Technical File - Straight/Curly Blowdrys.

In our first session with Lottie, we looked at how to create sleek and curly blowdries, that added lift and volume to the hair. I was looking forward to this session as I am not very confident with hair as much as makeup, so I knew that this would be challenging. I knew that this was harder than it looked, as you need to be able to control the hairdryer as well as the brush and the hair.

Health and Safety
Always make sure that products are clean and sanitised, ready to use. This goes the same for brushes and equipment.
Make sure your hair is tied back, with no jewellery that will interfere with the model/client.
Make sure you use a cape to cover the model/client's clothing.
Sanitise hands.
Always complete a consultation beforehand.

Products

Hair dryer, with fitting. 

Barrel brush. 

Comb.

Heat Protector.

Hair mousse.

Sea Salt Spray.

Method:

1. After washing the hair, always comb through with a wide tooth comb to stop breakage, as the hair can become very elastic when wet. 
2. Always dry the hair to about 20% wet hair, so begin with a rough blow-dry to get to this stage. 
3. Add heat protector from the mid section to the ends, then apply hair mousse to this same area. 
4. You can add sea salt spray after this to achieve texture to the hair. 
5. If the model has a sweeping side fringe or a full fringe, dry this area first.
6. Section off the back of the hair into a V shape if you are creating a curly blow-dry, or horizontal if you are creating a sleek look. Having clean sections will make this easier for yourself.
7. If you want a big curl, use a large barrel brush, or for a small curl, the small barrel brush. For a sleek look, use the denman brush.  
8. Lift the hair upwards with the brush underneath it, and focus on drying the roots first. 

-Note- Use the hairdryer as support for the hair when you go back and brush through the roots. 

         -Keep the hairdryer moving throughout the drying process, so that the client is not burned. 

     9. Dry roots, mid section, then ends. For the curly look, roll the hair around the brush to create the curl. Using a ventilated brush will mean that the hair isn't damaged with intense heat. 

     10. If you are creating a loose curl, you can leave the curl to cool whilst leaving it down, but for a tighter curl, you can pin the curl up to cool. 

     11. Once the hair is dry, you can begin to style it. Bringing the hair towards the face often flatters the model's face shape. Spray hairspray onto the fingers and work it into the hair. 

     12. For the curly looks, backcomb the underneath of the curl. Dry shampoo will bring this texture as well as to keep it held in place. 

Here are the photographs that I took from the lesson. I am pleased with how the look turned out, although it was not what I expected. Here I used a barrel brush to create a curly look, but due to my model's hair being short, and not putting enough product in the hair, the curls did not hold. I now need to practice this look, and complete the sleek hairdryer too. 

Here are a side-by-side comparison after completing a straight blow-dry on my mum's hair. Her hair is quite coarse, but is easy to style due to her hair having been bleached for many years. I am pleased with this blow-dry as it was easy to complete once I got the hang of it. I finished with a smoothing spray to remove and fly-aways.