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Life is so much better with a blowout — we feel you. But if your hair stylist knows more about you than your best friend, there’s a good chance you are frequenting the salon for a professional blowout, well, a lot.
And, as with many hair treatments, there is some risk involved in going overboard when you over style and treat your hair. This is the scary mistake you’re making when you get a blowout, according to experts.
The problem with blowouts isn’t necessarily the fact that you are getting your hair blown straight (and va-va-va-voom voluminous), but that, depending on where you are going for your treatment, great care and consideration may not be taken when it comes to protecting your locks.
This can be especially true if you visit ubiquitous blow dry bars — the kind that churn out dozens of customers each hour.
According to NYC celebrity stylist Ricardo Rojas, who spoke with Glamour, “Some blowout bars focus a little too much on doing hair quickly.” Translation: they are turning up the heat setting — way, way up, without regard for your hair type and any chemical processes your hair has already endured. They are also likely moving you from the shampoo station to directly under a dryer without giving a hair towel time to absorb some of that moisture.
You don’t have to give up beloved blowouts for the sake of healthy hair, but you may need to become your own hair advocate. “Ask your blow-dry stylist to rough dry your hair instead of starting the blowout when your hair is wet and to keep the dryer on a lower heat setting when possible,” Glamour suggests.
Another excellent idea: bring your own thermal protection spray to the salon, just in case you’ve noticed they aren’t using one on your hair. A protective spray like Kenra Platinum Blow-Dry Spray ($16.15) is so important because it fights frizz, protects against breakage and split ends caused by high heat, and will even cut down drying time — and the less time spent under a hot dryer, the better.