How To Blow Dry & Style Your Own Hair

by Laura Collins23 May 2024Categories: Hair Styling 0 Comment

Have you ever left the hair salon with your hair styled perfectly from your hairstylist to then not be able to recreate the look on yourself at home? Well in this blog post I’m going to give you my best tips for learning how to easily blow dry your own hair at home! I will share tips on how to use a round brush for blow drying, but you can also skip the brush and follow the tips with using your hands and a blow dryer as well.

Below you can watch my Youtube video where I teach my mom how to blow dry and style her hair herself. This is helpful to watch even if you don’t have the exact same cut as her, you’ll still pick up some tips as well as mistakes to avoid!

Before you start

Before you get started, there are a few things you should do to prepare for your blow dry:

1. Practice manipulating the round brush

If this is your first time round brushing, I recommend first getting acclimated with your round brush. It can feel awkward at first if you aren’t used to manipulating the brush in your hands.

When I first started doing hair, I actually used to practice flipping the round brush around in my hands while I was watching TV. This helped significantly to reduce the amount of times I dropped or fumbled a brush.

I recommend watching my Youtube video above if you haven’t already and test out the same movements in your hands to create the muscle memory so that it’s easier when you actually get started.

2. Apply product

***Since I’m sharing the products that I love to use with you guys, this page includes affiliate links to these products. If you take action and purchase a product through clicking one of my links, I’ll make some commission money from it at no extra cost to you. This enables me to be able to continue giving you awesome hair tips, so thanks! ***

The next thing you should do to prepare for your blow dry is to apply your hair product. You’ll do this directly out of the shower or right before you begin.

I recommend starting small with the product, and adding more as needed. Most people actually use way too much product, so be contentious of this when applying. Typically you’ll want to use a quarter to a golfball size of mousse in your hand, and a nickel size product of any serum if you’re using a serum.

I recommend using a mousse and either a blow out spray, leave-in conditioner, hair serum, or a combination of them all.

Below are my favorite products to use before blow drying

3. Rough dry and section the hair

To begin, I recommend either letting your hair air dry for a bit or rough blow drying it to get most of the moisture out of the hair. I suggest getting the hair about 80% dry before beginning with the round brush. This will significantly reduce the amount of time you’ll need to round brush the hair and will make it a lot easier on you.

Next, grab a clip because you’re going to section out the hair. You don’t need to create all the sections to begin with, but clipping hair out of the way will make it easier to be much more precise on the specific area that you’re working on. I suggest starting in the nape of the head (all the hair below the occipital bone on the back of your head) and working your way forward and up.

Getting started

When it comes time to pick up the brush and blow dryer, hold the brush in your dominant hand and the blow dryer in your non-dominant hand. For me, this is what works best. That being said, many people choose it the other way around because of the weight of the blow dryer. I just find that it’s easier for me to manipulate the brush with my right hand and I have an easier time moving the dryer with my left hand.

Now when you hold the blow dryer, make sure you are aiming the blow dryer in the direction that you want the hair to lay. If you want the front of the hair to lay to the right side and back, then aim the blow dryer in that direction. If you want the hair to flip up in the back, make sure the dryer is below the hair blowing upwards.

When you do add in the round brush (if you choose to) use scooping movements in the direction that you want the hair to lay. The best way to see what I mean is by watching my Youtube video below to see my demonstration.

Finishing touches

Once you’ve finished blow drying all sections of your hair with the round brush, use your hands and the blow dryer to smooth the hair out. I do this with the dryer set on cool. Blasting the hair with cool air will help to set the style in place. It seals the cuticle and smooths the hair out.

At this point you can add your hairspray or other styling products. For the most part, I like to use hairspray. I usually use hairspray over other texturizing pastes because it can be brushed out well and you don’t need to wash your hair the next day. Some texturizing pastes can get gunky and cause the need to wash your hair everyday.

When spraying your hairspray, be sure to hold the can 8-10 inches away from your head. If you hold it too close you’ll create buildup that can actually cause breakage and separation in the hair. I also like to spray it in little spirts instead of long streams. This ensures that you don’t overspray and use too much.

You also want to make sure that you hold the can at the same angle as you held blow dryer. So if you wear your crown backwards, you’ll hold the can above your head and spray backwards, not spraying from behind. It’s very important to be intentional with the direction of the hairspray to help the style.

Conclusion

If you’ve ever struggled with round brush blow drying your hair yourself at home, know that you’re not alone. I hope that this post will help give you some helpful tips and make it a little easier to give yourself a salon blowout.

Tips for blow drying your own hair:

Practice manipulating the brush
Apply product
Rough dry
Section the hair
Hold the brush in your dominant hand
Aim the dryer in the direction you want the hair to lay
Use scooping movements with the round brush
Use your hands and blow dryer to smooth out the hair on cool
Hold hairspray 8-10 inches away
Use little spirts of hairspray instead of a constant stream
Hold the can at the same angle as the blow dryer

If you have any further questions for me on this or suggestions for any other blog posts, leave them for me in the comments below! Make sure to subscribe if you want to make everyday a good hair day!

Have A Good Hair Day Hair Styling