Thinning hair can be fragile and delicate — and require a different level of care, especially when heating tools like blow dryers come into the equation. It’s not that you can never use a dryer on thinning hair, it’s just important to take a few extra steps so you can avoid causing thinning hair more damage. Hair and Makeup Artist Andrea Claire outlines eight of the worst blow dryer mistakes for thinning hair — as well as a few great steps to following when you want to give your hair a gorgeous blow-out without causing damage to strands.
Thinning Hair Mistakes
Thinning hair requires a more delicate hand when it comes to styling. And if you are applying intense heat from a blow dryer, these are the worst mistakes you should avoid at all costs, according to Claire:
1. Not protecting the hair with products such as a thermal protector or leave-in conditioner
2. Not using a nozzle to help direct heat and air flow. Blow drying without airflow direction can tangle and rough up thinning hair.
3. Not using a diffuser for curly or fragile hair, which softens the air flow so the hair isn’t blown around like a wind storm
4. Using the wrong settings for your hair type. Too high of an air flow and too high heat on thinning hair can add to the problem of thinning hair.
5. Using the wrong brush for hair type and desired effect.
6. Using the wrong angle with your blow drying ie: blow drying fully going down the hair shaft will just flatten thinning hair
7. Starting with soaking wet hair resulting in over-drying the hair
8. Rough drying the hair with a towel which causes friction, tangles and breakage
Even though laying off of heat and products can help give hair a rest, you shouldn’t feel excluded from giving yourself a glam blowout just because your hair is thinning. Claire says it’s important to follow these five steps for a healthier blowout:
1. Gently wrap a micro-fibre hair towel around wet hair and gently squeeze to absorb excess water
2. Using a flexible-toothed comb, distribute a leave-in conditioner/thermal protector and other desired products (avoid silicones which can be too heavy for thinning hair)
3. Blow dry with your wide nozzle or diffuser upside down which helps to create lift and volume
4. For curly hair, avoid brushing and stick with a diffuser using a medium air flow and low heat.
5. For straight hair, use a round brush on 85% dried hair and with straight sections, aim the the dryer with the nozzle parallel to the brush, up into the roots which helps with lift. Medium air flow and heat will depend on the shape you want to lock in.
