I blow-dry my hair twice a week. So far, my hair has been able to withstand the drying heat. Hopefully, it continues to stay that way (fingers-crossed). I blow-dry my hair this often because I find my hair much easier to manage when it’s straight. My hair naturally is more curly, but the curls are not super tight ones. I will leave my hair curly between blow-dry days because I’m trying to work on my curly hair routine. I do like my curly hair, but it can be harder to maintain. Some days I’ll wake up and my curls are going in so many different directions and I have no idea what to do. With my straight hair, I can just finger-comb it, toss it around, and I’m ready to go. So, until I find a curly hair routine that works for me, here’s my blow-dry routine:
*Disclaimer: My hair is parted in the middle, falls a bit under my collarbone, and it is cut into layers. My curtain-ish bangs are now grown out to my chin, but this routine did work when they were shorter. That being said, this routine may not work for every hair cut. I created this routine through trial and error based on my own hair type and cut. You could always use this routine as a basis and change things based on your own hair!*
1. Hair Oil
I have been oiling my hair for months now and I do see a difference. It’s really important to stay consistent with your hair oiling in order to see results. I find that oiling my hair makes it softer, stronger, and grows a little faster. I oil my hair twice a week and use the Mielle Rosemary Oil, but I know people also use Coconut oil, Amla oil, Jojoba oil, and many others.
2. Shampoo and Conditioner
After leaving the hair oil in for about an hour, I’ll wash it off with shampoo and conditioner in the shower. I use the Hask shampoo and conditioner. I love using the Hask Tea Tree & Rosemary Shampoo and Conditioner because it softens my hair and also leaves my hair smelling amazing! Once a week, I’ll use the Head & Shoulders Classic Clean Shampoo instead of the Hask one just to deep clean my scalp.
3. After-Shower
When I’m out of the shower, I’ll gently squeeze out excess water from my hair and pat dry with my towel. I always make sure to never use back and forth motions with my towel to dry my hair to prevent damage. I’ll then comb through my hair just to get any knots out because it will make blow-drying so much easier. I’m very careful with combing through my wet hair because your hair is more delicate in this state. After that, I’ll let my hair air-dry a bit before I go in with a blow-dryer. A lot of people say to wait till your hair is 70% dry, but it can be hard to determine when your hair is 70% dry or what that even means. Personally, I just wait till the top layer of my hair is mostly dry and the bottom layer is still damp and this usually works for me.
4. Blow-Dryer and Heat Protectant
I use the REVLON One-Step Volumizer Original Blow-Dry Brush. I love this hair-dryer because it dries your hair quickly and it’s not super expensive. Sure, it might be loud and a little hot, but it gets the job done! But of course, before I go in with my blow-dryer, I always remember to use heat-protectant. Like I mentioned, the blow-dryer can get a little hot, so it is very important to protect your hair from the high heat. I use the Bumble and Bumble Bb All-Style Blow Dry Cream. I have used many different heat protectants in the past, but this one leaves my hair with a shine!
5. Blow-Dry Routine
Now that we have our heat protectant in, we can finally begin the blow-dry routine. I blow dry my hair in 4 sections: bottom layer, middle layer, top layer, and bangs. That may not seem like a lot of sections, but I like to finish blow drying my hair before the blow-dryer gets too hot.
With the bottom and middle sections, I’ll blow dry the hair from beneath and rotate the blow-dryer as I move down to get a little curl at the end. Since the bottom two layers are damp, it’ll take a little more time to blow dry those layers to ensure that they’re dry. As I finish each layer, I’ll loosely tie it back so it’s out of the way.
With the top section, I alternate going above and beneath the section to get a smoother finish on top. I’ll release the tied back sections and go over any areas that I missed. Finally, I’ll start on my bangs. I usually section off my bangs by going up from the arch of my eyebrows and then move diagonally towards my middle part, creating a triangle. I first blow dry underneath my bangs and I’ll rotate the blow-dryer twice. Then, I’ll blow dry the top, rotating the blow dryer about five times. After, I use any cylindrical bottle and roll my hair onto the bottle starting at my ends. The bottle is just used to mimic a hair roller which I don’t have, so I improvise. I’ll lightly spritz the rolled up hair with hair spray and hold them rolled up like that for about 30 seconds, so the hair can cool down. Afterwards, I gently slide the bottle out and let my bangs release from the roll. My bangs will now look a little crazy, but I’ll go in and gently finger-comb them out till they look more normal. This is not a necessary step, but I like to tuck the ends of my bangs behind my ears because I feel like it does something to them and forms them a bit better. But, that’s totally optional.
And, that’s it! Now, I have a super cute hairstyle that can last me a few days