Adventures in Hair Drying...or, how do you dry your hair?

Reminiscing about my complicated "hair routine"

Recently, my blow dryer bit the dust. Yes, just stopped working. I went out pretty much immediately and got a new one, because even though I sometimes let my hair air dry, I can't let the top and bangs air dry...it ends up looking ridiculous!

Thinking about what I used to go through to dry my hair really makes me appreciate the hair dryers of today. And actually, all the hairstyling tools and products available today that WEREN'T there when I was a teen-aged girl in the 70s.

When I graduated from high school, the most popular and acceptable way to wear your hair was long, straight, and parted down the middle.

Not an easy feat when you were born with naturally curly hair.

When I think about the shenanigans I had to go through in order to come up with this look:

Yep, that's me.  And as you can see, even with my best efforts, I didn't get the board-straight look I wanted.  (Oh, Hot Tools Straightening Iron, where were you when I needed you!?)

Here's what I did to achieve the look:

• Grew my hair out as long as I possibly could
•  Washed my hair, rolled it on big curlers, and sat under an old-fashioned bonnet-style hairdryer for an hour.  (It's a wonder I didn't cook my brains!)
•  Took the rollers out and put my hair in a pony-tail directly on top of my head.  Divided the pony-tail into two sections and rolled them with two orange-juice-can-sized rollers.
•   Kept those in my hair for some time (overnight if possible) before brushing out my hair into a semblance of straightness.

I still can't believe I went through all that!

The 80's brought blessed relief.  I forgot bonnet-style hairdryers even existed.  It was the decade of BIG HAIR, and baby, I had it!  I was the envy of all my friends because I didn't need a permanent and never had.

It was too good to last.  Seemingly overnight, everyone was wearing stick-straight hair again. Once again, I was the odd girl out.

Fast forward to today.  Women everywhere embrace curls and volume as well as straightness.

If I want to have really straight hair, I have the tools to make it happen--the efficient blow-dryer, the powerful straightening iron, any number of pro-sleek and anti-humidity products.

Or...and I often do this...I can just let my hair be curly.  In that case, I don't even have to use a dryer--or I'll use mine with a diffuser attached.

But one thing I love is that, thanks to great hair-dryers and wonderful styling products, I HAVE OPTIONS! :)

What about you? Got any memories of crazy things you went through to achieve your hairstyle?  Will you be appreciating your blow-dryer today? Let me know in my comments section!

How do you handle your curly hair?

What I WISH my hair looked like! (actress Debra Messing)

I've had curly hair all my life, and although my mane was once the bane of my existence (clever, huh?:), I've now made peace with it.

But after reading my friend Ashley's post on curly hair, I thought I'd share a few things I've learned in my years of dealing with curliness and ask if you have any advice to share.

Not long ago, I blogged about the complicated hair routine I had to go through in the 70's.  Thankfully, excellent modern products and styling tools now mean that I can have straight hair, too.

I would have to say I divide my time about 70/30 with 70 being wearing my hair at least somewhat straight, and 30 allowing it to dry naturally, with the help of styling products that make the curls look prettier and less frizzy.

Here are a couple of products I really love:

Dream Curls Curl Perfecting Spray by John Frieda:

Believe me, I've tried all the high-end products for curls, and this works as well or better than most of them and at a fraction of the price!

I spray this on after washing my hair, then either let it dry naturally or partially dry it with a diffuser.  (If your blow-dryer doesn't have a diffuser, you can get a cheap foam one that looks like a microphone shield at Sally's Beauty Supply that fits on most dryers.  They are a boon for curly hair, cutting down on the frizzies considerably.)

Three things I love about this product:

• It gives your curls SOFT definition, not crunchy crispiness!
• The next day (if, like me, you're not one who washes your hair every day), you can spray it on again, scrunch slightly, and the curls are magically back in place.
• It's inexpensive, and you can buy it almost anywhere.

Sleek and Shine Anti-humidity Smoothing Milk by Garnier

My sister actually just introduced me to this product when I was in Texas, and I made sure to get some for myself right away.

This is a terrific product whether you intend to wear it curly or straight.  If you're wearing it curly, work it through your hair BEFORE putting the Dream Curls in.  If you're wearing it straight, work it into your hair AFTER blow-drying and BEFORE using a straightening iron.

Other than these two mainstays, I'll try most products.

Lately I've begun to use Velcro rollers when wearing my hair smooth, but not completely straight.  I will curl each section with a large curling iron before putting a roller in and spraying it.  I totally use the technique demonstrated by Emily Eddington of Beauty Broadcast in this tutorial.

I rarely wear my hair completely straight--I prefer a full, voluminous look with some teasing and body.

Here are some pics of some of my hair looks:




Curls when my hair was a bit shorter



All-out curls



A flippy look (loosely) based on LolaMarie7's "Texas Barbie"



One of my straighter looks

Trying Kate Bryan of The Small Things Blog's "Loose Waves"

By the way, I have both a large curling iron and a straightening iron, and often use them interchangeably.  I'd like to invest in a very small Hot Tools curling iron to add scattered ringlets when I wear my hair curly.

What do YOU do with your curly hair?  Have any products that you can't live without?  Any techniques that have worked well for you?  Let me know in my comments!