How to Blow Dry Hair

Blow drying hair is a common practice for most people. It has many benefits including speeding up the drying process, reducing frizz, maintaining a healthy scalp, and adding volume and smoothness. With that being said, knowing how to properly operate a blow dryer and effectively dry the hair is important. This task will be useful to obtain a Cosmetology licence or even style your own hair at home. This instructable will teach you how to Blow Dry hair safely and efficiently!

You will need the following tools:

A hairbrush

A hair dryer

A laundered towel

Clips

Any desired products

After properly shampooing the hair, use a clean towel to gently dry the hair. Blot hair with the towel and squeeze out extra water to prepare for blow drying.

After towel drying the hair, you should use a comb or brush to gently detangle. If needed, you can add a detangler to make this step smoother.

At this point, you can choose to add your preferred hair products. This step is important to protect and maintain healthy hair. Make sure to check the manufacturer's directions to ensure the products are supposed to be applied on damp hair. Heat protectant would be a great option, especially if you plan on using a heated setting while drying.

Now you should be able to section the hair to start blow drying. Similar to the perimeter parting, take down about a 1 inch section of hair across the bottom of the head. Use the clips to secure the rest of the hair out of the way. You will continue to take down 1 inch sections throughout the process.

Before you turn on the hair dryer and start blow drying it is important to know how to handle the tool. Most dryers will have buttons or switches for different temperatures and power. The nozzle will get very hot from the warm air while drying, so it is important not to touch yourself or a client with it. Please note that the back end of the hair dryer/ vent sucks in air. Therefore, its important to not get this part close to the hair to avoid getting it stuck and ripped out.

Grab the dryer you will be using in your dominant hand. Use your other hand to rub your fingers on the scalp of the head while focusing the dryer on the scalp. To handle the hair dryer, shake/move the dryer up and down constantly. Make sure to hold the dryer about 6 inches away from the head at all times to ensure you don't burn the client. You can also use a lower heat setting to be extra cautious and communicate with your client about their preferences. You'll repeat this step with every new section taken down.

Use a brush to pick up the hair starting closest to the root. Brush through the section of hair picked up with your brush. Using your blow dryer, moving it constantly, focus on the hair that is being brushed through. As you slide down your brush, you will dry the hair going through it. Repeat this on the whole section until the section is 100% dry.

After completing one section, keep repeating these steps until you reach the top of the head. When you reach the top section, part the hair to the client's preference if you didn't already. This way it will dry to their desired style.

You can now style your hair or leave it as is, enjoy!