Blow drying- Creating volume

Blow drying- Creating volume

First, the hair will have been washed, its best to shampoo twice when creating volume to really make sure any previous products are out of the hair as this can create a heavy drag. Conditioner should be used only on the mid-lengths and ends; it can make the hair heavier on the roots, which makes it harder to achieve a volumised hairstyle. The best shampoo and conditioner to use would be one specifically for achieving volume. These products are a lot lighter and don't way down the hairs so much. 

• The hair dryer should have a nozzle on the end is this directs the airflow, smoothing the hair down rather than blowing from all directions which will make the hair tangle and messy.

• Always use a heat protector on the hair before blow-drying, sprays are best for making sure the hair is evenly coated and projected, serums are great for damaged ends. 

The brush choice is important for this type of look. Its best to use a cylinder blow drying brush with vents in. this means you can get as close to the hair without burning it as the air passes through the brush. A Denman would not be ideal for this as the dryer needs to be kept just above the hair but not on the hair, it will burn.

When the client has been taken to be blow dried, the stylist shouldn’t just start with dripping wet hair, either towel dry or blast dry then apply the products. If you apply products before they will dilute in the hair and be less effective.

Start from the nape of the neck, this is the most methodical place to start as the hair will be left pretty undisturbed, its really easy to blow out the volume with the hair dryer.  You can use mousse or a root lift spray to keep a hold.

Alpha and Beta keratin- The hairs natural state is alpha keratin, the way the bonds are arranged in the hair shaft create your straight, wavy or curly hair. When the hair is wet, those bonds are broken down and this is called beta keratin, the bonds are reformed and dried into the new shape. This is when as soon as your hair gets wet, even from the rain it reverts back to its natural form.

With this in mind, when blow-drying the hair it needs to be left to cool after so the shape remains. The best way to do this is give the hair you have just worked on a blast with the cold air, this closes the cuticle and sets the new shape you have created.

When sectioning the hair make sure they are neat clean lines, if the sections are messy this can result in pulling in hair from other sections and not giving the best result.

When blow-drying a section, start at the root, blow-drying from above and below then pull the brush towards you as you pull the hair up whilst blow drying from root to tip to keep the hair smooth.  Leave the tips until the end of the section as this hair is most likely to be damaged so needs to least amount of heat applied.

To finish, curl the ends of the hair to create even more volume and backcomb the roots or crimp to give that last bit of volume. Then brush the curls out with a paddle brush, pulling together bigger sections of the hair and brush once from the bottom and top and repeat if necessary.

Here is a before picture, I did not wash the doll head, I just used sprayed it down with water, the hair was a little bit sticky so I didn't use any mouse after the first attempt as I could get the brush through it. But I will make sure I will wash the hair before shooting if it necessary.

Here is after the blow dry. I was pleased with the over all look of the hair after the blow dry as I felt it looked much smoother. There could be more volume, but there was volume there. 

To finish the look I used the small tongs on the ends of the hair, this over all lifted the style I feel.