How To Get An Awesome Blow Out At Home

Hair can be hard to deal with. Seriously. For some reason no matter how much time we might spend on it before an important event or a big night out, it very rarely (i.e: almost never) ends up doing what we want. There are, however, ways to get a nearly salon-worthy blow out at home that are legitimately achievable (and I'll admit, your results might not always be identical to your favorite stylist, because let's be real — most of us are not hair professional — but you will seriously revolutionize your at-home hair game).

I have spent so many hours of my life attempting to get my hair perfect for important events only to throw it up into a bun in total frustration. It'll either look frizzy, fall the wrong way, or just end up looking greasy because I added too much product in an attempt to control the frizz. In fact, it almost always seems like I have my best hair days when I have absolutely no plans and made minimal effort, and have some of my worst when I've put in a ton of effort.

If this is sounding familiar, or if you just don't have the funds to get a professional blowout right now but need your hair to look good for an important event, here are seven tips that should help.

1. Prep The Hair

Turbie Twist Microfiber Hair Towel, $25, Amazon

In a piece for Today.com, Dry Founder Ali Webb stressed that a good blowout begins with good hair prep. She noted that you want to ensure you have rinsed — and then re-rinsed — your hair in the shower to make extra sure you've gotten all your shampoo and conditioner out. And in a piece for Marie Claire celebrity stylist Mark Townsend noted the importance of blotting your hair with a towel instead of tousling it, as this will help prevent frizz.

2. Don't Over-Use Products

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Townsend also noted that less is more when it comes to hair products, and that many people make the mistake of over-using mousses and serums on their damp hair before beginning. "You can always use more product later," he said, "But you can't take any away." He also said you should begin with a nickel-sized amount of your favorite heat protection gel or styling cream— but no more.

3. Use Your Fingers While Drying

In a piece for Makeup.com, Natasha Sunshine-Antonioni, founder of the Byuti Salon, recommended pre-drying your hair before beginning with the blowout. "Use your hand to stretch your hair and pull on it while you’re blowing with the tip of your blow dryer pointed down. If you have curly hair you want to use a lot of tension and really stretch your hair, if you have finer hair, you just move the blow dryer back and forth and do it hands free. Do that until the hair is about eighty to ninety percent dry before you pick up a brush,”

4. Point Your Hair Dryer In The Right Direction

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In a piece for Harpers Bazaar, Gregory Patterson of the New York blow dry bar Blow recommended not only using a hair dryer with a nozzle to keep some distance between your hair and the heat, but also to make sure you always blow dry in a downward motion towards the root. Frantic up and down motions will only create frizz.

5. Brushes Matter!

Drybar 'Full Pint' Medium Ceramic Brush, $60, Amazon

In a different piece — this time for POPSUGAR — blow dry expert Webb stressed the importance of using a ceramic barrel brush when doing your blow out at home. She said the hair dryer will heat up the ceramic and make your hair form to the curve, ultimately giving you more shape and body.

6. Go Section By Section

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And in that same POPSUGAR piece, Webb noted the importance of sectioning your hair before you begin (in fact she sited it as the most important part of the whole process!). She said to begin with the hair from your ears to the front of your face, wrapping up everything in the back. Additionally, within each section you work on, she said to focus on one to two inches of hair until it's perfectly dry.

When you get to the back section of you hair, Sunshine-Antonioni suggested blow drying it towards the front, as opposed to breaking your arm trying to blow dry it straight down back there. "If you actually just take your hair from the back and pull it around to the front, and you blow dry it in front of the face it will expend a lot less energy and you’ll get a better polish to the ends. You won’t believe how much easier it is,” she said.

7. Make It Last

Blowout Hair Refresher Dry Shampoo, $15, Amazon

And finally, almost every expert sited noted that in order to make a blow out last until the next wash, use dry shampoo, and if you can, sleep on satin pillow cases to help control the frizz. You'll probably notice that you good hair day can now last days.

An awesome blow out is genuinely just about having the right basic tools, like a ceramic barrel brush and some styling mousse, and making sure you give yourself enough time to do it properly. Seriously — give it a try!

Images: Alexandrea Garza/YouTube; Giphy (1)