6 Tips for the Go-Out Blowout

By Jackie Summers

Parties, dates, girls’ night out. Here, Michael Shaun Corby, Director of Global Creative for Alterna Haircare, shares his tips for producing the blowouts that will give your client confidence no matter where she’s heading!

1. Paddle Away. If you’re after a voluminous, long-lasting blowout, put away the paddle brush. They’re too big and too soft for this type of work, and they won’t get all of the micro hairs that must be tamed. “The hair will look frizzy, and you’ll have to go back and redo it,” Michael Shaun says.

2. Concentrate. Never use a blow dryer without a concentrator. “Have you ever looked inside a dryer?” Michael Shaun asks. “Those are coils of electric fire! No serum, oil or smoother can fix that kind of damage!”

3. Roll Along. The key to a great blow-dry on longer hair is a firm shape. To achieve this, start by placing your brush off base. Pull it forward or backward, placing the concentrator almost on the scalp to tame the tiny frizzies at the hairline. Use strong tension, pull the brush through once, roll it on- or off-base (depending on whether you want smoothing or volume) and the hold it in place like a giant roller, gently rolling–not pulling–the hair up and down, allowing the hair to set around the brush.

4. Fine Lines. Achieving a voluminous blowout on fine hair can be the ultimate frustration–you work and work and it immediately falls. “An extra lightweight mousse like Alterna Weightless Whipped Mousse is the best start when blow-drying these clients,” suggests Michael Shaun. “Use a smaller brush and keep the brush stationary–just go through the ends once. More important–this hair type must cool completely for volume to last. Use your cold shot button, and if you’re rushed, use two or three brushes and leave them in the hair so the hair has time to cool.”

5. The Tame Game. To tame coarse, unruly hair, skip the rough-dry. “That’s a disaster,” Michael Shaun, “and an invitation to frizz. Keep this hair wet, not damp, and apply extra mousse and a thermal barrier like Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture Milk so you can really dig in with low hair and high heat. It’s gonna smoke, but you have to burn it down to control this hair type!”

6. Do the Shixie. When drying a short, layered, shaggy pixie cut, even a small round brush will create too much volume. Instead, position a small cutting comb close to the hairline, place the tip of the dryer nozzle close to the comb and detail the fringe, hairline and areas that want to curl or bend. “I’ve used this technique in many photo shoots to get the hair to lie down nicely,” says Michael Shaun.