Most people grab a hair dryer without thinking twice. Then they wonder why their hair breaks and looks dull. You’re making mistakes that add up over months and years. But you can change what you’re doing today.
High heat breaks down the protein bonds in your hair. That’s just chemistry. Your strands get weaker. They snap easier. The outer layer lifts up and you end up with frizz.
Grab a towel first. Press it against your hair instead of scrubbing back and forth. That rubbing motion roughs up the outside of each strand. Press and squeeze instead. Now wait ten minutes. Let your hair dry on its own for a bit. You’ll cut down on how long you need to blast it with heat.
Temperature actually matters here. Your hair handles 350 degrees without falling apart. Push past that and you’re cooking it. Most dryers go up to 400 or higher on the hot setting. Check yours before you turn it on.
Keep Your Distance
Distance protects your hair. Hold the nozzle six inches away from your head. Closer than that, and you concentrate too much heat in one spot. Move the device constantly. Never point it at the same section for more than a few seconds.
Point Down, Not Up
Direction changes everything. Point the airflow down the hair shaft, from roots to ends. This smooths the cuticle and adds shine. Pointing up does the opposite. It lifts the cuticle and creates frizz.
Your hair type affects your approach. Fine hair dries faster and needs lower heat. Thick hair is different. You’ll spend more time on it, but you can bump up the temperature without burning it. Curly hair is trickier. Each curl has a spiral shape that traps water inside, so drying takes forever. And here’s the thing about curls: they stick out from your head instead of lying flat against your scalp. That means they miss out on most of the oil your scalp makes to protect your hair.
Switch to cool air at the end. Blast your hair with cold air for thirty seconds when you’re done. The cold temperature seals your cuticle shut and helps your style stay in place. You get more shine this way too.
Wet hair stretches. The water inside each strand makes it more elastic than usual. Add heat while you’re stretching it and you get breakage. Don’t brush your hair while you dry it. Detangle everything first, then turn on your dryer.
Buy a heat protectant spray. Spray it on wet hair before you start. The product coats each strand and takes the hit from the heat source instead of your actual hair. Will this stop all damage? No. But it cuts down on how much happens.
Try washing every other day. Skip a day and see what happens. When you wash daily, you strip away the oils from your scalp. Your body makes those oils on purpose. They’re there to protect your hair from damage. Give them a chance to work.
Your hair tells you when something’s wrong. Split ends show up first. You start seeing more strands in your brush each morning. Or your hair just looks dead. Flat. Dull. No shine at all. That’s your cuticle layer falling apart. Don’t wait around for it to get worse. Change what you’re doing now.
Lower the heat more than feels necessary. Keep the dryer moving and pointed down. End every session with cold air. Do these things each time and your hair breaks less. You’ll notice the difference in a few weeks.
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