Skip to content

Top Navigation

Real Simple Logo Real Simple Logo
  • Food
  • Home
  • Life
  • Health
  • Money
  • Style and Beauty
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • News
  • Shop

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • My Account
  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Free Organizing App this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Real Simple

Real Simple Logo Real Simple Logo
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 12 Good Books to Read in Winter

      As the days get chillier and snow starts falling, curl up with one of these good books to read in winter. Read More Next
    • 10 Virtual Games to Play When You Can't Be Together

      Close the distance with fun games you can play from the comfort of separate homes. Read More Next
    • A Guide for How to Measure Your Ring Size at Home

      There are three common ways you can measure your ring size right at home so you can finally get your ring measurement right, for good. Read More Next
  • Food

    Food

    See all Food

    13 Air Fryer Recipes That Are *Almost* Too Good to Be True

    • Recipes
    • Real Simple Cooking School
    • Cooking Tips & Techniques
    • Shopping and Storing
    • Kitchen Tools and Products
  • Home

    Home

    See all Home

    Easy Homemade Carpet Cleaners to Tackle Every Stain

    Made with products you probably have on hand
    • Organizing
    • Cleaning
    • Decorating
    • Gardening
    • Home Improvement
    • Quick Fix
    • Real Simple Home
  • Life

    Life

    See all Life

    10 Creative Ways to Have Fun in the Snow

    Bundle up and head outside (or stay toasty inside)—either way, everyone in the family will love these snow day ideas.
    • Family
    • Entertainment
    • Technology
    • Wedding Planning
    • Travel Ideas
    • Adulting
    • Get It Done
    • Waste Less, Live Better
  • Health

    Health

    See all Health

    30 Healthiest Foods to Eat Every Day

    • Preventive Health
    • Mental Health
    • Health Coach
    • Crisis Coping
    • Fitness & Exercise
    • Sleep
    • Healthy Eating
  • Money

    Money

    See all Money

    The Ultimate Guide to Tipping Etiquette in Every Situation, From Restaurants to Hair Salons

    How much should you tip your hairdresser? What about your food-delivery person? Here's when to tip, when to skip, and how much to tip in any situation (even the confusing ones).
    • Saving Money
    • Money Made Simple
    • Spending
    • Money Etiquette
  • Style and Beauty

    Style and Beauty

    See all Style and Beauty

    9 Hair Color Trends Experts Predict for 2021

    • Clothing
    • Skincare
    • Shoes
    • Hair
    • Clothing Care
    • Makeup
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See all Holidays & Entertaining

    PowerPoint Parties Are the Socially Distant Party Trend You Have to Try: Here’s How to Host One

    Presenting a new way to party together—virtually.
    • All Holidays
    • Entertaining
    • Christmas
    • Home for the Holidays
    • Gifts
    • Hanukkah
    • Come Together
    • Thanksgiving
    • Easter
    • Father’s Day
    • Mother’s Day
    • Halloween
  • News
  • Shop

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • My Account
  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Free Organizing App this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow us

  1. Real Simple
  2. Style
  3. Hair
  4. Hair Tools & Techniques
  5. 3 Easy Steps to a Perfect Home Blow-Dry

3 Easy Steps to a Perfect Home Blow-Dry

By Elizabeth Graves
Updated May 04, 2018
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Credit: Brown Bird Design
Get out the door on time: How to dry straight or curly hair faster―and better.
Start Slideshow

1 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

To Blow-Dry Straight Hair

Credit: Brown Bird Design

Get the Tools

  • The right dryer: Look for at least 1,800 watts and multiple heat and air settings, says New York City stylist Sarah Potempa. Medium heat is best for predrying hair. High heat manipulates your hair’s shape, and air sets a style.
  • Nozzle: Don’t discard this. It is key to a smooth look and keeps hair from getting too close to the heat.
  • Round brush: Straighten strands, make ends flip, or create waves with this tool. Time-saving tip: The bigger the surface area of a brush, the faster the drying time. Brushes with vents also shave off minutes.
  • Hair clip: It keeps layers separate and easy to manage and prevents damage caused by overdrying sections.

1 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Pick Your Products

Credit: Brown Bird Design

Mousse
If you want to add thickness, distribute Aveeno Nourish + Style Volumizing Foam ($6.50 at drugstores) through damp strands first.

Cream
To smooth and soften dry or damaged hair, apply Fekkai Advanced Brilliant Glossing Cream ($21, fekkai.com), before and after styling.

Hair Spray
To add lift and set hair, use Aussie Sydney Smooth 12 Hr Anti-Humidity Hair Spray ($4 at drugstores) on almost-dry roots and all over after drying.

