YOU SHOULD BE USING A HAIR DRYER
There’s a scene in the movie Saturday Night Fever where Tony Manero, played by John Travolta, is getting ready to go out. His routine centers on his hair, particularly getting it big and poofy with a blow dryer. Decades later, it remains one of the most recognizable men’s grooming moments in pop culture. Whether or not you’re old enough to remember it isn’t the point. It’s that Tony understood how important a blow dryer was in achieving the look he wanted (“Watch the hair!”).
That’s something your barber or hairstylist also knows and is why they use a blow dryer at the end of your haircut. See, hair dryers are used for more than just cleaning hair off your neck; they shape your hair, help products work better, and yes, help it dry faster. A blow dryer is one of the most important tools in a professional hairstylist’s arsenal, and it should be in yours too. A blow dryer can change the game for even short hair, and, let’s get real, if there is a tool that will get you out the door faster in the morning, why aren’t you using it?
If you don’t own a hair dryer, try using one at the gym to get a feel for it. Then buy an inexpensive one and try it out at home. Dryers can cost into the triple digits, but unless you’re a professional stylist or are going for an intricate quaff, a basic version will work just fine. As for how to use it? Here’s what you need to know.
Parts of a Hair Dryer
Most hair dryers are made up of the same basic components, even the cheapest ones. The more you pay, the more bells and whistles you’ll get, and whether you need to use them is up to you.
Heat Setting
Hair dryers commonly have three heat settings: low, medium, and high. These allow you to control how much heat is being blown onto your hair and scalp.
Fan Setting
Like the heat settings, many hair dryers come with multiple fan settings, which allow you to control how fast the air is moving. If yours doesn’t, it’s not as important as the heat settings. If yours does, keep it on medium or low (the high setting may cause frizz more easily).
Concentrator
When you buy a hair dryer, it may come with a few attachments. A common one is the concentrator, which is like an end cap with a slit in it. This forces the air through a smaller area, allowing you to control where it’s going more easily and target specific areas of the hair. It’s particularly useful for styles like pompadours, which depend on a lot of volume in the front.
Diffuser
Less common than concentrators, a diffuser is an attachment meant to mimic air drying by dispersing air into a larger area (like the opposite of a concentrator). These are used for curly hair, to preserve the natural texture of hair without frizzing it out, but still drying it quickly.
Cold Button
Most dryers will have a cold button, which turns off the heater and allows cold air to lock in the style once hair is dry.
Using a Hair Dryer
If you’ve never used a hair dryer, it can be intimidating, especially if your only interaction with them is at the barber when they do a bunch of fancy-looking stuff. In practice, it’s pretty simple. Just follow these steps.
Step 1: Comb Out Tangles
While your hair is still damp, run a comb or brush through to get rid of any tangles. While you’re doing that, start moving it into the general shape you want.
Step 2: Apply Product to Wet Hair
Some products like gels, salt sprays, and water-based pomades are meant to be applied on damp hair. Use a dime-sized amount and work it through all of your hair. Shape it into the style you want. As you blow dry, the product will activate.
Step 3: Don’t Hold It Too Close to Your Head
Hair dryers can get as hot as 140ºF, which means they actually can burn your scalp (and damage hair in the process). Always hold the dryer about 6 to 8 inches away from your head.
Step 4: Use It to Direct the Hair
The point of a hair dryer isn’t just to dry your hair but to shape it as it dries. Point the nozzle of the dryer in the direction you want your hair to go and let the air push it, like to get your bangs up and away from your face. If your hair dries in a certain shape, it will stay that way longer.
Step 5: Use a Brush
As you direct the air, you might want to use a brush to keep your hair in place. Holding your hair in position with a barber brush or round brush will help lock in the shape and make sure the roots dry quickly, which helps with volume.
Step 6: Don’t Overuse It
The downside to a hair dryer is that there is such a thing as heat damage; too much heat can make hair dry and brittle. Once your hair is dried how you want it, turn the dryer off. Drying it too much is counterproductive.