Everyone dreams to wake up and not have to do anything with their hair in the morning. This is possible but it does require a little bit of prep work to be able to make your hair last longer than a day. Most people will find if they let their hair air dry naturally, without the help of a blow-dryer it will get oilier faster.
Using correct high quality shampoo for your hair (Choosing the Right Shampoo and Conditioner For You) will help to make styling last longer and potentially mean washing your hair less. Blow-drying means using your blow-dryer with a small nozzle attachment and a round brush or paddle brush to stretch and smooth your hair. Not using a brush when blow-drying is what we call blast drying, this does not smooth your hair and can leave it quite frizzy. Scrunch drying or diffusing is using a blow-dryer with a diffuser attachment, designed to enhance movement and natural curl in hair. When getting out the shower being careful with your towel if you have curls is an important step. If you scrub your hair dry with towel your curls will be frizzy, you want to use the towel gently to scrunch and pat dry curls. With a little bit of experimenting and depending on your hair type you will determine what method is best for you.
It is important to do one of the above methods to assist in directing your hair to not sit flat to your scalp. Without doing this your hair will be prone to sitting flat and will get oilier faster meaning more frequent washing. If you tip your head upside down this will create much more volume. You want to blow-dry the hair where you want it to sit, but at your roots you want to blow-dry it the opposite for maximum volume eg. Blow dry upside down, or using brush to direct up.
A pre styling product is what you apply to damp hair before blow drying. This will be what locks your hair into place for days. Pre styling products can be creams, sprays or mousse and is what will give you volume and hold. Hairsprays are a finishing product used last in the styling process to set, skipping a pre styling product will not give your hair the grip and hold it needs to last for days.
My favourite pre styling products:
O&M Know Knott – A great primer for all hair types before styling. Will condition and detangle. O&M Style Guru – Used to create movement in straight or curly hair. O&M Rootalicious Root Lift Mousse – If you like big hair with lots of volume or if your hair struggles with hold this is a stronger product to help. O&M Atonic Thickening Spritz – For fine hair, helps to temporarily thicken hair shaft and create hold, with added heat protector to protect fine hair. O&M Surf Bomb Sea Salt Spray – Gives effortless textured beach hair.
If you like a more relaxed blown out look, blow-drying with only a brush and no irons is a great option. It will leave a very soft result. If you like a tighter perfected curl, or super sleek straight, you will need to finish with an iron.
Finishing products are what you use on dry hair to lock in your style once you have finished blow-drying and using your irons. These compliment your pre-styling products and will make your hair last.
My favourite finishing products: O&M Desert Dry Volumising Texture Spray – Very Strong product so make sure to spray 30cm away from hair. This will help absorb oil, build texture and lift. O&M Frizzy Logic Finishing Shine Spray – Lightweight shine spray to help with frizz and softness. O&M Frizzy Logic Shine Serum – Serum to help with humidity, frizz, and control curls. Heavier version of shine spray better for thicker hair. O&M Original Queenie Firm Hold Hairspray – Sets your style in place with flexible hold so you can brush through and not left with a crunch. It contains Australian native Lilly Pilly which extends hold by reducing unwanted oil, while Quandong adds protection to nourish the hair. O&M Dry Queen Dry Shampoo – Gives instant cleaner thicker locks. Great for refreshing 2nd or 3rd day hair, removing oils and odour.
After spending time properly washing and drying your hair, a lot of people find after sleeping it loses shape. Sleeping with your hair in a loosely tied ponytail on top of your head can help with this. It will stop frizz caused whilst rolling around at night and keep your hair fairly neat. Using a silk or satin pillowcase will also help. You can also get satin bonnets/caps to wear at night to protect your hairstyle while sleeping. Another common problem that causes more frequent hair washing is exercising. After exercising and getting sweaty you can use your blow-dryer and brush to get in at the roots and dry it off. Letting it dry naturally after exercise will cause your style to look oily and limp. Spraying a bit of dry shampoo will help refresh and deodorise.
In the morning you may need to touch up your style but should not need to redo your whole head. Using an iron to either re-curl pieces or your blow-dryer to smooth straight again. You can add some of your favourite finishing products to refresh and get you through another day. O&M Frizzy Logic Finishing Shine Spray to help with frizz and O&M Original Queenie Firm Hold Hairspray to set for the day. For naturally curly hair, dampening with a water spray bottle can help to refresh and add a bit of extra O&M Style Guru or O&M Frizzy Logic Shine Serum.
Taylah Martin