Hair Care

How to Do an At-Home Blow-Out

Wash hair and prep it with mousse if you need volume, styling cream if you need hydration.
Rough-dry by blowing air all around your head. When your hair is at least halfway dry, you’re ready to begin styling (any sooner and the style might not take). Use a round brush for volume or a flat-backed one to smooth.
First address any problem areas, such as a cowlick or frizz around your face, says celebrity stylist Oribe; if they dry wrong, they’re nearly impossible to correct without starting over. Next, dry the rest of your hair in sections, working back from the hairline (again, to ensure that the part people notice most looks its best).
Extra credit: To avoid frizz, slowly move the dryer from root to tip in one pass, says New York City celebrity stylist Oscar Blandi. Don’t run it up and down the same length of hair or you’ll cause the cuticles to open up.


How to Make Any Kind of Hair Curl

Prep damp hair with a lightweight mousse. This will create enough tackiness to hold some texture. Then rough-dry.
Generously mist hair with hair spray.
Starting at the hairline, twist a one-inch section of hair. Wind the twist around the barrel of a curling iron, away from your face. (Use a slim iron for tight curls, a thicker one for loose waves.) Work from front to back until you’ve done your whole head.
Extra credit: To speed-curl hair, you can also use a flat iron. Twist a one- or two-inch section, then clamp the twist vertically between the iron’s plates for 30 seconds; repeat until all hair is curled.