Blow dryers are a great tool for hair styling. Using a blow dryer is very different from the way your hair is dried naturally. You may not know what temperature to heat your dryer to, nor how to use it safely. You will also not know how to style your hair effectively. A blow dryer can be a useful tool, but you should only use it when you have mastered the basics first.
Heat Setting
The first thing to think about is the type of hair you have. There are several types, and there are different ways to heat each of them. For example, some people have natural 4c hair. The curl pattern can be hard to manage in a blow dryer. It might be difficult to get the curls into a straight shape without making them frizzy or flat. So if you have very curly hair, you need a special hair dryer for 4c hair. For straight hair, another option is to use a low heat setting on your blow dryer. If you set it at 40°C (104°F), it will gently heat your hair and make it soft. You could then brush it out and it will look like it’s been styled naturally.
Hair Dryer types
There are two types of blow dryers: hot and cool.
Hot Dryer
A hot blow dryer has a higher temperature, whereas a cool one has a lower setting. Hot blow dryers are used for blow drying long hair. They use very high heat and can be damaging to your hair. This is because the heat penetrates the hair shaft, causing the keratin to break down and turn into a fatty substance. This makes the hair less elastic and more prone to damage.
Hair dryer with cold shot
A cool blow dryer is used to dry shorter hair, such as the top of your head or your eyebrows. It uses a lower temperature setting. It is gentler on the hair and does not penetrate it quite so deeply. It is also useful when blow drying your hair after you have just washed it. Blow drying is done by spraying hot air onto the hair and then using the dryer to draw the water up from the hair shafts. There are two main ways of blowing air onto the hair: through the nozzle of the dryer or through an ‘air stream’.
What is the best way to style my hair?
Your hair needs to be dry before styling. If you leave it wet, it will get tangled in the heat of the blow dryer. You could use a round brush to smooth out the tangles, but this can be hard to do with wet hair. So wait until it is dry, then use a round brush and a good-quality dryer brush to smooth it out. It’s important to use gentle strokes when you are blow drying your hair.
General Tips for blow drying safely
Here are general tips for blow drying your hair safely.
- Blow drying is a relatively fast process – about 30 seconds per section of hair. So when you start, move slowly at first, and don’t work in short bursts. You can use a curling iron to create curls or ringlets in your hair. Use it to curl the top of your head or even your eyebrows. It can also be useful to smooth out the ends of your hair.
- A flat brush is good for smoothing and styling the hair, so you can create the style that you want. It is used with a dryer to gently blow away any tangles. If you have very straight hair, you could use a paddle brush to shape your hair, rather than blow drying it. Using a comb and hot air dryer, blow-dry straight hair from the roots to the tips.
- If you have naturally curly hair, you may want to avoid blow-drying it as the heat will make it frizzy. Instead, use a paddle brush to smooth the hair and then spray a little hairspray on it. This will hold in the style until the next day.
- When blow-drying, you should aim to smooth out the hair rather than style it in one go. Start at the ends of the section and work towards the roots. Don’t blow dry a section of hair at once because this might dry out the ends?
- Remember that the hair needs to be dry before styling. If your hair is wet, it is easy for the blow dryer to get tangled up in the tangles. It is better to wait until it is dry to start styling. You can smooth out the tangles with a round brush, but this can be hard to do when the hair is wet. So wait until it is dry, then use a round brush and a good-quality dryer brush to smooth it out.
How do I know if my hair needs blow drying?
There are several ways to check if your hair needs blow drying:
- When washing your hair, look at the ends. Is there lots of split ends? These are signs of dryness. Dry ends should be easy to pull apart, like toothpicks.
- Does your hair seem frizzy? If it does, then it is probably dry and can be blow dried.
- Does your hair feel brittle and break easily? This could be a sign that your hair is dry.
