Most of us use a hairdryer at least 2 or 3 times a week – some of us use one nearly every day.
The combination of using a hair dryer on a regular basis, and then using a hair straightener or straightening brush straight after can cause your hair to struggle. Even using heated rollers might add to the strain your hair gets.
Although I would avoid using a hair dryer every day (but this very much depends on your hair type), using one frequently doesn’t have to equal ruined hair.
Follow this advice and you’ll hair will love you for it.
Towel Dry Your Hair
Don’t blow dry your hair as soon as you have washed it. Use a towel to at least dry off the excess moisture. This will result in you not needing to blast it with the hair dryer for quite so long.
Use a Leave in Conditioner
Treat your hair to some leave in conditioner. Shampooing you hair will strip a lot of the moisture from your hair so conditioner is needed to hydrate and make it feel soft again. Concentrate more on the ends as this tends to be the most potentially damaged part of the hair as it’s been subject to more heat and elements than the roots. You can even make your own homemade hair masks.
Use a Heat Protectant
There are plenty of good heat protectants available for your hair. Just put a little in, concentrating more on the ends than the roots.
Section Out Your Hair
Whether you have long, short, thick or thin hair, it will really help to dry your hair in sections. Clip up the top part of your hair and blow dry the hair underneath, use the best hair brush you can as this will help prevent split ends and your hair from getting too frizzy or ‘big’ (unless this is the look you are going for of course!)
Gradually work through each section of your hair until you are dry all over.
By sectioning out your hair you will prevent too much heat damage by continuously blasting the same bit of hair.
Use the Right Hair Brush
Choosing the right hair brush is becoming almost as confusing as knowing which straighteners you should be using.
When your hair is still wet, a wide toothed comb is preferable as it will be less likely to cause breakage to your hair.
Using a round bristle brush is the best for blow drying your hair as you can wrap your hair around the barrel. What your round brush is made out of will also determine the length of time your hair takes to dry (ceramic inner barrels tend to speed up hair drying time when using a hair dryer).
It is best to dry as much of your hair as you can without a hairbrush and then use a hairbrush at the end to style, straighten or curl it. This will speed up your hair drying time as well as protect any breakages.
Use a Lower Heat Setting
Blast too much heat at your hair and it will suffer. It will potentially split the hair and make your ends super dry – not a good look.
A simple way to reduce the amount of heat your hair is receiving is to lower the heat setting on your hair dryer.
Keep Your Distance
Don’t point your hair dryer too close to your hair – try to leave at least 5 or 6 inches between the two.
You might be interested in my Best Hair Dryer Buying Guide >>