How to Blowdry Hair Sleek and Straight

Thanks for the advice Pink Hornet! Shall bookmark this topic for future reference.

Interesting that you mention using a paddle brush for straightening – I’ve tried with a round brush & you’re right, it doesn’t quite work for us newbs. When I’ve done it (not very often), I’ve been able to get my hair mostly straight, but my ends end up a bit curly, my hair’s all over the shop from sectioning it & my arms hurt from holding the brush & hairdryer. Makes me want to throw everything away in frustration!

Me too, my ends do this little annoying flip up thing!

My hair looks too thin when straightened with a straightner and awesome when blowdried straight, so I perservered and leant to blow dry.
This is what I have learnt, only the hairdresser seems to make round brushes work. Try a paddle brush, easiest for a beginner. A professional hairdryer or the best you can afford is key, with a concentration nozzle. Use the product your hairdresser used as well as a good shampoo and conditioner.
Dry your hair off to 85percent dry upside down or howevr without the nozzle. Then section, section, section. Start at the front then your eyes wont be tired by the time you get there. Then straighten the underneath layers at the back, either side and gradually keep doing layers until you reach the top. Always concentrate the nozzle down the hair shaft, stretch the hair out, tension is key.
At the end blast the front bit with cool to set.
Asking your hairdresser to teach you is a good idea. They probably will charge for the lesson. Like any professional teaching a skill. Good idea though.
I can get a professional result now, has saved me a fortune in blow dries 🙂
Good luck, practice and perservere.

The problem is, blowdrying really poofs my hair, so drying most of the way freestyle then blowdryin it straight might not work well.

Thanks for the advice Pink Hornet! Shall bookmark this topic for future reference.

Interesting that you mention using a paddle brush for straightening – I’ve tried with a round brush & you’re right, it doesn’t quite work for us newbs. When I’ve done it (not very often), I’ve been able to get my hair mostly straight, but my ends end up a bit curly, my hair’s all over the shop from sectioning it & my arms hurt from holding the brush & hairdryer. Makes me want to throw everything away in frustration!

Pink Hornet – great advice and tips!! I blow dry my hair exactly the same way you do it. It does take practice though and you need patience as you do need to do it section by section. And by blasting at the end with the cool hair helps to set the shape and also I find that it frizzes less. Use a frizz serum before blowdrying too and you can apply a bit more after.

My hair looks too thin when straightened with a straightner and awesome when blowdried straight, so I perservered and leant to blow dry.
This is what I have learnt, only the hairdresser seems to make round brushes work. Try a paddle brush, easiest for a beginner. A professional hairdryer or the best you can afford is key, with a concentration nozzle. Use the product your hairdresser used as well as a good shampoo and conditioner.
Dry your hair off to 85percent dry upside down or howevr without the nozzle. Then section, section, section. Start at the front then your eyes wont be tired by the time you get there. Then straighten the underneath layers at the back, either side and gradually keep doing layers until you reach the top. Always concentrate the nozzle down the hair shaft, stretch the hair out, tension is key.
At the end blast the front bit with cool to set.
Asking your hairdresser to teach you is a good idea. They probably will charge for the lesson. Like any professional teaching a skill. Good idea though.
I can get a professional result now, has saved me a fortune in blow dries 🙂
Good luck, practice and perservere.

Hi Danniro, this may seem abit silly of me, but why would you want to blow dry (a technique i’ve never managed to get a hang of), when it may be easier just using a hair straightener?

Well I mainly want to be able to dry my hair without puffiness and frizziness, which my hairdresser achieved and made it nice and sleek and straight!

Hi Danniro, this may seem abit silly of me, but why would you want to blow dry (a technique i’ve never managed to get a hang of), when it may be easier just using a hair straightener?

It’s like they have some secret magic! I was thinking of going down to the salon I went to to find out what products my hairdresser used, but I’m afraid that’ll result in more money spent and still no results. Can it really be just the products?
I watched a couple youtube videos and they all made it look quite easy, even when their hair was crazy curly and frizzy beforehand!
Perhaps it is the shampoo and conditioner, personally, I want to switch to sulfate and silicone free soon, I believe my hairdresser was using silicone free products.

Danniro, going silicone-free doesn’t always equate with magically revitalised hair. I’ve been silicone-free for a few months, and without the silicone I can feel the poor condition of my hair without the silicone to mask it. I expect that it’s going to take many cuts with the hairdresser and time for the old dead hair to grow out, DIY treatments etc, before I see a difference, if any. After a year, I will reassess and see if it’s worth continuing without the silicone. I could be wasting my time as I have a thyroid disorder, and one of the symptoms is extremely dry hair.

