After almost 15 years of caring for my hair and trying to find multiple ways to manage it, I think I've finally mastered the art of The Perfect Blowout.
My formative teenage years when you start paying attention to the details of your appearance started with my hair. I was a kid who had acne early and I still carried the cherubic rotundedness of my baby fat that had yet to melt away. The one thing I could control was my hair. Up until I was 13, I had long hair that went past my butt. I always had it in a ponytail or a bun. But one day, I woke up, decided to chop it all off, and thus began my foray into haircare.
I learned how to braid my own hair, I learned how to make the perfect bump-free ponytail, and I learned how change my appearance from casual to formal with a simple well-placed part. But the one thing I've never been able to get right was the blowout. Until now. And here are my instructions if you still struggle.
What you need:
A towel
A wide-tooth comb
A heat activated hair spray
A blowdryer
A straightening ion
A shining serum
1. Take a shower (or a bath). Clean hair is best for a blowout. Second-day, dirty hair is good for texture and curls, but a blowout needs volume and to achieve that, one must start with clean hair.
2. Blot hair dry until only lightly damp. Take this time to also comb through hair and gently get rid of tangle with a wide-tooth comb.
3. Apply a heat-activated spray to the hair and start blowdrying with the nozzle pointed downward. Make sure not to blowdry a section of hair for more that 5 seconds (keep the nozzle moving!).
4. Once the hair is dry, separate hair into sections (hair at the nape, hair at the crown, hair on the left and right side of the crown, and hair at the front. If time permits, separate hair into more sections).
5. Start by using the straightening iron at the section of the hair at the nape. Once that's straightened, move to the next section until you've reached the hair at the top of the head.
6. Once hair is all straightend, take a dime-sized amount of shining serum into your hands and rub in your palms before applying it to the outer layer of your hair. Make sure to use on flyaways.
7. Take the blowdryer and do a quick shot of heat to the outer layer of the hair to break up the strands. Then to finally finish off the job, do a quick shot of cool air to the hair with the nozzle pointed downwards. This set the hair.
8. Toss your hair and admire your handiwork! Great job!
