How to Dry Hair Like a Professional

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1 Applying Product and Pre-Drying Your Hair

2 Drying the Bottom Layers

3 Drying the Top Layers

4 Styling Your Hair

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Expert Q&A

Tips and Warnings

Things You'll Need

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Co-authored by Hannah Metz and Hannah Madden

Last Updated: December 20, 2021 References

If you go to the salon a lot, you probably love the way your hair looks after a nice blow out. However, heading to the salon every time you dry your hair isn’t really an affordable option. If you want to get smooth hair that has a ton of volume, you can use a few simple hair styling tools and techniques to get a smooth, frizz-free blow dry on your own.

Steps

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Applying Product and Pre-Drying Your Hair

1. 1
   Detangle your hair with a wide-tooth comb. Comb out your hair while it's still wet, starting from the ends and gently working your way up. However, don't use a brush—brushing your hair while it's wet can cause damage and breakage.
2. 
   2
   Dry your hair with a towel to remove the majority of the water. Use a microfiber towel to gently dab the water out of your hair. Try not to rub the towel on your hair too much to avoid creating frizziness.

   • Microfiber towels help to prevent frizziness once your hair is dry.
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3. 
   3
   Apply a smoothing styling product with heat protectant. Choose a styling product that works for your hair, like a mousse or hair clay, and make sure it has a heat protectant in it to prevent damage and breakage. Apply a liberal amount over your hair and rub it through to the ends with your fingers.

   • Heat protectant creates a barrier between your hair and the blow dryer.
4. 
   4
   Attach a nozzle to your hair dryer to concentrate the air. Hair dryer nozzles look like flat pieces of plastic that attach to the front of your hair dyer. Attach one of these to your hair dryer to concentrate the hot air and make your blow drying go faster.

   • You can purchase a hair dryer nozzle at most beauty supply stores.
   • Use a professional-grade hair dryer for the best results.
5. 
   5
   Flip your head over and dry it about 90% of the way. Turn your head upside down and concentrate your hair dryer near your roots for extra volume. Point the nozzle of your hair dryer towards your scalp and roots. Keep drying your hair until the roots are dry but the ends are still damp.

   • Always keep the nozzle pointed down along your hair's cuticles, not up. This will help prevent frizz and damage.

   Tip: Use your fingers to gently lift up your roots as you dry to give your hair extra volume.

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Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Drying the Bottom Layers

1. 
   1
   Pull your hair into a half-updo. Pull the hair from the top of your ears upwards into a small knot on the crown of your head. Pin your hair up with a large clip or hair tie to keep it out of the way.

   • Drying your hair altogether takes a lot longer and won’t give you as smooth of a finish.
   • If you have hair cut in a pixie or shorter, you don’t need to separate your hair. Instead, try to work from the bottom up as you dry in vertical sections.
2. 
   2
   Separate your bottom layers into 2 to 3 sections. Gently separate the bottom area of your hair into vertical sections with your fingers. Depending on how thick your hair is, create 2 to 3 sections about as wide as your round brush to work with on either side of your head and secure them back with a hair tie. Leave 1 section unsecured.
3. 
   3
   Dry each section separately. If you'd like, you can use a brush to help hold your hair while you dry it. Use a round brush to add more volume, or a flat brush if you want a sleek, straight style. Hold the brush underneath your hair, then point the blow dryer down toward the brush as you brush out that section from root to ends.

   • Always keep the nozzle of your hair dryer at least 2–3 in (5.1–7.6 cm) away from your hair.
   • You can find round and flat brushes at most beauty supply stores.
4. 
   4
   Keep your hair dryer pointed straight down as you blow dry. As you run your brush through each section of hair, keep your hair dryer pointed in the direction that your hair grows. This discourages frizz and makes your hair lay flat once it’s dry.

   • This also helps close your hair cuticles to prevent split ends over time.
5. 
   5
   Dry all of your bottom layers completely. Continue blow drying your hair 1 section at a time until all of your bottom layers are dry. Give your bottom layers a final brush before moving on.

   • You can use a normal paddle brush to brush out your hair once it’s dry.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Drying the Top Layers

1. 
   1
   Separate the top layers of your hair into 3 to 4 sections. Take your hair out of the single knotted updo and clip your hair into 3 to 4 vertical sections on the top of your head that are about as wide as your round brush. If you have bangs, separate those in their own section on top of your forehead.

