It is possible to use a hair dryer to straighten your hair. However, using a hair dryer for this purpose can be time-consuming and may not produce the same results as using a dedicated hair straightening tool, such as a flat iron.
- 1 How to keep your hair straight after blow-drying
- 2 How to Straighten Your Hair With a Blow Dryer in 7 Simple Steps
- 3 How to straighten your hair with hair dryer
- 4 Is it better to straighten or blow dry hair?
- 5 Is it better to blow dry hair before straightening?
- 6 What is the best way to straighten your hair permanently?
Additionally, using a hair dryer to straighten your hair can cause heat damage, which can lead to dry, brittle hair. It is generally recommended to use a heat protectant spray or serum on your hair before using heat styling tools, and to avoid using heat on your hair too frequently.
Prepare the hair for blow-drying
It is essential to prepare the hair to get straight hair that looks like it just came out of the salon. Pre-treating the hair will make it easier for you to straighten it and make it last longer. Therefore, we advise you to follow these steps to learn how to blow-dry your hair yourself:
- Wash your hair with your usual shampoo. If the goal is to achieve straight hair, it is advisable to use a straightening shampoo.
- Don’t forget to apply the conditioner or mask and leave it on for about 5 minutes before rinsing. The use of these products will smooth the hair and remove frizz. When it comes to straightening, the brush will glide better, and you will have less trouble combing your hair.
- Remove excess water from the hair with a towel, without squeezing, just dabbing. At uncommon, we recommend using a microfiber towel, as it is a towel that dries quickly and absorbs much more water. If you don’t have one, you can use any other fabric you have at home.
- Detangle your hair with a wide-tooth comb. This type of comb detangles easily and prevents hair breakage.
- Apply a heat protectant to blow dry your hair without damaging it. If you don’t have a heat protectant, some leave-in conditioners often incorporate this protection so that you can apply it.
- Before you start blow-drying, here’s a tip: don’t start blow-drying if there is still a lot of mist in the bathroom, as the humidity will only frizz your hair. Wait until the fog disappears or continue drying in another room.
- Without placing the nozzle on the dryer, please turn it on and apply it to your hair to remove as much moisture as possible before straightening. Drying the hair until at least 80% of the water is removed is recommended.
- Make the parting where you want to place it to start drying, respecting the direction of the hair we want to achieve (side parting, middle parting, or no parting).
- At this stage, you should always blow-dry with the air blowing downwards to avoid tangles.
Make partitions to dry the hair.
After removing at least 70-80% moisture, the hair is ready to start straightening. To make it easy for you to straighten your hair yourself with a professional result, we recommend parting your hair to make it easier to manage, especially if you have a lot of hair. Follow these steps to do it:
- Tracing the parting with a comb, make the first parting of hair from one ear to the other, passing over the crown of the head.
- Divide this parting vertically in two using the place where you wear your departure as a division.
- Separate both sides with clips.
- Divide the remaining hair into three parts. If you have too much hair, you can make a third horizontal parting that goes from ear to ear and divide this parting in two.
- If you make a third parting, you can divide the remaining hair at the nape of the neck by creating a middle break and pinning each part back.
These are the basic parting for a blow-dry. You can do as many parts as you need if you have a lot of hair. As you blow-dry your hair, you must divide the main partings making it easier and faster to dry the hair in sections.
Start drying the hair.
To get straight hair, put the nozzle on the dryer and start at the back. Pull down one of the last sections you’ve gathered and bring the hair forward over your shoulders to make it easier to blow-dry. The back part is one of the most difficult, but the sections will make it much more manageable.
It is essential to ensure one section is dry (especially the root) before pulling the next down. If the heart of the previous section retains any moisture, it will wet the hair you put on top of it and frizz it.
Experienced, you can straighten the hair with a blow dryer and round brush like in salons. If it’s your first time, you can use a paddle or racquet brush, which has a flat square shape that is easier to handle. Follow these steps to learn how to blow dry your hair straight:
- Start by placing the brush near the root on the inside of the hair.
- Direct the air towards the hair above the brush. It is not necessary to rest the dryer during the meeting; it is advisable to keep a distance of about 10 centimeters so that the hair does not suffer from direct heat.
- Pull the hair down with the brush as you blow-dry to achieve a more powerful straightening effect.
- We advise you to work the roots and mid-lengths with the brush and blow-dryer before working to the ends. This will give you a better result, and the hair will last longer. Once the roots and mid-lengths are dry, glide to the ends of the hair, always directing the airflow downwards to seal the hair cuticle.
- Continue working all the sections in the same way: dry the roots and mid-lengths, and finish by gliding the brush to work the ends of the hair.
