Blow dryers and heat tools aren't always friendly to curly haired girls who aren't trying to flatten their follicles. They can lead to tangles, knots, and lots of frizz. There is a hair hack making the rounds on the Internet, and it eliminates frizz leading to big, beautiful curls with loads of volume. Beauty blogger Gilan Sharafani used a strainer while blow drying her long, blonde locks and it acted like a makeshift diffuser.
She admitted in the caption that she did not invent this hack, but that she had to test-drive the technique after she watched a video of another Insta user doing so.
Sharafani, who goes by @gilmakeup, is certainly helping this hack go viral, as it's already generated over 113,000 views on Insta. In the clip, she used a towel to absorb some of excess water from her mega long strands, and then goes for it with the strainer and dryer. The fine strainer protected the hair from the blasts of hot air and ultimately from damage. It acted like a filter that softens the heat styling process.
The end result is a pile of voluminous, sexy curls. It's the ultimate big hair, don't care moment.
Don't you love it when a basic household item is repurposed as a beauty tool? It's not merely a kitchen device — it's an opportunity to get creative!
Sharafani started out by finger styling her wet strands. You can see that she is starting out with plenty of texture and length. A blow dryer can certainly wreak all sorts of havoc on this sort of gorgeous hair.
She inserted her hair in the strainer section by section to eventually dry her whole mane. Some commenters asked if Sharafani used any styling products before she began blow drying with the strainer. One can only assume that she added a dollop of mousse or perhaps a heat styling protectant to damp locks before drying.
Viewers commented that she could have just used a diffuser to achieve the same effect. But necessity is the mother of invention and hacks. Ingenious vloggers and Internet MUAs come up with creative replacements when they don't have the tools they need at hand, like this MUA who repurposed a bottle cap as an eyeshadow guide or this blogger who employed a dental floss pick to create a cat eye flick.
If you have a diffuser laying around, don't throw it out just yet. But if you need a quick, curl-friendly solution, grab that spaghetti strainer. Just maybe wash it first.
Sharafani also patiently sectioned her hair and blew it dry in phases, which is a smart move to retain hair's health. Blow drying in sections allows hair have a moment to "breathe" in between blasts of heat, not to mention giving her arms a break from the fatigue that inevitably comes along with the blow drying motion.
The end result is a full, lush head of big hair. Her curls are defined — no fried ends and no crushed or crunchy texture here. Just gorgeous definition and mega volume.
Voluminous mane is always a hair "do." Sharafani certainly ended up with luxe locks, thanks to an assist from a strainer. Who knew?
You can watch the Instagram-friendly version of the video above.
Or you can watch the three-minute, extended cut if you have more time to marvel at Sharafani as she pouts playfully at the camera while calling attention to her luscious mane.
All in all, if you are a curly tressed woman, you will find yourself tempted to employ this hack. Because big hair, don't care is always fabulously extra and extra gorgeous.