I am guessing that people with naturally curly hair see a faster transformation from removing the silicone as they remove the coating that was weighing their hair down, and thus their curls can spring back.

As far as hairdressers styling hair, remember that they’ve had years of training to get to that level of expertise.

I haven’t really had experience with going silicone free, but supposedly the products my hairdresser used were silicone free and I went 3 days without washing after she did my hair. Could just be that bowouts last that long, I dunno… But the fact that you say that makes me want to test silicone free before I take the plunge. Maybe I”ll see if I can purchase some samples.
But I mainly hope to just be able to extend my washing days by going silicone free, because right now I can’t do more than every other day as buildup occurs easily. I believe if I don’t wash as frequently, my hair will get much healthier.

Ask your hairdresser for a lesson. I couldn’t use a ghd to curl my hair until my hairdresser taught me. They may be applying a straightening product before they dry it.

That’s a good idea thanks

It’s like they have some secret magic! I was thinking of going down to the salon I went to to find out what products my hairdresser used, but I’m afraid that’ll result in more money spent and still no results. Can it really be just the products?
I watched a couple youtube videos and they all made it look quite easy, even when their hair was crazy curly and frizzy beforehand!
Perhaps it is the shampoo and conditioner, personally, I want to switch to sulfate and silicone free soon, I believe my hairdresser was using silicone free products.

Danniro, going silicone-free doesn’t always equate with magically revitalised hair. I’ve been silicone-free for a few months, and without the silicone I can feel the poor condition of my hair without the silicone to mask it. I expect that it’s going to take many cuts with the hairdresser and time for the old dead hair to grow out, DIY treatments etc, before I see a difference, if any. After a year, I will reassess and see if it’s worth continuing without the silicone. I could be wasting my time as I have a thyroid disorder, and one of the symptoms is extremely dry hair.

I am guessing that people with naturally curly hair see a faster transformation from removing the silicone as they remove the coating that was weighing their hair down, and thus their curls can spring back.

As far as hairdressers styling hair, remember that they’ve had years of training to get to that level of expertise.

I haven’t really had experience with going silicone free, but supposedly the products my hairdresser used were silicone free and I went 3 days without washing after she did my hair. Could just be that bowouts last that long, I dunno… But the fact that you say that makes me want to test silicone free before I take the plunge. Maybe I”ll see if I can purchase some samples.
But I mainly hope to just be able to extend my washing days by going silicone free, because right now I can’t do more than every other day as buildup occurs easily. I believe if I don’t wash as frequently, my hair will get much healthier.

Ask your hairdresser for a lesson. I couldn’t use a ghd to curl my hair until my hairdresser taught me. They may be applying a straightening product before they dry it.

It’s like they have some secret magic! I was thinking of going down to the salon I went to to find out what products my hairdresser used, but I’m afraid that’ll result in more money spent and still no results. Can it really be just the products?
I watched a couple youtube videos and they all made it look quite easy, even when their hair was crazy curly and frizzy beforehand!
Perhaps it is the shampoo and conditioner, personally, I want to switch to sulfate and silicone free soon, I believe my hairdresser was using silicone free products.

Danniro, going silicone-free doesn’t always equate with magically revitalised hair. I’ve been silicone-free for a few months, and without the silicone I can feel the poor condition of my hair without the silicone to mask it. I expect that it’s going to take many cuts with the hairdresser and time for the old dead hair to grow out, DIY treatments etc, before I see a difference, if any. After a year, I will reassess and see if it’s worth continuing without the silicone. I could be wasting my time as I have a thyroid disorder, and one of the symptoms is extremely dry hair.

I am guessing that people with naturally curly hair see a faster transformation from removing the silicone as they remove the coating that was weighing their hair down, and thus their curls can spring back.

As far as hairdressers styling hair, remember that they’ve had years of training to get to that level of expertise.

I haven’t really had experience with going silicone free, but supposedly the products my hairdresser used were silicone free and I went 3 days without washing after she did my hair. Could just be that bowouts last that long, I dunno… But the fact that you say that makes me want to test silicone free before I take the plunge. Maybe I”ll see if I can purchase some samples.
But I mainly hope to just be able to extend my washing days by going silicone free, because right now I can’t do more than every other day as buildup occurs easily. I believe if I don’t wash as frequently, my hair will get much healthier.