Nothing boosts your confidence like a trip to the salon. A professional blowout can be a total treat for your tresses, and may even lift your overall mood. While some teasing, curling, and pinning may have you looking and feeling fabulous, sitting in the stylist’s chair can eat into your time and budget.
Fortunately, you can take matters into your own novice, but capable hands. While you may not have the same skills as your favorite stylist, you can score yourself the same tools he or she uses to make some mane magic happen. Plus, practice makes perfect, so it’s time to break out your hairdryer and trusty round brush– here are our top tips to give yourself a salon-quality blowout at home.
Wash, condition, and rinse cold
A good blowout starts with clean hair. Attempting to spray down and blowout a dirty scalp will leave you with a limp and lifeless final product. Oil and residue will almost immediately weigh your strands down.
First, you need to choose the right shampoo and conditioner for your particular needs. Are you trying to get a sleek straight style or voluminous kinks and curls? Do you have color-treated tresses? Is it volume and lift you are looking for, or are you trying to tame the frizz? Whatever your desired aesthetic outcome may be, look for a shampoo without sulfates. These products will cleanse hair without stripping natural moisture from your luscious locks. The L’Oreal Paris EverPure Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner kit is a great sulfate-free option that’s easy on the wallet too.
Finally, before you exit the shower, be sure to rinse off with cold water for at least thirty to sixty seconds. This will help to seal the hair cuticle and ultimately make your blowout last longer. Plus, it’ll wake you up!
Towel dry those tresses
If you generally run a towel through your hair before turning on the hairdryer, we challenge you to take this step a bit further. Wrap your hair in a water-absorbing towel for ten to fifteen minutes, while you continue the rest of your routine. The goal here is to minimize your hair’s exposure to extreme heat, so soaking up excess moisture with a towel will reduce the time and force needed for blowdrying. This AmazerBath 3-pack of microfiber hair towel wraps is a steal, and each has a nifty button for secure fastening.
Start styling
Before you embrace your inner stylist, run the dryer over your whole head for a few minutes until it’s about 70 percent dry. Next, section your hair with clips so that you can focus on one area at a time, ensuring that every single strand gets completely dry. Don’t forget to attach that handy-dandy nozzle to get the best heat diffusion, as it helps to focus and force heat onto the specific section of hair you’re working on.
The key to a voluminous look is the infamous round brush. Grab a section of hair, place your brush close to the root, slide it down the shaft, and turn to wrap your hair around the barrel. Then, hold the dryer about two inches from the barrel and gently release with a downward stroke. A smaller barrel will give you a tighter wave, while a larger one will provide more bounce. Another option is to grab this highly-rated Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer Hot Air Brush. This makes blowing out your own hair a one-step breeze, just ask the 18,000 Amazon reviewers!
Going for a sleek, straight look? Forgo the round brush, and stick to a boar-bristle panel brush. This is the best option for silky straight strands.
Finish it off
Now that your blowout is complete, you can take things up a notch by running a flat iron through your tresses or hitting it with a curling wand to add some definition. Regardless, don’t forget to add the finishing touch and treat your locks to a little hairspray, ensuring your look lasts throughout the day and beyond. This Drybar Triple Sec 3-in-1 finish spray gives flexible hold, shine, and some extra va-va-volume.
What should you do if your hair starts to fall flat? Amp it up a bit by spraying some dry shampoo at the roots. You don’t always have to pay a salon price for a salon-quality blowout, and now you can go forth and enjoy looking and feeling fabulous!
BlissMark provides information regarding health, wellness, and beauty. The information within this article is not intended to be medical advice. Before starting any diet or exercise routine, consult your physician. If you don’t have a primary care physician, the United States Health & Human Services department has a free online tool that can help you locate a clinic in your area. We are not medical professionals, have not verified or vetted any programs, and in no way intend our content to be anything more than informative and inspiring.