Hair diffusion is a technique of blowing your hair dry by attaching a diffuser cup to your blow dryer. This diffuser comes with fingers or teeth that help spread and disperse the flow of air and heat across a larger section of your hair.
This way, you can achieve a smoother and more stable result for your hair, especially if you have curly or wavy hair. A diffuser also makes for much quicker drying while also giving you lesser frizz in your hair.
The process of diffusing hair is quite simple to understand and undertake. It might take a couple of tries to get the hang of it, but once you do, you will find it much easier to retain your hair texture.
For a thorough understanding of how the process works, you should take a look at the following steps.
Understand Your Hair Texture
The texture of your hair makes a huge difference when it comes to using a diffuser. In general, diffusers are ideal for those who have thicker as well as naturally curly or wavy hair. By spreading the air and heat around to larger sections of the hair, it becomes easier to control the amount of frizz while also minimizing damage.
This is particularly important when the hair is still wet, otherwise, the direct heat from the blow dryer might end up creating too much frizz.
Those with straight or slightly wavy hair can also use the diffuser for quicker drying and a lighter look.
Gather the Tools
Once you ensure that your hair texture and diffuser will go hand in hand and provide you with the desired results, you can move on to gathering the tools and materials needed for the process. These include the following:
- Diffuser
- Blow dryer
- Leave-in conditioner
- Curl enhancers
- Moisturizing products
- Heat protectants
- Finishing hair product
- Towels
Which hair products you use will depend on the exact texture and thickness of your hair, so make sure you adjust them accordingly. Use reliable and safe products to prevent too much damage to your natural texture.
Prepare Your Hair
The next step in the process is to prepare your hair for diffusing and blow drying. Remember to wash your hair first with the right kind of shampoo and conditioner. Once you do, you should apply all the relevant hair products as long as they are of high and dependable quality.
These include curl enhancers (if you have curly hair), heat protectants and moisturizers. There are some products that are also more suitable for finer hair.
Make sure you also have something to ensure longer-lasting results, such as cream or oil.
Adjust the Heat Setting
The heat that you use on your blow dryer can make a difference in how your curls react. Usually, it is a good idea to keep the heat low once you start out and then move on to higher temperatures. This will give you a good idea about what works well for you.
Higher heat will make the drying process quicker but might also be a bit too much for tighter curls to handle all at once. Once you are done diffusing, you can also turn the heat back low to add a bit of volume.
Set the Right Speed
The speed of the flow and heat of the dryer/diffuser go hand in hand. A higher speed is bound to diffuse your hair much quicker, although this is not recommended if you have curls. This is because a higher speed might end up removing some of the curly texture or making them looser than you might like.
Start out with low speed and work your way up based on your requirements. Maintain a bit of consistency so as to retain the shape of your curls or waves.
Start with Roots
To begin diffusing your hair, place the diffuser closer to the roots of your hair. Begin diffusing the roots and then make your way through the rest of your hair. The roots are what need a longer time to dry, which is why it is best to start with them.
Do not use your hands for this process. Instead, rely on the fingers or teeth of the diffuser cup to hold the curls in place and work through different sections. You can also slightly squeeze and fold your curls using these teeth so that you can ensure that they retain their shape.
Work Upside Down
A great way to provide a bit more shape and volume to your hair while diffusing is to turn your hair upside down so that you can access the roots better. This way, you will be able to diffuse otherwise remote sections of your hair too.
By flipping your hair this way and working with them, you will also be able to attain much more bounce that you can hold on to for a longer time as a result of the diffusion process.
Once you are done with the roots, you can make your way lower.
Tilt Your Head
If simply flipping your hair over is not enough, you can also tilt your head forward and to the side so that you can reach all parts evenly. Keep tilting in different directions and use the handle to control your movements better.
You should also keep the diffuser slightly farther away from your hair so that you can ensure proper distribution without the risk of burning sections of the hair.
Just like working upside down, tilting will also help provide more volume to the respective sections that you work on.
Avoid Touching Your Hair
One of the most common mistakes when it comes to using a diffuser is to keep touching your hair either with your own fingers or with the fingers of the diffuser.
Although a bit of scrunching and contact might be necessary at the beginning, try to keep the diffuser at a safe distance from your hair once you start working your way down. This will help protect the shape and texture of your curls or waves while also minimizing the chances of developing frizz.
Do Not Overheat
Diffusers are fantastic on their own for distributing the heat evenly throughout your hair. However, if the heat is kept at a high setting, it might still be possible to keep working on your hair without keeping track of how much heat you are introducing.
Too much heating can end up being counterproductive, resulting in too much frizz along with a coarse texture. Make sure you adjust the setting while also stopping the process while your hair is still around 20% damp (but mostly dry).
Finish Up
Once you have sufficiently diffused your hair, you will be able to stop the process completely. Turn the heat off and use a light comb to massage some oil or moisturizing hair product to help retain the diffused curls and waves.
Using the right kind of product will also make it possible for you to add a bit more depth and shape while also maintaining the volume that you may have achieved through the diffuser.
Well, that was it on how to diffuse your hair. All you really need to figure out is the setting on the diffuser and blow dryer so that you can achieve the best possible results for your gorgeous hair. Remember to give sufficient time to different sections of your hair but try not to overdo it to avoid damage.
Time to get out there and give it a try!