Guide
How to make a blowout last
To make a blowout or blow dry last, keep water away from your hair and look after the thin outer layer of each hair. Water can undo a blow dry, and it reaches your hair in showers, in rain and in damp air. A healthy outer layer lets in less water from damp air.
We offer blow dries at the salon, and the service has its own blow dry page.
How long does a blow dry last?
It lasts until your next wash at the latest, and it can end sooner, so no fixed number of days fits everyone. Water getting into the hair can spoil a blow dry, and so can water leaving it again, for example when you go from damp air into drier air.
Why does water undo a blow dry?
Inside each hair, rows of protein are held in line by weak bonds, a bit like weak magnets. Heat and water can both break these bonds and rearrange the rows. A blow dry uses heat to give hair a new shape, and water can undo that shape by breaking these bonds. On a more humid day, more water from the air gets into the hair.
What helps a blow dry last
We’d do it like this:
- Keep water off your hair between washes. Water loosens the style, and in the shower a cap keeps the spray off.
- Take care of the outer layer of each hair, which protects the inside. A healthy one lets water in and out less easily, so the style can hold up better when the weather changes. The habits that protect it are on our frizzy hair in humidity page.
Where to look first
If your blow dry holds in the less humid months and drops in the rainy season, the damp air and the rain are the likely cause. If it drops in the less humid months too, start with the outer layer of your hair.
If you’d like to come in, you can book here.