2 of 10

3 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Straight Hair, Step 1: Predry and Section

Credit: Brown Bird Design
  • After toweling off wet hair, set your dryer on medium heat and high air speed. Blow hair until it’s 80 percent dry.
  • Gather the hair on top of your crown and secure it with a clip. Begin drying the lower layers with a brush, using more heat. Point the dryer’s nozzle downward to help smooth hair and create shine.

3 of 10

Advertisement

4 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Step 2: Dry Top Layers

Credit: Brown Bird Design
  • Remove the clip and use it to hold the now-dry lower layers back and away. Twist and clip them into a bun to add waves, or secure like a very loose, low ponytail for a straighter look.
  • Blow-dry the top section. Aim at the roots to add volume, then work toward the ends, using the brush to pull hair forward and out.

4 of 10

5 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Step 3: Shape Ends and Finish

Credit: Brown Bird Design
  • Remove the clip. Flip all hair back. Part and dry hair around the forehead.
  • To curl ends, roll them under with a round brush, blast with heat, and set with cold air. For a straight finish, pull the brush through while drying ends with warm air; set with cold air. Apply styling cream to tamp down flyaways, or mist with hair spray.

5 of 10

6 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

To Blow-Dry Curly Hair

Credit: Brown Bird Design

Get the Tools

  • The right dryer: Don’t distort curls with too much power―1,400 watts is enough, says Ouidad, a salon owner in New York City and Santa Monica. Curls don’t call for a high temperature, either. Stick with the low and medium settings for temperature and air.
  • Diffuser: This is the crucial component for creating soft, fuzz-free curls. Look for a design that’s concave in the middle (not flat). This allows curls to rest inside and take a natural shape.

6 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Layer Your Products

Credit: Brown Bird Design


Conditioner
First apply a creamy leave-in conditioner, like Biolage Curl Defining Elixir ($14, 800-662-8749 for salons), to keep moisture in strands as you dry them.

Gel
Next, use a gel, such as Ouidad Clear Control Pomade ($27, sephora.com), to define curls and help set them in place. A gel also prevents frizz.

Finisher
After drying, use a product like Kérastase Paris Serum Oléo-Relax ($40, kerastase-usa.com) to hydrate ends and add shine and hold.

7 of 10

8 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Curly Hair, Step 1: Apply Leave-in and Gel

Credit: Brown Bird Design

After applying a leave-in conditioner through wet (but not sopping) strands, flip most of your hair to one side. With your fingers, work the gel into four manageable sections, from roots down to tips, evenly distributing it around your head. Finally, hold the ends, shake your hands from side to side, then release to allow curls to spring back up to the roots.

8 of 10

9 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Step 2: Diffuse at the Roots

Credit: Brown Bird Design
  • Set your dryer to low or medium heat and medium speed.
  • Place the diffuser right at the roots, starting at the nape of your neck. Gently hold ends away from the dryer, letting them dry naturally (blow-drying curly ends, which tend to be dehydrated, makes them frizzy). Move the diffuser around until all roots are dry.

9 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Step 3: Smooth and Finish

Credit: Brown Bird Design
  • Put a pea-size drop of pomade on your palm and rub your hands together.
  • Grasp your hair in front, as if you were sweeping it into a ponytail, and run your hands from the hairline to the ends. Then let the curls go. This will help break up any gel crunchiness. Massage your scalp at the roots to add fullness.

10 of 10

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Elizabeth Graves

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 10 To Blow-Dry Straight Hair
2 of 10 Pick Your Products
3 of 10 Straight Hair, Step 1: Predry and Section
4 of 10 Step 2: Dry Top Layers
5 of 10 Step 3: Shape Ends and Finish
6 of 10 To Blow-Dry Curly Hair
7 of 10 Layer Your Products
8 of 10 Curly Hair, Step 1: Apply Leave-in and Gel
9 of 10 Step 2: Diffuse at the Roots
10 of 10 Step 3: Smooth and Finish

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Login

Shop | Real Simple Logo

  • Hair Brushes
  • Hair Combs
  • Curling Irons
  • Hair Dryers
  • Flat Irons
  • Hot Rollers
  • Hair Tools
  • Hair Sprays
  • Conditioner
  • Shampoo
  • Shop More Next

Real Simple may receive compensation when you click through and purchase from links contained on this website.

Real Simple Logo

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Media Kit
  • Content Licensing
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
All products and services featured are selected by our editors. Real Simple may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Real Simple is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.realsimple.com

View image

3 Easy Steps to a Perfect Home Blow-Dry
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.