Women with curly hair understand the long-standing struggles and challenges of using heated styling tools on their bouncy locks. If you want the benefits and convenience of using a blow dryer to dry your hair quickly while avoiding frizz and heat damage to your hair, while also preserving and creating beautiful curl patterns within your hair, then it is important to know how to curl your hair with a blow dryer diffuser.
While styling curly hair is hard to control and the process of taming those curls to be picture-perfect is no simple task, knowing how to properly curl your hair with a blow dryer diffuser is the answer to those problems. You can dry your hair, maintain your curl patterns and add new ones, increase shine, and eliminate frizz all by the correct usage of a blow dryer diffuser. Here’s what you need to know to get started and to get the gorgeous curls you’ve always wanted.
Table of Contents
- 1 6 Steps to Curling Your Hair with a Blow Dryer Diffuser
- 2 What is a Blow Dryer Diffuser
- 3 How to Curl Your Hair With a Blow Dryer Diffuser
- 3.1 Step 1: Wash and condition your hair
- 3.2 Step 2: Apply a mousse, curl cream or spray, or a leave-in conditioner to your hair
- 3.3 Step 3: Add a heat protectant onto your hair
- 3.4 Step 4: Begin drying your hair with your diffuser
- 3.5 Step 5: Continue the blow-drying process to all of the sections in your hair
- 3.6 Step 6: Finish up your blow-dry by locking your curls in place
6 Steps to Curling Your Hair with a Blow Dryer Diffuser
- Step 1: Wash and condition your hair
- Step 2: Apply a mousse, curl cream or spray, or leave-in conditioner to your hair
- Step 3: Add a heat protectant onto your hair
- Step 4: Begin drying your hair with your diffuser
- Step 5: Continue the blow-drying process to all of the sections in your hair
- Step 6: Finish up your blow-dry by locking your curls in place
What is a Blow Dryer Diffuser
Blow dryer diffusers are attachments that you put on to the vent of your blow dryer. Since your blow dryer only has one current of air blowing out of the vent and onto your hair, it is hard to ensure that it dries your curls evenly and reduces frizz properly. The blow dryer diffuser splits the one current into multiple different currents, which spreads evenly across various parts of your curls. This also helps to keep the curl pattern in your hair as it wraps around the bristles or ridges in the blow dryer diffuser.
Blow dryer diffusers are important because they are much better for your hair than just the traditional blow dryer. Wind that is blown harshly onto your hair can cause extra frizziness and can flatten out your curls, so the gentle wind that is blown with the blow dryer diffuser attachment will dry them lightly, which allows your curls to maintain their shape and natural bounce.
- What Does a Diffuser on Hair Dryer Do? Our Guide
- What Do Hair Dryer Attachments Do? A Guide To The Perfect Dry
How to Curl Your Hair With a Blow Dryer Diffuser
Now that you know what a blow dryer diffuser is and why it is important to use, it is time to learn how to curl your hair with a blow dryer diffuser. Using a blow dryer diffuser allows you to dry your hair, preserve your natural curl pattern, add additional curl patterns, reduce frizz, and increase shine and bounce to your hair all at the same time.
Step 1: Wash and condition your hair
The best way to get the best blow-dry is to start with freshly-washed hair. Wash and condition your hair with a good-quality shampoo and conditioner. To preserve the curl pattern in your hair, gently detangle your hair with a wide-tooth comb to get rid of any knots or tangles without flattening out your curls. This allows your curls to do their own thing once they begin to dry, and to not hold extra frizz that may occur if you brush or comb your hair once it has started drying.
Once you have washed and combed through your hair, squeeze any excess water out of it when you are still in the shower. Once you are out of it, gently towel-dry your hair to ensure that it is not still dripping wet when you begin blow-drying with your blow dryer diffuser. Try not to use a brush on your hair as it begins to dry, as this will disturb your curls and will cause frizz to occur.
Step 2: Apply a mousse, curl cream or spray, or a leave-in conditioner to your hair
Depending on your specific hair type and personal hair needs apply either a mousse to your hair to tame frizz, a curl cream or spray to add volume, or a leave-in conditioner to hydrate dry curls. Adding a styling product specifically created for curly and wavy hair is important to do before blow-drying it, to help keep your curls intact.
To reduce frizz, rake the product of your choice through your hair rather than rubbing it onto the top of your hair. Run your fingers through your curls to spread the product around your hair evenly, and to work through any additional knots or tangles that may be stuck in your hair before you begin blow-drying.
Step 3: Add a heat protectant onto your hair
Before using any heated styling tool on your hair, it is important to mist a heat protectant spray or to apply a heat protectant serum to your hair. This will help to guard your hair from the high temperatures that your blow dryer will reach, and will lessen the amount of heat damage that will occur on your strands. Even though the heat from your blow dryer will not impact your hair as strongly as other heat styling tools do, it is crucial that you protect your hair from any heat that goes onto it.
Step 4: Begin drying your hair with your diffuser
Attach your blow dryer diffuser to your blow dryer, and then create various sections in your hair, that are all about the same width as your blow-dryer diffuser. Start from the top area of your head, and work your way down and around your hair. Lift the first section of your hair, turn your blow-dryer on to a low heat setting, and cup the diffuser around your hair. Move your hair around with your fingers to shape your curls, so that you do not lose your curl pattern and so that you can create new ones.
- The Best Hair Dryers – Get the Style You Want
- A Complete Guide on How to Use a Hot Air Brush to Curl Your Hair
Step 5: Continue the blow-drying process to all of the sections in your hair
Continue the same process explained in step 4 to all of the sections of your hair, with each section being about the same size as the width of your blow dryer diffuser. It is best to begin blow-drying at your ends, and to work your way up to your roots as you dry. This helps to ensure that your hair is dried evenly while using the blow-dryer diffuser. After your hair is mostly dry, change your blow dryer to the cool setting and blow the cool air onto your hair for a little to add additional shine to your curls.
Step 6: Finish up your blow-dry by locking your curls in place
Once you have finished drying and cooling down your hair, it is time to finish off your curls so that they will last for longer periods of time. Lightly mist hairspray, or apply a hair oil or shine serum to your curls to keep them intact, add additional shine, and to reduce frizz that may occur throughout the day. Make sure that you use a small amount of whichever hair styling product you prefer, so your curls will not fall flat from the weight of the product.
If you want your curls to be well-defined, it is best that you scrunch the styling product that you chose into your hair to amplify your curl pattern. If you’re going for more loose and relaxed waves, you can gently run your fingers through your hair to shake up your curls and to give them more of a beachy look while adding the styling product into your hair.
Whether you’re in a rush to get ready and head out the door or you are just plain tired of having your hair dripping water all over the place, you’ll definitely want to blow-dry your hair some days. As a woman with natural curls, you know how treacherous the task of blow-drying can be, especially with the risk of insane frizziness holding you back from picking up your blow dryer. If this common struggle pertains to you, it is important that you know how to curl your hair with a blow dryer diffuser.
Using a diffuser on your blow dryer is a great way to curl and dry your hair at the same time, while also adding shine and volume to your hair, and reducing the amount of frizz that may occur on your curls throughout the day. You can get effortless curls from just your hair dryer and your diffuser attachment, without spending much time and effort to do them. Grab your brush, your favorite hair styling products, your blow dryer, and your diffuser, and get to styling!