A look into bathroom closets and cabinets reveals that putting fluff in flat hair and curling straight hair has been the primary concern for many of us from our early teen years through adulthood. We find blow dryers, several kinds of rollers, curling irons and specialized tools that we have used at one time or another to accomplish the look we want. Some of them are gathering dust because they failed to give the result we had hoped for. Before looking for yet another new piece of equipment, lets make sure the current tools are being used properly.

First things first, lets start with the blow dryer. Get the proper motor strength for your hair. Thick or long hair requires a dryer with enough power to get the job done in a reasonable amount of time. 1500 watts is sufficient. Less strength is needed if your hair is thin, fine or just dries quickly. When I work I use high heat to finish the task as quickly as possible, unless the hair is very fragile, then I use medium or low heat. Always keep the focus of the dryer moving. Concentrating the heat on one area for too long will damage the hair. Letting the hair air-dry for a short period of time while you attend to other chores will shorten the blow dryer time.

Start by drying the hair next to the scalp first and then move out to the ends. Fullness can be achieved by brushing the hair the opposite direction from which it will lay in the finished style. When drying long hair, turning your head upside down and drying the root area first can help you achieve more fullness. The use of control and direction while drying will reduce the styling time later on.

Some dryers have a cool button. This is used when using a round brush. You put the curl in with the brush and then blow cool air on it to set the curl instead of letting the warm hair drop, thereby loosening the curl.

A helpful blow-dryer attachment is a diffuser. It is used to speed up drying time while not disrupting and sometimes even increasing the natural curl or wave in the hair. The diffuser softens the airflow from the full force of the dryer to that of a gentle breeze. During the drying time, you can gently push wave into the hair. You can scrunch wave in with your hand or lean over so that the hair rests on the diffuser and encourage the curl by pushing it in with the attachment. The drying of the hair can make all the difference in the finished style.

With the proper equipment and the proper technique over-all styling time can be shortened while resulting in a more desirable finish.
With minimum care a dryer should last several years.

Read my review of the Ionic Blow Dryer.

Beautiful hair begins with great condition.
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