Five Tips for Natural Hair Blowdry

Blow-dry service by Benita Blocker

• Use a moisturizing conditioner layered by a Smoothing Conditioner
• Use a wide tooth comb and distribute each conditioner throughout in two separate passes.
• Set the dryer to "high heat" for platform dryer use unless you have a hair steamer.
• Allow at least 20 minutes conditioning time
• Avoid protein conditioning unless you want to define the curls more.

These steps should assist in hair hydration so much that the hair should feel elongated and non-resistant. (i.e. Ready for Blow-dry)

Natural Hair Dry Set and Updo

Hair by Benita Blocker, 2014

So my client turned age 15, and she loves her natural hair.  She does her own hair about 100% of the time, but she had a special event where she needed a polished natural style in the form of an updo per her mom's request.

So after shampooing with conditioning shampoos, I skipped the conditioning phase and went for the blow dryer.  So YES! She was a full blow-out but no hot irons.  Her texture was moderately resistant so the blow dry phase took at least 40 minutes. Then I performed the dry set in the form of 2-strand flat twists.

If you remember, sometimes I have dry set my locs by using a setting agent on them from a completely dry stage.  So the only wetness on the hair is generated from the setting agents.  Dry sets cuts down on the drying time for natural hair.  For short hair:  40 minutes.  For medium hair: an hour.  Getting the back of the 2 strand twist cornrows dry is where the challenge is.  So your front is guaranteed to be perfect which is the area that most people focus on.

Because my client had a formal event on a Saturday, we shampooed, blow-dried, and dry set on a Friday.  She left out with cornrows to sleep overnight then we unloosened each one to deliver beautiful waves. I absolutely loved it completely down but because of the event and the formal dress that she was going to be wearing, an updo was a must.  I french braided the back up to the bottom of her ears, then I french rolled the rest.

It turned out gorgeous!  She was the second one that I used the dry set technique on and so far, it is a perfect score for both clients.  Great timing especially if the hair is a easy blow-out and quick drying time. Average price is $45 to $55 depending on how long the blow-dry takes. I actually used the Mizani Moisture Stretch and Mizani Perfect Curls cocktailed to achieve this look.

If the hair is too long or too resistant for a quick blow-dry, then I recommend trying a method that does not require blow-drying.  20 to 40 minutes blow-dry maximum.  If you have to "divide and conquer" in order to keep control of the hair, then that may be a sign that the hair is too resistant to dry set.

Mid-Year 2014 Hair Quiz

Periodically, I have hair tips that are too short to compose a whole article so it's time for another hair quiz!

See if you know the answers to these questions:

1) Roller set question: Does your hair have to be soaking wet going onto a roller in order to create a smooth roller set?

2) Hair color question: Can semi-permanent squeeze bottle hair color stain the hair permanently?

3) Natural loose hair question: At what phase in a thermal straightening hair service can hair be determined to be resistant or not?

4) Braiding question: Which area of the head can suffer ripping hair from the follicle if locs or hair is overtightened or braided too tightly?

5) Loc question: What is a good checkpoint for making sure a loctician is giving you even parting sizes?

6) Salon question: How do you determine if you have a high quality client draping/capes?

7) Can mildew form within your hair or your locs?

8) How can you tell if your headwrap or headscarf is allowing enough air flow to your scalp for breathability purposes?

Answers:
1)  Yes, the hair needs to be soaking wet.  The way that the wet hair looks on the roller before rolling the hair up is how the hair is going to dry.  So keep the hair very wet so that it can cling onto the roller and set smoothly when dry.  If you have too many revolutions around the roller, then that is a different problem.  Either use larger rollers or smooth the hair out using heat after it is dry.

2) Yes, semi-permanent, no mix, squeeze bottle hair color stain can still become permanent if the client is receiving a lot of hot iron services.  The heat from the irons can seal the "rinse" into the hair. Usually, over time, the heat pushes the stain deeper into the hair.  Roller sets do not press the color into the hair like a hot iron will.  This is another reason not to hot iron "dirty" hair.  You do not want to press dirt deeper into the hair shaft.

3) If your "blow-dry phase" is a "bear" then yes, you have resistant hair!  20 minutes is an average blow-dry time for relaxed hair and most natural hair that is not resistant.  If your hair requires 40 minutes to blow-dry, and you still have an afro to tame, then yes, your hair is resistant. Straightening this type of hair goes completely against this hair's natural behavior.  Interlocking may also introduce breakage because the interlocking technique actually straightens natural hair by uncoiling it. Traditional comb or finger twisting is probably the healthiest option for this type of hair.

4) The nape area is the most likely place to rip hair out because as we move our head up and down, our skin in the nape area stretches the most.  Have you ever had a new hairstylist to sew a weave track below the occipital bone in the nape area?  Once you bend your head down with a twist and a turn, you can hear hair ripping.  Same thing with locs at the nape, if interlocked too tightly, you can hear the hair ripping.  I have experienced both circumstances myself personally. So say "no" to tracks below the occipital bone and "no" overtightening of locs period.

5) Find your center part and count the rows along the hairline on each side of the center part.  The count from each side should match. 11 on one side and 11 on the other side.  If you have recounted twice, and you still get one or two rows less on one side then there is a good chance you have different size locs on each side of your head.  If the loctician does not pre-part your whole front ear to ear area before starting the locking session, then there is a chance that you are NOT going to get consistent loc sizes.

