The Most Common Hair Mistakes when Blow Drying and How to Correct Them ...

There are a lot of myths about whether using a hair dryer is good or bad. You've probably been told that the heat is bad for your hair and it's better to allow it to dry naturally. In truth, even though excess heat is bad for your hair, so is being left wet for extended periods. Wet hair swells and this puts pressure on delicate hair proteins. If you're allowing long, thick hair to take a couple of of hours to dry in a cool room, you'll do more damage to it than you will by using your hair dryer correctly.

You'll have noticed that your stylist always towel dries your hair before putting it under the dryer. Do the same and you'll reduce the time your hair is exposed to heat. Towel dry gently, and if your hair is very fine or delicate try using a microfiber towel rather than a rough one.

The healthiest way to dry hair with a dryer is in small sections. This reduces the time that individual strands are exposed to heat.

The hot setting is intended for very coarse hair, not as a time saving mechanism. So unless you have bombproof hair or you're looking for the fried and frizzy effect, avoid this setting.

The closest the dryer should ever get to your hair is around 6 inches. Work your way from the roots to the base and keep the heat moving around.

Metal absorbs heat and burns your hair so a bristle brush is a much better bet. Try a round boar bristle brush if you're looking to add volume and shine.

Avoid using a hot setting, section hair and use a head protecting product if blowdrying gives you frizz. You may also find that using the coolest setting as your hair is nearly dry will encourage a style to set.

Try using the concentrator that came with your hair dryer and work in small sections.

If your hairdryer came with a diffuser, this is the time to use it. Filling your curls with air as you dry them will add volume.

You may find that a ceramic hairdryer, which gives a gentler heat helps avoid further damage to dry hair or split ends.

Short fine hair will cope with being air dried in a warm room. The problem comes with thicker hair so here are a few tips on how to air dry hair with volume. Don't use shampoo unless you have to, comb your hair while it's still wet, and don't brush it afterwards. Towel dry gently with a fine towel, and squeeze rather than rub. Try using a leave in conditioner or styling cream if you have any tendency toward split ends. Add a hair serum to the ends as well for more protection and smoother locks.