Part of the cuts and styling guides. Start with The haircut guide: layers, fringes, length and how often to trim, or see cuts and styling in the salon.
What makes a blow wave hold
Hair takes a shape when it's dried into it from damp and cooled in that shape. 3 things decide whether the shape lasts. The hair has to be completely dry: any moisture left in the section pulls it back to its natural texture within hours. There has to be tension on the brush, which is what stretches and sets the hair rather than just drying it. And each section needs a cool shot at the end, which locks the cuticle in the new position. Skip any of the 3 and the blow wave lasts a morning.
The salon method
Your stylist starts with a heat protectant and a volumising or smoothing product on towel-dried hair, then rough-dries it to about 70% before sectioning. Each section is dried on a round brush, root to end, with tension, until it's fully dry, then hit with the cool shot while still wrapped on the brush. The finished sections cool before they're brushed out, and the whole thing is finished with a light hold spray. A wash and blow wave at Jenna Ellen Hair is $60 to $110 by length, and it's the finishing package on every colour service.
Day 1, 2 and 3
Day 1. Leave it alone. Touching it, tucking it behind your ears and tying it up all take the shape out. Keep it out of the steam when you shower.
Day 2. Dry shampoo at the roots, brushed through with a paddle brush, brings the volume back and absorbs the oil that flattens day-2 hair. A large round brush on the ends for 30 seconds resets the bend.
Day 3. A light spritz of water on the ends and the round brush again, or a large-barrel iron on the pieces around the face. Then it's a ponytail day, and the blow wave has done its job.
Sleeping on it
A loose braid, or the hair gathered in a silk scrunchie on top of the head, keeps the shape overnight without a crease. A silk pillowcase reduces friction. In the morning, shake it out and brush it through with your head upside down for volume.
Humidity on the Coast
Humidity is what undoes a blow wave on the Hibiscus Coast in summer: moisture in the air gets into the hair and the natural texture returns. A smoothing product with a humidity shield helps, and a keratin smoothing treatment is the longer answer, because sealed hair takes on less moisture and holds a blow wave for days instead of hours. Clients with smoothing treatments regularly report a 3-day blow wave in February.
Blow wave or roller set
A blow wave gives smooth, glossy movement and lasts 2 to 3 days. A roller set, where the hair is dried and cooled on rollers, gives bouncier volume and a longer-lasting set, which makes it the one to choose when your hair needs to last from the afternoon to late at night.
Doing it at home
A round brush that matches your hair length (medium for shoulder length, large for long), a dryer with a nozzle and a cool shot, and 4 to 6 sections rather than 2. Dry each section fully, root to end with tension, cool shot, let it cool before you move on. It takes 15 to 25 minutes and improves every time. For the mornings it doesn't happen, a curtain fringe styled in 2 minutes carries the whole look. The haircut guide covers the cuts that air-dry well for the days between.