The blow dryer is perhaps the quintessential hair styling tool, and is by far the most commonly used tool in the entire hair care industry. Thanks to its design that combines forced, powerful air with high temperatures, blow dryers are exceptional at both drying the hair quickly while also adding volume and body to the hair. Perhaps where the tool shines best is in its ability to create and seal long-lasting hairstyles for even the most difficult of hair types.
How blow dryers restyle our hair’s natural shape
When applied to damp hair, the blow dryer is able to manipulate the hair into completely different shapes and styles than what the hair naturally is like, due to the wet hair breaking the hydrogen bonds of the hair and the hot air allowing for the hair to dry quickly in a new shape, sealing it into place. Think of hair much in the same way as one would think of a piece of clay: when clay is dry, it is hard and immovable, but when it is wet it is able to be shaped and deformed into all sorts of ways. When you take this reshaped piece of wet clay and subject it to extremely hot heat, it is able to harden rapidly and seal itself into its new shape.
Because of the way in which the heat from the blow dryer is able to interact with the malleable shape of the wet hair strand, the blow dryer is an excellent tool for creating all manners of hairstyles. While many use a blow dryer to create blowouts or to straighten the hair, a blow dryer is also capable of creating long lasting curls that can be as big or defined as you desire. Even in the straightest and most normal of hair types, a blow dryer is capable of manipulating the hair into beautiful curls.
How to use a blow dryer to curl the hair
While creating curls with a blow dryer isn’t as convenient and easy to do as with a curling iron or curling wand, you can create the same long lasting, beautiful results with just a blow dryer and a round hair brush. To start, you’ll want to select the correct hair brush for your desired curl shape. For tighter, more defined curls, you’ll want to use a thin round styling brush that lets you curl the hair into tight ringlets. For big, bouncy curls with massive volume, you’ll want to choose a thicker round styling brush with a large barrel size.
Once you’ve selected your brush, you’ll want to take a section of the hair and place it on top of the round styling brush. Work the hair into the bristles and begin rolling the brush away from your face until you’ve rolled the brush one full rotation. Holding the curl in place, use your other hand to point the hair dryer at the curled hair and blow a medium to high level of heat directly at the curled section of hair. Hold for a few seconds, then release and you have a curl!
How to Curl Hair with a Blow Dryer