My Sisterlocks consultant that installed my Sisterlocks did NOT pre-part my hair nor did she count my rows.  So I have different sizes and a different row counts on both sides of my head. Ten versus Eleven rows.  It makes a difference, but a big chop to start over was not an option.  So be aware of this tip for those considering locs.

6)  Believe it or not, I just recently realized that my capes have loops to hang the capes by.  What an aw-haw moment!  It helps to visit other salons and see how they do things.  LOL!

7) Have you ever left wet clothes in the washing machine too long?  Mildew smell - right?  Well your hair is the same way!  You seal off wet hair or wet locs in a ponytail or a headwrap for a day or so, mildew may grow.  Just like you can smell when your clothes "sour" then you or your stylist can smell when your hair "sours."  You only need this to happen once to know that you need to be responsible when handling wet laundry.  So the same urgency is needed as it applies to your hair!

8) If you are ever curious if your hair and scalp is breathing properly, just smell your headscarf or headwrap.  If it smells sour, then "something" is not working.  Find a headwrap that allows more air flow.

Leave-in Solutions for dry Extension hair

On wet or dry extension hair, hands down, these two leave-in styling aids are a new "must" have.
1) Paul Mitchell's Awapuhi Wild Ginger Styling Treatment oil and
2) HairUWear All Day Softness Leave-in Conditioner and Detangler

Of course, the Paul Mitchell Treatment oil is my "go to" serum for my regular "non-extension" blow-outs because the Pureology Smoothing Elixir seems to be discontinued.

You will love the smell of both of these products as well as how they assist with keeping your extension hair maneageable all day long.

Joico Blowdry Spray: Reduce Drying Time

Joico K-pak Quadraion Blowdry Spray claims to reduce blowdry time.  Well, when using an ionic blow-dryer, I can testify that it certainly does! I believe that Joico makes an ionic blow dryer that they suggest to use with this blowdry spray, but even with my Turbo Power twin turbo ionic blow dryer, I did cut my drying time down.  This blowdry spray does have silicone in the spray so I made sure that all of my "healthier" leave-in conditioners were distributed into the hair first, then sealed the hair with a generous amount of this spray as I sectioned off and blowdried.  Results:  Shiny, silky hair with a lot of body.

Would you use this brush on Kinky hair?

At first glance, you probably are thinking this brush is not for kinky curly hair. It looks like a porcupine. Right? Well, I have started using more boar bristle and mixed bristle flat and round brushes on kinky hair to smooth and straighten it during my blowdrying. Guess what? It works better than the Denman brush! The vinyl bristle hold more heat and the boar bristles help with giving more tension as you gently work the curly hair straight. The boar bristles help distribute the hair's oil, moisture, and shine serums. With this particular brush, I can crush it with my hands without any pain or sticking.

CAUTION: 1) Test the brush with your hands first to determine the roughness or Softness of the brush. If the brush feels like you are going take the skin off your hand, then no -- do not use on kinky curly hair.

2)If the brush is soft enough to use as the one pictured below, then blow dry slowly with an ionic blowdryer. Careful not to use too much tension too quickly. You really need to be able to see what you are doing. Keep straight partings as you go slowly and gently through each section of damp hair.

3) For relaxed hair, get about 50% to 70% of the water out of the hair either by towel blotting and sitting under the platform dryer for about five minutes or rough dry it with the handheld blow dryer and no attachments.

4) Soaking wet relaxed hair, a brush, and a blow dryer is a recipe for disaster. Please detangle and rough dry the hair first from the roots to the ends.

Tool Review: Wire Mesh Rollers

These wire mesh rollers are truly ventilated for quick drying time, but they are not "magnetic." So hair does not stick to these rollers as well as they would magnetic rollers. End paper and a stiff roller pick/pik are needed to succesfully use these rollers. The hair length needs to achieve a few revolutions around them to hold in place. I have found that these rollers do not allow curls to actually set. So if you are going for the bone straight look with a round brush finish, these rollers would be a good start!



May 1, 2013 update:  Vented Roller clamps can also be used with these wire mesh rollers to hold rollers in place.  These roller clamps are plastic and can be used with hot rollers or cold rollers.

The plastic from the roller clamp will assist with firmer sets.  Also, because the clamp is vented, it helps promote faster drying time.

When to choose the Roller Set over the Blow-dry!

If you have extremely curly hair (i.e. like a Type 4c), then Roller set service is the healthiest option at all times. Why? The curlier the hair is naturally means that there is more opportunity for the cuticle to open and makes it easier to break.

Even if you relax this extremely curly hair straight, you have permanently altered the strand which means it is weaker than the original natural chemical free strand. So it's likelihood of breaking is still greater!

Relaxer services using a conditioning lye relaxer between 7 weeks and 6 months (for looser curl patterns) is ideal.

Blow-dry services can be choosen if 1) you are four or five weeks out from your last relaxer service and desire a straight look or 2) your natural curl pattern is a type 1, type 2, or type 3. (curly but not kinky).

If you are a double processed, relaxed and colored, then roller set service is the best service option unless you have a lot of new growth.

For those diehard straight styling clients, you have to maintain the moisture level in the hair to avoid breakage. It is hard for natural oils to run down curly-proned hair. So you are responsible for moisturizing the ends so that they do not break.

Save the "blow in the wind" styling for photo shoots, church, job interviews and other red carpet or black tie events . . .

Moisture product options: Oil sheen, light pommades, butters, natural oils.