   • Drying your bangs separately will give them added volume and make your face-framing layers stand out.
2. 
   2
   Pick up 1 section of hair by the roots with your brush. Unclip a single section of your hair and run your brush underneath it at your roots. Keep your hair lifted up off your scalp.
3. 
   3
   Pull your hair taut as you brush it outwards. Run the brush down your section of hair and pull it away from your face and scalp. Keep it pulled as tightly away from your head as possible as you dry.

   • Keeping your hair pulled taut reduced kinks near your hairline and helps to smooth out your ends.
4. 
   4
   Point the hair dryer downwards as you follow the brush down your hair. Turn on your hair dryer and point it down on top of your hair. Keep your hair dryer down as you dry, running your brush down the section of hair and then picking it back up again at the roots. Keep doing this until the entire section is dry.

   • Pay special attention to your ends, especially if they are dry or split. Smooth them out as much as you can with your brush.
5. 
   5
   Roll up each top section once it’s dry and secure it to your head with a clip. Pull your brush out of your hair and gently roll the section 2 to 3 times toward your head. Wrap it up over itself until it sits in a large, loose curl. Secure the curl to your head with a metal hair clip and leave it there until the rest of your hair is dry.

   • Rolling up your hair adds extra volume on the crown of your head.

   Tip: If you have multiple round brushes, you can use a round brush as a curler by starting at the ends of your hair and rolling it upwards over the brush until it reaches your roots.

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Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Styling Your Hair

1. 
   1
   Spray a fine mist of hairspray over your whole head. Lock your curls into place by holding a can of hairspray about 5 inches (13 cm) away from your head. Then, spray a thin layer of hairspray over your hair for a subtle hold.

   • Don’t add too much hairspray, or your hair could come out crunchy.
2. 
   2
   Let your hair cool down for at least 10 minutes. Sit with the curls in your hair for at least 10 minutes or until your hair cools down all the way. Try not to take out your curls too early, or your hair could fall flat again.

   Tip: You can leave your curls in for as long as 1 hour if you want a more wavy hairstyle.
3. 
   3
   Take out the curls and run your fingers through them. Release your hair from the pins one by one and shake out your curls. Gently comb through your hair with your fingers to break up the curls.
4. 
   4
   Add hair oil to your hair to add moisture and reduce frizziness. Put 1 drop of hair oil, serum, or heat protectant in your hand and rub it around your palms. Starting at the ends, run your hands through your hair and smooth it down to lock in your style.

   • Try not to add too much hair oil near your roots, or it could make your hair look greasy.
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Expert Q&A

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• Question

  How wet should your hair be when you blow dry it?

  

  Hannah Metz
  Professional Makeup & Hair Artist

  Hannah Metz is a Professional Makeup & Hair Artist. She is the Owner & CEO of Anomalie Beauty Agency. The agency features a team of Makeup & Hair Artists, offering luxury, on-location services with a diverse focus in many areas of expertise, such as Bridal, Brand Campaigns & E-commerce, Lifestyle, Events, Corporate Events, Headshots & Conferences, Print, Media & Television, and more. Anomalie’s team represents artists & stylists in Chicago, Nashville, and Charlotte, with plans to expand across the US, and offers mobile services both nationwide and internationally. Before founding Anomalie, Hannah was the CEO of Hannah Elisabeth Beauty. With over ten years of experience, she specializes in providing luxury makeup artistry and hair styling. Hannah and her team have completed beauty work for brand campaigns, celebrity red carpet events, and social media influencers. Hannah believes in the power of hair and makeup to help women’s inner beauty shine through.

  

  Hannah Metz

  Professional Makeup & Hair Artist

  Expert Answer

  Your hair should be about 80% dry when you start blow-drying. Make sure that you don't use a brush before this point, or else you might damage your hair.

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Tips

• To avoid damaging your hair, avoid blow drying more than once a week.
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Things You’ll Need

• Round brush
• Paddle brush
• Hair dryer
• Hair dryer nozzle
• Styling product
• Hair oil
• Hair clips
• Hairspray