It’s tough to top that post-blowout feeling. When your hair looks smooth and voluminous, and the bounce in your mane puts a bounce in your step. Less pleasant is when your blowout starts to fall flat, sometimes within just a few hours. Not only does it make your hair look lackluster, but it’s a major letdown after you’ve put in time and effort wielding your blow-dryer and hairbrush just right. That’s why we’re on a mission to learn how to make a blowout last longer. We spoke with Rodney Cutler, New York-based Redken stylist and owner of Cutler Salon, who shared his secrets about how to keep your blowout looking its best for an entire weekend. Ahead, discover everything we’ve learned about preserving your style.
How Long Does a Blowout Last?
A blowout typically lasts anywhere from three to five days, though it can vary depending on your hair type, texture, and how well you maintain it. For finer hair, a blowout may start to lose volume and shape after a couple of days, while thicker or coarser hair types often hold the style for longer. With the right products and haircare practices, you can also extend the life of your blowout. Now, let’s get into some tips!
How To Make a Blowout Last
Tip 1: Prep with the right products
To extend the life of a blowout, you need to prep your hair properly—it isn’t enough to try to lock in your style afterward. If you have fine hair, we specifically recommend using a strong-hold mousse before your blowout to help lock in volume and hold. Mousse provides lightweight support that keeps your blowout looking full and bouncy without weighing it down. It also gives your style extra resilience against humidity and helps it hold shape longer, so you can enjoy a fresh-looking blowout for days.
Redken’s Stay High Mousse is one of our favorite options—the lightweight mousse offers maximum hold with textured volume, body, and fullness for 24 hours. Apply a small amount to damp hair, focusing on the roots for lift and working through the lengths for added texture.
A blow-dry lotion, like Biolage Professional Hydra Source Blow Dry Shaping Lotion, is another great pick. This formula provides the perfect combination of heat protection, weightless hydration, and shape memory. Take a small amount and apply it to towel-dried tresses, then blow-dry as usual to leave hair soft, shiny, and nourished with a long-lasting style.
Tip 2: Use a boar-bristle brush
According to Cutler, using the right styling tools and techniques is one of the most important parts of achieving a long-lasting blowout. Start by buying a boar bristle brush. They’ve been around since the beginning of time (practically), and there’s a reason for that. This style of brush will not only help you control the shape of your blowout with ease but also distribute natural hair oils to help manage buildup. This is key because oily roots can be a direct threat to the longevity of your blowout.
Good hair day by @hairstylistrocky.
Tip 3: Take your time
Don’t rush through your blowout. When styling, make sure that the section you’re working on is completely dry before moving to the next layer.
“It is critical that you actually let the hair cool down on the brush. If you don’t, there will be a little bit of moisture in the hair still, and that moisture throughout the day will collapse the blow-dry or make it revert back to its natural texture,” Cutler explains.
In other words, being impatient will only hurt you later on. To save time, Cutler says, you can use a narrow concentrator nozzle to better “direct the air from the roots to the ends.” This will help speed things along without sacrificing your look.
Tip 4: Add a finishing touch
Once you’re done blow-drying, it’s time to add the right finishing touch. In Cutler’s experience, many clients want some extra shine, and they’ll use an oil to polish off their style. But he says to fight the urge to slather on oil—a better way to top off your blowout is with his favorite fine mist: Redken’s Brushable Hairspray.
“I use it during fashion shows, I use it on clients,” Cutler adds, emphasizing the product’s versatility. It offers up to 24 hours of humidity resistance and eight hours of control. For those that prefer a more undone, textured finish, he recommends using a mattifying hair powder instead, which he says can give you a “little extra fullness.”
Tip 5: Sleep on silk
As wonderful as a night of deep sleep is, it may not do your hair any favors. If you’ve ever slept hard and woken up with your tresses in a knotted mess, you know what we’re talking about. Thankfully, however, you don’t need to do anything extreme (like skipping sleep) to preserve your blowout at bedtime. Simply try swapping your pillowcase for one made of silk. They’re ideal for preserving hairstyles as the smooth texture creates less friction, reducing frizz and tangling overnight. Alternatively, wrap your hair in a silk scarf before bed. This can help keep your strands secure while you sleep so you can wake up with smooth hair.
Good hair day by @kgm.hair.
Tip 6: Wear loose hairstyles and soft hair accessories
Chances are, you’ll want to wear your hair down to really show off your blowout. But if you need your hair out of your face or want to mix things up, stick with loose hairstyles secured with gentle hair accessories. Tighter styles can cause dents and creases in your hair that can be hard to undo without washing your hair and starting over from scratch. And the same goes for stiff hair ties and plastic headbands. At night, if you prefer to wear your hair up, use a soft scrunchie to secure your hair in a low bun. Claw clips can also be great for tossing your hair up without creating any dents.
Tip 7: Refresh with dry shampoo
As we mentioned earlier, oily roots are the enemy of a beautiful blowout. But you can think of dry shampoo as both a good friend and remedy. With just a few spritzes, dry shampoo can absorb excess oil to keep your blowout looking fresh. Try Matrix Styling Refresher Dry Shampoo, which offers maximum oil absorption for cleaner-looking hair. This dry shampoo works instantly, and you can use it to refresh up to fourth-day hair. Lightly mist it onto your roots and give it a few minutes to absorb, then massage it into your scalp and hair until there’s no visible residue.
Good hair day by @emmamcjuryhair.
Tip 8: Skip heavy products
After a day or two of rocking your blowout, you may need to touch up your hair with styling products. If you do, opt for lightweight formulas. Heavy products can greatly impact how long a blowout lasts, weighing down your hair and making it lose its bounce and shape. Stick with lightweight serums, lotions, and sprays instead, and use them sparingly. These lighter options will help maintain your blowout’s volume and texture without creating a greasy buildup that can make hair look limp.
One of our favorites is Shu Uemura Art of Hair’s Ashita Supreme Hair Serum. This leave-in treatment works on dry hair to nourish and smooth strands, leaving them with an almost feather-like softness. It’s perfect for touching up second or third-day hair without weighing it down.
Tip 9: Blast with cool air
When the goal is preserving your blowout rather than redoing it, you might think you should steer clear of your blow-dryer. But this tool isn’t just for drying hair; you can also use it to revive a days-old style. The trick is to not apply more heat—instead, you want to use your blow-dryer’s cool setting. Turn your blow-dryer on and hit the “cool” button, then give your hair a refreshing blast of air. This can help seal your style and reduce frizz.
Tip 10: Avoid sweating
Now’s not the time to take up HIIT (a type of high-intensity exercise) or attempt to skimp on your air conditioner usage. Sweat, much like oil, can make your blowout go flat. For the sake of your hairstyle, it’s best to avoid intense activities that may lead to sweating. If you do workout, consider wearing a soft fabric headband to help keep moisture away from your roots.
Humidity can also be a concern. “The moisture in the air will revert everything,” says Cutler. “You want to keep your hair in as dry of an environment as possible.” Of course, it’s not always possible to avoid humidity, but you may want to factor it into deciding when you blow out your hair. For example, if you’re planning an island vacation, you may need to accept that a blowout may not stand up to the climate.
Good hair day by @haleemckenzie.
Tip 11: Keep your hands off
When your hair looks and feels great, which tends to be the case post-blowout, it can be awfully tempting to run your fingers through your hair. But doing so can put a limit on the lifetime of your ‘do. It’s best to avoid touching your hair and scalp as much as possible. "The more rubbing of the scalp, the more oil you’re going to attract and the more it’s going to run through your hair,” Cutler explains.
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