You should be using a hair dryer.
Luis Moreno(3 minute read)
Many, many years ago, my friend and renown American barber, Justin Albrecht (@barberjustin), gave me a crash course in the essential styling tool that is the magical HAIR DRYER. I can say with confidence that since then, I always keep a hair dryer handy anytime I style my hair. The hair dryer has become an essential styling tool for me that’s just as important (if not more) than the styling product, comb or brush that I use. You should be using a hair dryer and here are some reasons why:
Faster Drying
Most people style their hair after a shower. With the exception of certain hair care products, like leave-in conditioners, it is highly recommended that most styling products be applied to dry or lightly damp hair. Using a hair dryer to dry your hair will speed up the process of getting your hair ready to apply your desired styling product. This will save you tons of time when styling your hair and help you create a baseline that that will improve your control over your hair.
Improved Control
When you apply heat to the hair, it becomes more flexible, improving your ability to shape and mold it to your desired style much easier and with greater control. This can be achieved by using a brush, preferably a Round Brush or Vent Brush, to style your hair while simultaneously applying heat with a hair dryer. It’s worth noting that lifting your hair with a brush while blow drying it will help increase the volume of your finished look. By the time you are finished molding your hair into the general style that you want you’ll need less of whatever styling product you use to lock it into place.
Use Less Product
A hair dryer will give you greater control over your hair, allowing you to get it to a baseline for the hair style that you wish to achieve. Since your hair is more or less “dry styled”, meaning that it is styled without product, and holding its shape all you have to do now is use your favorite styling product to lock your look into place. You will always need less product to finish your look when using a hair dryer than when not. Using less product means you’ll use your styling product more efficiently and save money in the long run.
Hair Drying Tips
Never point the hair dryer directly into the roots of you hair. These hair dryers are hot and you will burn your scalp. Instead blow dry you hair in a parallel direction to you scalp (always away).
Keep your hair dryer in constant motion so that you don’t burn your hair or your scalp.
Apply a bit of product into your hair before before using a hair dryer. This will give you greater control from the get. Several products like our Texture Spray and Leave-in Conditioning Spray have volumizing and heat protectant properties that will lift and protect your hair during the blow drying process.
Medium heat, medium airflow are the easiest settings to work with on your hair dryer, especially when you are just learning how to use one.
Use the supplied nozzle attachment that comes with your hair dryer which helps concentrate and direct the airflow of the air dryer giving you better overall control. Using your hair dryer without a nozzle attachment will yield a wider airflow spread, which will make it extremely difficult to control your hair.
Get yourself a good heat resistant vent or round brush that feels comfortable in your hands and is easy to use.
Buying a Hair Dryer
We all love shiny expensive toys, but unless you are working hair professional, you don’t need to splurge on a $500 Dyson Hair Dryer. Any hair dryer, with an output of 2000 watts or more will get the job done. The higher that wattage, the hotter that airflow that it will produce. For short to medium length hair, 2,000 watts is more than enough. Also, almost all hair dryers (worth buying) will come packed with the necessary airflow nozzle attachments.
Final thoughts
As always, I encourage you to have fun on your hair journey! Adding a hair dryer to your hair routine is a fun way to get creative with your hair and achieve different styles for different occasions!