- When you are finished with all the hair, before applying any product or touching the hair, let it cool down to set the shape. You can also go over the hair with the blow dryer on the relaxed setting but always direct the air downwards.
How to keep your hair straight after blow-drying
If you have already learned how to straighten your hair at home with a blow dryer at YeaPei, we want to give you some recommendations to keep your hair straight for as long as possible.
- If you think it is necessary, you can give a review with the hair iron, but only show a few gentle passes on the ends to further mark the straightening. This sealing with an iron will make your hair last longer.
- Apply a serum or oil to the ends to seal the cuticle and eliminate frizz.
- Avoid touching your hair constantly, as grease from your fingers or dirt accumulated on your hands will only make your hair dirty and cause the straightening to fade.
- A trick to extend the duration of your straightening is to use a dry shampoo to avoid washing your hair too soon and enjoy a few more days of your straightening. Find out how to dry clean your hair here.
If your hair tends to get greasy too quickly after blow-drying, discover some tricks to remove grease from your hair without washing it in our article How to remove fat from hair.
How to Straighten Your Hair With a Blow Dryer in 7 Simple Steps
I can’t control my hair. It isn’t straight. It’s not curly. In actuality, it falls somewhere in the slightly wavy to frizztastic range. My lovely stylist categorizes it as “2A hair,” whatever that means. What I do know is that every morning when I wake up, my natural part shifts and I’m greeted by the ever-present cowlick.
1: Prep the Hair
Start with clean, towel-dried, damp hair. For extra styling, use a heat protecting and straightening balm to prevent damage to the strands.
2: Divide the Hair
Using a comb, split the hair into three equal segments. Make a middle part, take the two side segments, and pin them up. Leave the back section down for now.
3: Select the Starting Portion
Take the back segment of hair and divide it horizontally in half. Clip the top part and leave the rest down.
4: Keep the Hair Damp
Remember: You can’t straighten dry hair with a blow dryer, so the key is to keep it damp. Fill a spray bottle with water and spritz the hair before styling.
5: Use a Round Brush to Comb while You Dry
Grab a round ceramic brush, and starting from the underside of your hair, brush from roots to ends. Use the dryer to follow the path of the brush, exposing the hair directly to the heat. Make sure to keep the tension consistent (and ideally, tight) to equally distribute the heat. Pull the hair over the round brush and continue to blow dry evenly, creating a uniform texture.
6: Repeat the above steps
Once you’ve finished with the back bottom section of hair, keep moving along until you’ve got the sexy, straight style you’ve been wanting.
7: Spray a little hairspray
For extra hold (let’s be real, we could all use a little added security), spritz on some firming or hair spray to keep the style.
How to straighten your hair with hair dryer
Yes, it is possible to use a blow dryer to straighten your hair. However, using a blow dryer for this purpose can be time-consuming and may not produce the same results as using a dedicated hair straightening tool, such as a flat iron. Additionally, using a blow dryer to straighten your hair can cause heat damage, which can lead to dry, brittle hair. It is generally recommended to use a heat protectant spray or serum on your hair before using heat styling tools, and to avoid using heat on your hair too frequently.
Is it better to straighten or blow dry hair?
It depends on the individual’s hair type and desired style. Straightening hair with a flat iron will typically result in a smoother, sleeker finish than blow drying alone. However, blow drying can be a quick and easy way to straighten hair, and can also add volume and body to the hair.
It is generally recommended to use a heat protectant spray or serum on your hair before using heat styling tools, and to avoid using heat on your hair too frequently to prevent heat damage. Ultimately, the best option will depend on your personal preferences and the condition of your hair.
Is it better to blow dry hair before straightening?
It depends on the individual’s hair type and desired style. Blow drying hair before straightening it with a flat iron can help to speed up the straightening process, as the hair will be partially dry and therefore require less heat to straighten. Additionally, blow drying can help to add volume and body to the hair, which can give the finished style more bounce and movement.
However, blow drying alone may not produce the same smooth, sleek results as straightening with a flat iron, so it may be necessary to use a flat iron after blow drying to achieve the desired look. It is generally recommended to use a heat protectant spray or serum on your hair before using heat styling tools, and to avoid using heat on your hair too frequently to prevent heat damage.
What is the best way to straighten your hair permanently?
There is no permanent way to straighten hair. The hair’s natural texture will eventually return after any temporary straightening methods have worn off. Some temporary straightening methods, such as chemical hair straightening or Brazilian blowouts, can last for several weeks or months, but will eventually wash out and the hair will return to its natural texture.
The only way to permanently straighten hair is to alter the hair’s structure through a chemical process, such as a Japanese straightening treatment or a hair relaxer. These treatments can permanently straighten hair, but can also be damaging to the hair and may require regular touch-ups to maintain the straightened look.