Heat and hair: how to dry and straighten without wrecking your hair

Heat as such doesn't damage hair – bad heat does: too high, too close, too long in one place. Adjustable temperature, ionisation and the right technique turn a dryer and a straightener into tools that don't hurt the hair.

Dryer: speed instead of temperature

An ordinary dryer dries slowly with hot air; a premium dryer with a high-speed motor dries with a strong airflow at a lower temperature. Hair is dry in half the time and without "prickly" ends. Ionisation neutralises static – hair doesn't frizz and shines.

Drying technique

• 15–20 cm away, dryer moving, never on one spot.
• Airflow from roots to ends – smooths the cuticle.
• Concentrator for styling, diffuser for waves; the set with attachments covers both.
• The last 20 seconds on cool – sets the shape and adds shine.

Air straightener: two in one

Blow Straight dries and straightens at once – a brush with airflow replaces the dryer and the brush in the other hand. Ideal for thick, wavy hair you want smooth without a flat iron. Work on towel-dried hair, strand by strand, from the nape forwards.

Classic straightener: temperatures by hair type

• Fine, coloured: 150–170 °C
• Normal: 170–190 °C
• Thick, curly: 190–210 °C

Ceramic-titanium plates heat evenly and glide without snagging; the travel straightener has narrow plates that take a strand in one pass – fewer passes, less heat.

Heat protection isn't optional

A heat-protection spray or cream forms a film that slows the evaporation of water from the hair. Apply to damp hair before drying and to dry hair before straightening. Without it, no technique helps.

For him

The smart beard and hair comb with fast heating smooths a beard in a minute – at 160 °C, without a straightener or dryer.

The most common mistake: straightening damp hair. Water in the hair turns to steam and damages it from within – hair must be completely dry.