towel (for example, 50 to 70 centimeters), bend it 15 centimeters along the long side, tilt your head down, put a towel in the center of the head lapel up, wrap the head with a towel, putting the loose ends on top of one another, stick it in free edge in the pocket, which was formed from the back of a long edge. From the towel you need to fold the "tube", which wraps the hair in length. Next you need to take the edge of the "pipe" (do not twist!) And put it in a pocket on the back of the head. Voila Do not hold on your head for more than five minutes - styling products should be applied to damp hair.
Ideally, of course, the scheme of actions immediately after washing the head should be slightly different. First, you need to blot the hair with a towel to remove excess moisture, then gently comb it with a massage brush or comb with sparse teeth, and then again wet the hair with a towel. For applying styling products we need slightly damp and cold, but not wet hair.
Styling products
Next you need to apply for the length of an indelible hair conditioner, serum or moisturizing lotion - the names may be different, the essence is the same. Such tools are found in the format of sprays, balms, creams, lotions, and their meaning is to further moisturize the hair and further smooth the cuticle. When the indelible conditioner is absorbed, you can start applying styling products.
First of all you apply products for the volume of hair - usually it is sprays or mousses. It is important to distribute the product in the root zone, but not to rub it into the scalp: if you do this, it threatens you with problems, in fact, with the skin. "An important point in creating the volume of hair: you need to immediately dry the root zone for fixing the volume, and only then work with the texture in length," says Rufad Akhundov. This can be done on the hottest mode to save time, but, most likely, it will be more convenient for you to dry at average air temperature and average power.
When you dry the roots one hundred percent (direct the air only to the roots, without touching the rest of the hair), you can apply styling products to the length of the hair. These can be special creams for drying with a hair dryer, which additionally smoothes the hair and protects it from thermal effects, hair oils, lotions to make it smooth or special sprays to create a texture - who likes what. We advise beginners to stop at the first option in order to understand the basics. When you understand how your hair should look after being properly dried with a hairdryer, you can include textures and experiments in your diet.
Blow Drying
Make sure that the roots are completely dried, and turn on the hair dryer on average air temperature and maximum power. Direct the air flow directly parallel to the hair to smooth out the cuticle. Use a very short side-to-side motion so as not to overheat the hair in one place. At the stage of drying the length of the hair does not need to use a round brush, you only need a free hand. Maximum - a large massage brush with rare plastic teeth. It is useful first of all for owners of very long hair in order to dry them evenly over the entire length. Dry your hair until it is ninety percent dry.
Then everything depends on personal wishes. If you already like how smooth hair looks, turn on the cold air to maximum power and continue to do the same as when drying your hair. This simple step will fix the styling and give your hair an extra shine. If you want maximum smoothness, then you can master the brushing technique: a round brush should be used on almost dry hair. To do this, stretch the hair strands, first on the average temperature of the dryer, and then in the same way - on the cold. If you want to make a small curl at the end, turn on the hot air when you wind the hair on the brush, and when removing the hair from the brush with a sliding motion, press the cold air button to fix the curl. In the salons, stylists often simply turn the hair dryer on its back, but we do not advise you to repeat this at home - it can suck hair.
If you want to use a hair iron after the hair dryer or twist it on a curling iron, then first dry the hair with a cold stream of air parallel to the hair. "When working with irons or tongs, you should not set the temperature to a maximum, this can lead to overdrying of the hair," says Rufad Akhundov. Then you can apply varnish - it will not only fix the styling, but also smooth out the small "antennas" at the roots. If desired, after the varnish, you can add a little spray for shine.
Choosing a hair dryer
Moreover, to compare the technical parameters and engine power (the more it is - the faster your hair dries, so you should not be afraid to invest in your time) after a brief search on the Internet, you can still buy a hairdryer offline. The main reason is the convenience of design. Try different models, see how they lie in your hand: you will often use this technique. The dryer should be as light as possible with all other specifications.
Everyone knows how a hand can get tired while drying hair, so it is in your interest to choose a device that you can hold on your outstretched hand for ten to fifteen minutes. Many know the situation when the hair is still wet, and the hand is already so tired that there is no strength to continue all the torment. It will be effective to try different hair dryers in the salon at your hairdresser’s, to dry your hair yourself. Only empirically you will be able to assess the differences in the flow of air from hair dryers with different powers and temperature conditions.
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