Plus 10 Tricks To A Great Blow-dry
I wonder where the idea that 'straight' hair is the hair 'to have'. Every 5 years the battle of curlies trying to straighten their hair becomes more public as well as some new fangled technology hits the market. Its funny because the non-straight hair candidates reach across women of all backgrounds. I feel the marketing and making of 'curly hair' products are still fairly archaic - they will master it....it just has been a hidden culture for some time now. The most ridiculous part is : I feel it is aimed at women of color ONLY, and that is the farthest thing from the truth. I wish they would wake-the-Hell up already because a lot of us are waiting !
We continue to think that straight-silky hair is the goal of everyone, or that straight hair is the good hair & every other texture is bad. Everyone needs to pay attention: THERE IS NO GOOD HAIR or BAD HAIR. In Sassoon we were taught to treat as many people who would listen to stick with their "natural texture''. Your hair remains healthier that way, you can play around with your color...color is one of the better things you can do for curly-wavy-frizzy hair it helps add shine lending hair more towards shine with the light bouncing off the bends in the hair. Now I am referring to healthy hair, damaged hair is something you should do everything possible to avoid. The single biggest difference between good hair and bad hair??? Is the health of it. Bad hair is hair that has been damaged, so that should be the first thing you work on....Healthy hair trumps ALL types of hair.
1.) The most important tip for blow drying? Sectioning the hair.
Seem silly? Take a couple extra minutes to section hair into at least 4
sections if not 6. This will help in avoiding bumps and ridges in the
end finish. Begin with the back section first, get it out of the way so
you don't give up before its done, remember the ‘back’ of your hair is
what more people see than any other.
2.) The hair dryer itself makes a real difference especially with the new IONIC and Tourmaline models on the market. IONIC utilizes ceramic technology, which will leave your hair healthy, silky with natural shine and manageability. Plus super fast drying time, the higher price tag is because they really do, work. Save your $$, ask for a birthday gift, watch for sales. It will last a couple years and the time it will cut off of your blow dry time and the shine in the finish make it all worth while .
3.) If you’re not using a silicone serum
to coat the hair you will contribute to the frizz factor, there are a
million and one out there but you must read the label…if it has alcohol
in the formula you are defeating the purpose. Silicone Serums range from
light to heavy and from the John Freida line at Drug stores all the way
to here at our store (Sojourns).
4.) Choose your brushes carefully, the
longer the hair the bigger the brush. Axe the heat retaining brushes they add to the frizz and dryness. Boar Bristle brushes are the best and we have this unique and funny looking brush we call the thermo-straightening brush. The advantages to it? You can really PULL down when using it...and when trying to achieve shine and a smooth -clean blow-dry you will want to be sure to go downward with this brush or ANY brush....that way the cuticle is being brushed downward which is the trick to creating shine.
5.) “Heat” remains the single #1 enemy to the health of hair, most don’t realize this. Blow drying ONLY until the hair is dry, alternating between hot and cool temperatures as you go through each section remains important for the health of the hair. Just really try to use the blow dryer as little as possible. You would be surprised at how little you will really need it, give it a test run.
6.) Hair needs to be 70% dry for blow dry to begin so you want to begin by shaking out excess water after shower, rough dry until 2/3 of water is out. Over using a hair dryer can rob the hair of moisture, leaving hair dry & brittle.
7.) Do not use a conditioner after your
shampoo, that step was manufactured by the shampoo companies. The proper
routine? Shampoo and use a spray leave-in detangler. A daily conditioner just weighs hair down and produces product build-up. Keep product use light/
Some of you will need a conditioner after shampoo...I'm 100% Irish -
Redhead and I have loose curls and require a conditioner after every
shampoo. So I don't want to scare everyone away.
8.) When using a finishing product to hold your style – spray it on the brush first. This makes sure the hair won’t be over loaded and lets the hair shine through.
9.) If you invest in a great cut, the
time you spend with the blow dryer in hand will not only be less, it
will be more rewarding and the end will result will make you like a pro.
Try asking for a blow dry lesson to be included with the price of the
cut. There is a technique called "wrapping" -- where you wrap the hair around your head...using the head as a big giant round surface....you go one way then the other...backwards/forwards/sidewards to sidewards... always finishing with the head upwards. That trick works magnificently for 40% of you!
10.) The finish is as important as the drying time. Seal the hair by turning the dryer on ‘cool’. Never leave the hair warm – it won’t last 10 minutes that way.
Killer Bonus trick:They have what I call “rear view” or the 360 degree hands-free mirror for the bathroom, we now carry them. Mount one on bathroom wall; it will afford you the freedom of blow drying the back of your hair while also being able to look at what you are doing! It helps in the final outcome and you will find the mirror handy for many other odds & ends (magnification mirror for eyebrow plucking, make-up application for poor sight, etc).
This works wonderfully for those of you that want to color your own hair. Killer Chemist
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