The Secrets to a Perfect Blowout, According to the Founder of Drybar

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The confidence that comes with a good hair day is immeasurable, but achieving a flawless style takes some know-how. That's why Alli Webb opened Drybar—a chain of salons offering only blowouts—in 2010, and never looked back. Now in her new book, The Drybar Guide to Good Hair For All ($17, amazon.com), Webb is divulging her tips and tricks to scoring the perfect blowout every day. In the excerpt below, she answers eight questions she hears from women all the time, to set the record straight on oily hair, frizz, and more.

Why does my hair get greasy so fast?

Could be a few things. It could be that you naturally produce a fair amount of oil and might benefit from a double wash every once in a while. Or maybe you didn’t rinse your conditioner completely out. But one common cause of hair feeling greasy before its time is overdoing it with product. With the exception of volumizing products, most styling aids should not be used near your root area. When they are, natural oils from your scalp plus whatever you are using add up to that greasy feeling you’re talking about.

P.S. Overwashing will also make your hair produce more oil. Try to wash at least every other day.

How do I combat frizz?

Well, first and foremost, make sure your hair is 100 percent dry, smooth, and sealed before you walk out the door. If your hair is even a little damp, it is sure to frizz up over the course of the day. Also, try to keep a travel-size hairspray, pomade, or cream in your purse—product is your hero when it comes to fighting frizz.

How can I stop the flyaways around my face and part when hairspray doesn’t totally solve the problem?

Flyaways, or, as I like to call them, antennae, come from overworking your bangs or overstretching very wet hair. We all have baby hairs, especially around the face, so always rough-dry the roots a little to allow those baby hairs to settle down, then grab your brush to start styling.

My round brush always gets stuck in my hair. What gives?

Are your sections small enough? I can’t stress enough the importance of working in clean 1- to 2-inch sections and making sure the hair on the brush isn’t exceeding the size of the brush barrel. Perfecting each section before moving on to the next is the absolute key to a great, no-frizz blowout.

How frequently should you trim your hair if you want to grow it out?

This is an age-old debate. I say trim it—and by trim I mean a very sight dusting—every four to six weeks. You don’t want those frayed ends snapping off every time you blow out your hair.

How hot is too hot for the flat iron?

I think a good rule of thumb with all tools is to keep the heat on a lower setting (300 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit) if your hair is damaged or very processed. Make sure you always use a heat protectant and don’t leave an iron in your hair for more than a few seconds.

How do you fix a weird kink or texture issue post-styling? There’s always that one piece of hair that won’t cooperate!

Oh man, we have all been there. It’s pretty darn hard to change dry hair without a hot tool, but you can try a few tricks:

• Wet only that area with water or a primer spray (which is much better for your hair) and re-blow it.
• Try using pomade, styling cream, or hair oil on your hands, and twist the funky sections until they’ve been camouflaged.
• Always keep a few bobby pins around in case you can hide a frizzy spot by twisting in a braid or twist.

How can I let my hair air-dry naturally and still have it look good?

For us curly/wavy/frizzy ladies, there are definitely ways to make your hair look great without blowing it out. It’s all about using the right product and setting your hair while it’s wet. It might take you a few times to find your product combo, but for me, I gravitate toward products that will help calm and soften my hair— like a super lightweight leave-in conditioner (focusing application on my ends) or a hair primer. After I apply product and comb it through, I tousle it and let it air-dry for a few minutes. Then I usually mist it all over with sea salt spray like Mai Tai Spritzer ($25, sephora.com) for texture and start twisting 1-inch sections all over. You want to make sure you get all your hair loosely twisted. Once in a while, I’ll twist in a little hydrating control cream like Chaser ($29, sehpora.com) to help tame the frizz. Now comes the most important part:

DO NOT TOUCH THE TWISTED SECTIONS UNTIL YOUR HAIR IS COMPLETELY DRY!

Once your hair is completely dry, softly and gently break up some of the twisted sections and tousle with your fingers. If there is still some lingering frizz, use cream or pomade and re-twist those sections. You’ll end up with your very own version of Drybar's Mai Tai.

SOURCE: health