How to Cut Your Blowdry Time
Photo: Walter Chin/Trunk Archive
The summer beauty benefit we miss most: our hair drying almost instantaneously after washing it. With temperatures already dipping into the 40s we’ve found ourselves digging out our hairdryers to avoid chilly hair on our necks during the morning commute. We enlisted some leading stylists to discuss their genius methods and products to get you out the door fast.
“The first key step for starting the blow dry is to squeeze as much water out of the hair with your towel as possible,” says Cash Lawless. Meanwhile, Castillo says the secret to absorbing water on the double is right in your kitchen. “Using paper towels will help soak up much more water giving you a great kick start to that salon blow out,” he says.
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Many hair products are designed to protect your hair from heat styling and encourage it to dry smooth and shiny, but it’s important to read the label. “Interestingly enough, the first ingredient in most products is water,” says Lawless. “So if you’re looking for a faster dry time, it’s counter intuitive to start by adding more moisture.” He suggests prepping thick hair with Bumble and Bumble Invisible Oil and medium to fine hair with Size Matters by Rock Your Hair on the roots. Castillo prefers Joico’s Heat Set Cream. “This cream helps with moisture, shine, and hold, and keeps you from walking away from a blow dry feeling like your hair is frizzy, over-dried, and tangled,” he says.
For textured hair, Lawless says a brush takes more time but will help achieve a polished result. “I know some women are concerned that the extra heat necessary to dry wetter hair might be damaging but in reality it’s pretty insignificant,” he says.
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If you have straighter hair or aren’t looking for an ultra-sleek ‘do, you may want to do a “rough dry,” haphazardously drying your hair while touseling it with your fingers until it’s 90% dry. Lawless says that while many believe flipping your head over upside down will provide volume, the extra bounce is only temporary. There is another benefit, though. “Drying your hair upside down exposes all of the roots and allows you to give a more thorough blowdry as you aren’t fighting gravity, you’re working with it,” says Lawless. “When you are upright the hair on the top of your head blankets the hair on the bottom, keeping it insulated and therefore holding its’ moisture longer.”
Once hair is mostly dry, go back over it with a round brush and smooth out the hair shafts. You could also try The Vixen by Sultra ($130) a creative new hairdryer/round brush hybrid that gets you shiny smooth hair without the arm cramps. Lawless loves Oribe Dry Texture Spray for a voluminous look.
And when you really feel the morning rush (or if your hair is turning to icicles) try washing the night before. “This will give you hair enough time to dry before the morning comes as well as help with natural volume and waves,” says Costillo.
