Don’t get me wrong I love a good blow dry and I am not about to tell you not to blow dry but what I am going to do is give you some tips so you can love your hair well after the blow dry.

Blow drying and straightening hair with either hot irons or styling brushes is very popular. The heat from these tools, if not used correctly can cause quite a lot of irreparable damage.

So, the first golden rule for shiny and healthy-looking hair is to always point the dryer down the hair shaft. If you rough dry a lot, it can create the outer layer to kind of fray.       

Imagine your hair was like fish scales all flat one overlapping the other. The air from dryer, like wind, can separate those scales, allowing moisture to escape and give the hair an appearance of being rough, dry and certainly dull. It’s the flat, closed scales that reflect the light.

 I always use a heat protective spray like our “GVN Style Shield Spray” before blow drying each section. It prevents heat damage and I really notice when I don’t use it. But remember nothing will save your hair if you use the heat tools incorrectly. It’s the combination of a heat protectant and proper technique that gets the results.

Tip- Try not to ever leave the hairdryer on one part of the hair. Keep moving it along!                   It’s often a high heat and can burn the hair so much, it becomes permanently dry and damaged.

With flat irons, it’s the same thing, keep moving, never leaving it one spot. If you’re not getting the result you want then take smaller sections rather than leaving flat irons on hair for prolonged periods of time.

With curling wands, we tend to roll it up and leave so the hair sets with the heat. Be mindful of how long and how thick the hair is when taking sections. Too thick, we tend leave the wand there too long, not creating the desired curl but over cooking the bottom layer. Also, if your hair is coloured or bleached, it can really dry and damage your hair with over or incorrect use. Absolutely must use a heat protective spray with coloured hair.                                     

 Tip- On very bleached or coloured hair I use the Repair and Strength leave in spray first, then a spritz of “style shield” so the iron or wand won’t grab to the hair and the tool can slide through easily.

For great curls or beach waves you want to have freedom to slide through the hot irons to create those waves. Grabbing and pulling not only is most likely burning the grabbed bits but also gives irregular results. Takes extra time too and we have better things to do than wrestle with our hair!

“Happy blow drying!”

Kathy