How to Achieve a Salon Blow-Out at Home

Let's talk about your blow-dry. Some of the worst damage I have seen on my guest’s hair is from misuse of heat tools like blow dryers and irons. Often, dryers are being used to simply blast the hair dry. When this happens too fast, all control of the hair and the shape you want it to take is lost. In addition, using Irons (Curling or Straight) repeatedly over the same hairs will severely damage the lengths of your hair. Instead, using a high quality tool can allow for usually just a single pass over the hair to get the desired result, thus reducing the repeated exposure to high, close contact heat. If you can achieve a better blow-out from the start, the need for repeated use of hot tools can be limited! Here are my top-tips for a salon blow-out at home.

1. Always use a heat protectant that’s suited for your hair type. I recommend one that’s used on damp hair and can be sprayed in like amika’s Blockade Defense Serum

or smoothed through like Brazillian Blowout’s Daily Acai Serum.

2. Use your dryer with a "low and slow" mind set for the most control. Using high heat is okay, with a lower speed setting. This will give you maximum control of shape or frizz. Sometimes spending an extra few minutes of drying can give you greater longevity and satisfaction with the overall style. Find an excellent dryer here like the CEO 360 Dryer: www.loveamika.com/BethanyKreider

3. If you have tricky cowlicks, use your blow dryer and brush on those specific sections while they are SOAKING wet. Sometimes even just damp hair is too dry to get the complete control you are looking for. If your hair has dried too much with your towel or from the air, use a spray bottle to re-wet that section. After you’ve dried that cowlick to the shape you want, let it cool completely. The shape the hair cools in is the shape that it will hold!

4. Using the correct size round brush will help with your blow-out’s manageability. Generally speaking, shorter hair needs a smaller diameter brush, and longer hair needs a larger diameter brush. Moroccan Oil makes amazing brushes in multiple sizes. Check them out here.

5. If you struggle with an oily scalp, blow drying can help reduce oil build up. Even if you don’t want to blow dry your whole head, taking a few minutes to dry just the scalp can help reduce oil build up.

6. Hair spray is great, but if you find you’re using a lot on top, you might want to add a mousse or volumizer as a wet styler on damp hair first. This gives your hair internal memory that can hold longer than a hairspray alone. Try amikas' fluxus touchable hairspray for a soft hold.

Hope these help achieve your own amazing, lasting blow-out!

Beth