We’ve all experienced that feeling of leaving a salon with our hair fresh and bouncy feeling like we are stepping into a commercial or a fashion shoot. But somehow achieving the same results at home never seems to work. I’ve compiled a list of the tricks and techniques that professionals use so you can learn how to achieve the perfect salon quality blow dry at home. Read on to learn how to style your hair with confidence and ease, just like the pros.
The main components for the perfect blow dry are prep, tools, technique and finish. Even as a professional stylist with over 20 years in the business, I know not to skip on any of these steps. Your technique will change depending on your hair type and desired results, but the fundamental principals are the same to achieve shiny, bouncy hair.
Prep
Learning how to create the perfect, salon quality blow dry at home all begins when you wash your hair. Selecting the right shampoo and conditioner for your hair type is the first step. Brands I love are Davines, O-way and Oribe just to name a few. I recommend shampooing around twice or three times a week at most or you might strip away the natural sebum your hair generates to protect the scalp and hair shaft. This can cause an over production of sebum as a response, ultimately making your hair more oily.
If you like a more voluminous blow dry, I suggest using conditioner on your mid lengths and ends only. Be sure to rinse out all of the product and gently wrap your hair in a microfiber towel. The microfiber is more absorbent and more gentle on your hair. No vigorous rubbing is necessary, in fact this causes more frizz and damage to your hair. There are many things we do daily that cause damage without realizing it. I go into greater detail about hair breakage and how to prevent it here.
Tools
- Sectioning clips
You will need sectioning clips to clip away your hair while blow drying. There are several options, the simplest of which to use at home are butterfly clips but many hairstylists prefer to work with slide clips. You should use whatever feels more comfortable for you.
- Heat protection
Heat protection is absolutely essential for hair health and should not be skipped. Thermal stress is one of the main causes of damage, and there is simply nothing more important for our hair than to protect it’s health.
- A high quality hair dryer
A high quality hair dryer is important because low quality hair dryers will often be too hot and too slow. This will result in your hair burning before it dries. Good quality hairdryers will have proper heat and speed control and even on the hottest heat will not burn your hair if used correctly, ie: not held in one spot for too long. These are some salon quality hairdryers that are worth investing in:
- A round brush, a paddle brush and a wet brush
Each of these brushes serves a different purpose. First the wet brush, this is important because our hair is so fragile when wet, we need to make sure to use a soft brush that won’t cause breakage. Secondly, the round brush which is important to create volume and waves. Finally, the paddle brush is important for sleek and smooth blow dries.
- Your favorite styling and finishing products
The products you work with will entirely depend on your hair type and desired results. If you desire volume, you will want to use a volumising spray or mousse. If your hair is dry or knotty you might need a detangler. Perhaps you are after a smooth, sleek blow dry in which case you would opt for a gloss. You might want to use hairspray for an event or simply to last through a busy day.
Technique
By now your hair is shampooed and towel dried gently in the microfiber towel, your tools are laid out and you are ready to blow dry. The longer you can leave your hair in the towel to dry naturally, the better. This will result in shorter heat exposure, and ultimately healthier hair. Once you have gently detangled your hair and applied your prep products, you should dry your hair off at a medium heat until it is 80% dry.
At this stage you can separate your hair into quarters. Ear to ear will make a front and back section. Then the front should be divided by the parting and the back can be divided into two down the middle. Sectioning this way will ultimately make it easier for you to blow dry thoroughly. Since the front tends to dry quicker, I usually start at the front sections and then work my way to the back. As you work your way around each quarter, you can subdivide each section into two or three subsections. This will depend on the thickness of your hair.
Note:
Make sure to use the nozzle of your hair dryer and always direct it towards the ends of your hair, parallel to the hair shaft. This will ensure the smoothest blowout. If you want a sleeker look, direct the hair downwards. If you want more volume, direct the hair upwards while still keeping the nozzle parallel to the hair shaft. You will see a demonstration of this in the reel embedded below. Remember to follow me on instagram if you find this useful as I post these kinds of reels regularly.
Finish
I find the easiest way to achieve bouncy, beachy waves is to do so with a curling iron on dry hair. This doesn’t necessarily need to be throughout the whole head, rather often what I do is just go over the face frame with the curling iron – but that is obviously up to you.
Of course if you are satisfied with your smooth blow dry, at this point the only thing left to do is use finishing products. Generally speaking I have a less is more policy on finishing products. I prefer to emphasize prep and conditioning products which result in healthier hair. I find an overuse of finishing products can make the hair heavy or greasy. For this reason it is important to be mindful of how much you use and be sure to distribute evenly throughout the hair.
Bonus tips
- Don’t forget to shampoo twice. This will ensure your hair is as clean as can be which will result in a longer lasting blow-dry
- Go with what your hair wants to do. Don’t focus too much time trying to pull and push it in a direction it doesn’t want to go in. This will result in stress and unnecessary time wasting.
- If you are in a big hurry you can always rough dry 100% and smooth it over with a paddle brush. Alternatively you can quickly add a few waves with a curling iron over the top and front.
- Use a good dry shampoo between washes. This will keep your hair fresh and clean without having to over-shampoo.
- A ceramic hair straightener is the most gentle on your hair and is great for second or third day touch ups.
- If you struggle with frizzy hair, I’ve written an entire post for you!
- If your hair is unhealthy, no amount of blowdrying will make it look good. It all starts with hair health!
Don’t forget to pin this to your boards so you can come back to it later!
