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The first step to achieving a salon-quality blowout at home is to start with fresh and clean hair. Double shampooing or a clarifying shampoo can help remove oil and product buildup on our hair that may interfere with the longevity of a blowdry. When it comes to conditioning the hair, it’s best to keep it in the middle to the ends of the hair to avoid making the roots oily. The next step is to use the right products. Here are some of my recommendations as a 3-year salon assistant.
Using non-harmful ingredients, Color Wow’s Dream Coat delivers a frizz-free, shiny finish to the hair. It is a heat-activated heat protectant that acts as a top coat for the hair. It is recommended to be used as the last product in the blow-dry prep lineup. They even have an extra-strength version for curly girls!
Not only does this product smell amazing, but it also creates a smooth, shiny finish for the hair while providing protection against humidity. It can be used to blow dry or to smooth the hair with a hair straightener.
Although this does not reduce your blowdry time to exactly 7 minutes, it does reduce the time by 50%, which leads to less heat exposure on the hair. Combining this with their CBD Phyto-Molecular Oil leaves the hair shiny without being greasy. Another great product they offer is the Volumizer Spray, which is great for those with finer hair seeking lots of volume from their blowdry.
Olaplex’s Bond Smoother is a great anti-frizz curl creme that provides a long-lasting, smooth finish. It should be used with an additional product that provides heat protection.
The last and final step is to find a good styling tool. I would recommend Revlon’s One-Step Hair Dryer. It’s not too expensive, and it gets the job done. It’s easy to use and provides a nice, smooth blow-dry. It’s a brush and blow dryer in one, which is much easier to use than using a blowdry in one hand and a brush in the other. I prefer to use it on the low heat setting while using the cool setting to cold shock the hair.
As great as this product is, there are some downsides. The high-heat setting can get extremely hot, and if the brush is left in the hair for too long, it can cause heat damage over time. To combat this, I recommend a good heat protectant, not leaving the brush in one spot for too long, and allowing the hair to reach 50%-75% dryness before going in with the brush. Another way to combat the potential downsides is to limit its use.
Other great styling tools are rollers and heated rollers. They’re used when the hair is smoothed out and are left in the hair for some time to create body in the hair. While heated rollers provide the heat for styling, regular rollers do not. Simply applying heat with a blow dry and wrapping the hair around the rollers works as great as the heated rollers! Don’t forget to section to make the process that much easier.