However, one pitfall of drying your hair with a professional hair dryer is that it risks sucking up loose hair strands. This not only damages your beautiful hair but can, in time, also damage the dryer.
In this article, we look at the best way to protect your hair from getting sucked into the dryer, without compromising appearance or volume.
Method #1: The Saran Wrap
Also known as a ‘silk wrap’, this is a low-maintenance, accessible method used by many to protect their hair under the dryer.
What to do:
First, you want to flip all of your hair over by bringing your head down (if it’s easier standing upright, then do that). Using a comb, or just your hand, scoop up all the strands into a ponytail.
Hold all the hair with one hand, while running the other along the side of your head, smoothing the hair down, and pinning it to stay. What you want to do is effectively wrap the hair around the head, using pins to keep it in place.
Next, wrap your hair with saran wrap until it’s secure, and put it under the dryer.
Note: It’s advisable to work some leave-in conditioner into your hair before trying the silk wrap. This is actually used as a styling method, but can also be a way of protecting your hair while also giving it a more defined shape. However, bear in mind that the wrap might block the hot air, and make it harder to dry the hair underneath.
Does it work? All in all, this is a fairly good way to protect your hair from getting sucked into the dryer, though you do want to avoid high heat, as that may damage the wrap.
Method #2: The Mesh
Alternatively, a lot of hairdressers also find wrapping the hair in a mesh net to be a beneficial way to protect hair.
Tip: This has nothing to do with a hair mesh, which is a practice for filling out thinning hair.
The benefit of the mesh is that it’s extremely lightweight, so it doesn’t weigh the hair down. It also allows for better air circulation than saran wrap. To boot, the mesh net is easy to take off the hair once the drying is done.
What to do:
How you tie up your hair depends on how you want it to look. If you’re primarily interested in a low-key dry, you can just do a ponytail, or a bun, then cover it with the net.
Alternatively, you can put your hair on curlers, or braid it, to give it a more defined shape. Whichever style you choose, you want to make sure there are no stray hairs coming out of the mesh.
Once the mesh is on, simply put your hair under the dryer, and dry it normally.
The best way to protect your hair while drying
Of course, the kind of dryer you’re using will also weigh heavily on the outcome. But the mesh net is by far the easiest and best way to protect your hair from being sucked by the dryer. It allows for proper air circulation and lets you style your hair underneath in a variety of ways.
