How to Straighten Hair with a Dryer

Do you want to have salon-standard dried hair without spending a lot of money? If you have curly or wavy hair and want to blow-dry it straight, it’s important to use the right technique to prevent frizz or puffiness. If you prepare your hair well and take care when drying it, your hair will still be straight, smooth and shiny for many days.

Table of Contents

Prepare before drying

Find the right tool. The most basic tool you’ll need to straighten your hair is a good hair dryer that has a blower to focus the hot air. Thus, you can dry your hair smoother than when using a dryer without a blower. Most hair dryers come with a blower, but if you don’t have one, you can buy a separate blower at a beauty supply store. In addition to a hair dryer, you will also need the following: ^{[1] X Research Source}

Wide tooth comb
Large round comb with boar bristles
Products to protect hair from heat
Hair oil or anti-frizz serum

Head washing. Wash and condition your hair as usual. You’ll be drying your hair straight, so consider using a straightening shampoo and conditioner to reduce volume before blow-drying.

Blot hair dry. As soon as you step out of the shower, use a towel or an old t-shirt to gently blot the water out of your hair. ^{[2] X Research Source} Do not wring, rub, or twist your hair, as it can cause frizz if you do. Use only an old towel or t-shirt to absorb dripping water.

Brush hair. Use a wide-tooth comb to smooth your hair and remove tangles before drying. It’s much better to start drying when your hair is no longer tangled, as the round brush can get caught in tangles and damage your hair.

Apply heat-protective hair products. Products that protect hair from heat have ppymer ingredients that stick to the hair and keep it from burning when blow-drying. Squeeze a dime-sized amount of product into the palm of your hand, rub your hands together, and work through hair from root to tip. ^{[3] X Source of Research} You can use a smoothing cream or foam with a heat protectant if it doesn’t stick to your hair. Check the product label to be sure.

If you don’t have a product that protects your hair from heat, you can use a dry conditioner or an anti-frizz serum with a lather or gel to help the product stick to your hair. It’s still better than drying your hair without using any products.
Avoid using too much product, as this can make your hair look weak, even greasy instead of shiny.

Gina Almona

Hair stylist

Gina Almona is the owner of Blo It Out, a hair salon in New York City. With over 20 years of beauty coaching experience, Gina’s work has been featured in People Magazine, Time Out New York and Queens Scene. She is always fresh in her industry by demonstrating her competence and participating in trade shows and seminars such as the International Beauty Show. She trained in cosmetology at the Long Island School of Cosmetology, Astoria.

Gina Almona
Hair stylist

Pro Tip: Using a heat protectant and a blower attached to the blow dryer are two important factors in protecting your hair while drying and styling. You also need to remember to divide your hair into small sections before drying.

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Move to the bedroom. Humidity causes frizz to curl, so drying your hair in the bathroom right after a hot shower isn’t a good idea. For best results, dry your hair in the bedroom or another room with a mirror and low humidity.

Straighten hair

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Blow-dry hair relatively dry. Instead of drying your hair straight away, you should start by pre-drying your hair to about 80% dry without using a comb. Hold the blow dryer away from your head and blow-dry your entire hair, running your fingers through the hair and massaging the layers to dry evenly. Stop drying while hair is still damp but not wet.

The pre-drying step will help prevent hair damage from round combs and dryers. If you use the comb right away, each section of hair will have to go through twice as many brushings. It’s better to do most of the blow-drying process without using a comb.
Remember to point the dryer head down so that the wind blows down the hair shaft from root to tip, not up. This drying method closes the hair cuticle and makes the hair look smoother.

Clip the top hair. Gather the top section of hair and clip or tie it in a ponytail on the top of your head. You will start drying the lower layers of hair first, then gradually let the upper layers dry until the entire hair is completely dry. This way you can blow dry and straighten your hair more evenly.

Wrap a small section of hair through a round comb. Select a section of hair that is wrapped through a round comb near the hairline. Place the comb close to the head, wrap the hair over the comb and let the ends hang down. This step will help you stretch the hair while drying, an important operation for straightening hair.

Turn on the dryer and place the dryer head about 5-8 cm away from the comb. Usually, you will use medium heat to limit damage to your hair. However, for curly hair, you will have to blow dry on the hottest setting to ensure that the hair is straight.

Point the hair dryer down while using the comb to stretch the hair from root to tip. Hold the comb to stretch the hair and comb it all the way from the root to the tip, while pointing the dryer head down and moving the dryer along the length of the hair. Comb and dryer must move synchronously.

With flat hair, you should part your hair from the bottom up. If you want your hair to lie flat, brush it down.
Either way, you must remember to point the dryer head down so that the air flows from the roots to the ends of the hair. This helps the hair shaft lie flat and prevents tangles.
Move the blow dryer back and forth across your hair so the heat doesn’t concentrate in one area.

Repeat several times until the hair is dry. Usually one blow is enough to dry a section of hair. Continue drying that section of hair until it is completely dry and straightened. Don’t forget to comb from the roots to the ends and stretch the hair. Remember to point the dryer head down. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Continue drying your hair one section at a time. Continue drying until the entire layer of hair below is completely dry, then release the next layer and repeat the above operation. Keep drying until the hair is completely dry from top to bottom.

Perfect hairstyle

Blow cool air into your hair. Switch the hair dryer to cool setting and finish the top layer by blowing cool air from the roots down to the ends. The cool breeze will help the hair shaft lie down and prevent tangles throughout the day. This step also helps you spot wet spots. Any wet hair must be blow-dried again.

Apply serum to keep hair shiny. Use an anti-frizz serum or argan oil to keep your hair smooth and straight. Rub a small amount of product into your fingers and work through your hair, focusing on the ends, which tend to dry out quicker than the rest of your hair.

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Use a hair straightener if necessary. Wavy and curly hair can be difficult to straighten completely with a hair dryer. Your hair may be shiny, but not straight. If you want to have perfectly straight hair, you can use a straightener to straighten each section of your hair.

Advice

Avoid humid environments. Your hair will curl if it gets wet, so try to keep it dry and away from water. Wear a hat when it’s raining outside.
Clean your hair with dry shampoo. A good blow-dry once will take up a lot of time and effort, but you can keep it looking good for days by taking care to keep it wet. The roots may need cleaning after a few days. Sprinkle dry shampoo or baby powder all over your hairline, wait 5 minutes for the powder to absorb the oil, then brush your hair until smooth.

Warning

As with all electrical appliances, be careful when using hair dryers and straighteners near water and/or small children. Unplug the hair dryer or straightener after use and keep the straightener in a safe place out of reach until it cools down to avoid burns.

Things you need

Hairdryer
Products to protect hair from heat
Round comb made of wild boar hair
Hairclip
Serums

Steps