What should I put in my hair before blow-drying?

By Leah Williams •  Updated: 07/23/22

Are you trying to perfect a salon-worthy blowout, but still ending up with frizzy hair?

Well, you might be using the wrong hair product or blow drying your hair the wrong way.

Blow drying involves a lot of heat styling and it’s vital to use the best hair products to avoid hair damage and to keep your hair healthy and bouncy.

With a little practice and the right hair products, you can easily achieve perfectly blown dry hair at home.

So, if you have been wondering “what should I put in my hair before blow drying?”, Lucky Curl has the answer.

 

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The Products and Tools You Need for the Perfect Blow-Dry

Heat Protectant Spray

A heat protectant spray is used to minimize hair damage due to styling equipment such as the blow dryer. The heat protectant moisturizes your hair and smoothens the hair cuticles which also makes drying your damp hair quicker.

How to use:

Apply the heat protectant on your wet hair before styling or blow drying.  Comb your hair gently after the application to make sure it spreads evenly. Bear in mind the application procedure for heat protectants differs based on your hair type and the product.

Conditioner

If you want your hair to look vibrant after blow drying, you should use a leave in conditioner. The leave in conditioner protects your strand and the treatment can lock in the moisture. Also, it offers heat protection which prevents damage when blow drying hair.

How to use:

Use the wash and go technique to achieve beautiful and bodacious hair and to style your look. All you have to do is layer in the conditioner onto your damp hair and scrunch. Leave for a few minutes and prep your hair for a blow dry.

Sectioning Clips

The use of sectioning clips allows your wet hair to dry quickly. Sectioning your hair before blow drying is an effective trick that saves you a lot of time. It lets one section of your hair fully dry and prevents damage due to repetitive blows of hot air when blow drying hair.

How to use:

Use the clips to section your hair before blow drying. Sectioning your hair is important for better airflow when blow drying and to ensure your hair is fully dry.

Easy Steps on How to Blow Dry Your Hair

Here are standard steps for blow drying your hair properly:

Step 1: Rough-dry your hair.

Rough dry hair after washing. Comb it using only your fingers or use a wide tooth comb. Do it for a few minutes until the hair is 60 to 70% dry. You don’t want to blow dry a sopping wet hair! Blow drying soaking wet hair is a huge mistake as it can cause damage to your hair.

Step: Apply some heat protectant.

Apply some heat protectant spray before blow drying. Make sure it is spread out evenly on your hair for better results. Keep in mind, hair protectants do not really prevent damage from the use of hair tools such as the blow dryer. However, it minimizes potential hair problems and offers relatively good heat protection to your hair cuticle.

Step 3: Part your hair.

Use the sectioning clips to part your hair. It is worth using the clips especially when you have thicker or wavy hair. Prep your hair using a large round brush to ensure they’re well-placed in each section. This makes the job easy!

Step 3: Blow dry your hair.

Now comes the best part! Dry your hair from the front section and work your way through to the thicker hair section.  The front bit naturally dries quicker because of the thin hair. Pin it up using the clip when you’re done. Part the rest of the hair and blow dry. Pin up the section that has been blow dry for easy procedure.

Step 4: Remove the clips and style.

Remove the clips after blow drying all the sections of your hair. You can now use the hair cream for styling and to achieve beautifully blown out hair!

Final Words

If you want to achieve better hair health, you should learn to care for your own hair. Also, learn to pick the right products to use before you blow dry your hair.

Leave in conditioner and heat protectants are must-haves. Heat protectants offer heat protection while the leave-in conditioner moisturizes the hair cuticle and removes its excess water.

In other words, they can help dry your sopping wet hair quicker than usual.

Of course, you need the sectioning clips, especially with thick and wavy hair. Sectioning your damp hair makes the drying process easy. Also, less exposure to hot air is better for hair health.

I’d say blow drying using cold air is a lot safer for your hair!

Lastly, it is vital to learn the proper way of blow drying hair to avoid potential hair damage and to consult an expert to ensure your hair health is well-taken care of.

Check out our articles to learn more on how to blow dry hair safely.

Leah Williams

Leah Williams is the founder of Lucky Curl and has been in the hair care and styling industry for the last 15 years. Since then, she has developed incredible expertise and a deep understanding of how to treat and style the most difficult hair types and is passionate about sharing her knowledge with the readers of Lucky Curl.

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