If you want to dry your curly hair, using a diffuser is a speedy alternative to air drying with minimal frizz.
Diffusers help spread out and limit the air as it leaves your blow dryer, allowing you to dry your hair efficiently without disturbing the natural shape of your curls.
Here’s Why You Should Diffuse Your Hair Upside Down:
Diffusing your hair upside can add volume and allow for the natural setting of your curls. However, it should be thought of as only the first step. You will want to finish drying in an upright position to help your roots maintain movement and flexibility once they are completely dry.
What Is Diffusing Your Hair?
A diffuser is an attachment you put on your hair dryer to change the path of the air as it flows from the dryer to your head and hair. It diffuses the air as it comes out of the dryer, which covers a larger area less intensely.
Diffusers can help hair from getting damaged and appear less frizzy overall. When using a hair dryer with no diffuser, you run the risk of concentrated heat damaging the protective layer of your hair.
The design of a diffuser helps minimize this risk. In addition to causing damage, intense heat and airflow from a blow dryer can disrupt the natural pattern of the curl.
Curly hair does well when it has the chance to air dry. The hair has a chance to find its natural curl formation without interruption.
However, it’s not always possible to give a full head of curly hair the time needed to air dry after being washed. When it’s time to dry those curls, you will want to attach your diffuser to get the job done.
What Are The Benefits of Diffusing Hair Upside Down?
When you diffuse your hair upside down, you benefit from adding volume to your hair. You are guiding your roots to dry away from your head when diffusing upside down.
If you were only to dry your hair right side up, you would be drying your roots flat against your head. By turning them upside down, you have a chance to give them a little lift.
Even though gravity will be at work when you stand back up, it will still give them a little voluminous lift.
Most diffusers will have rounded, plastic spikes that you can use to help you achieve the look you want as you dry. When you’re upside down drying your hair, you can use these rounded spikes to lift your roots as you dry slightly.
This technique is great for increasing the volume and body of your hair.
Starting to dry your hair upside down is a great idea, but you will want to switch your position before your hair is totally dry. If you were to dry your hair completely upside down, it might not easily settle into the final look you want.
Once your curls are beginning to set, and your roots are gaining some volume, you can change to a right side up position. Let’s look at the benefits and the styles you can achieve from diffusing this way.
What Are The Benefits of Diffusing Hair Right side Up?
When you diffuse your hair right side up, you benefit from seeing how the final product is going to look. You can see how the drying process is going in the mirror and can make adjustments as necessary.
To give your roots the maximum volume and movement, you will want to finish drying them right side up. You can lean your head from side to side to help dry your roots in different directions.
This will help your dried hair flow easily while still maintaining maximum volume.
The more movement you can incorporate into your diffusing routine, the more free and flexible your roots will feel. This can give your curls the bouncy, full-of-movement look you’re going for.
What Diffusing Techniques Are Best for Straight Hair?
A diffuser isn’t usually a go-to tool for straight hair, but nothing stops you if you want to give it a try. After all, the diffuser’s less intense drying style can help prevent any further damage and frizz to your hair.
If you are looking for a little extra volume in your roots, you will want to begin diffusing upside down. Keep a little distance between your diffuser and your hair and scalp as you dry.
When your roots are partially dry, you will want to come back up straight and continue drying. Guide the diffuser along the length of your hair.
You can use your hand or a brush to help guide and shape your hair as it dries.
You can keep the diffuser a few inches away from your hair and scalp throughout the drying process. This distance will best mimic the air-drying process and reduce any risk of overheating.
What Diffusing Techniques Are Best for Wavy Hair?
If your hair is wavy, you can use a diffuser to help bring out the best of your natural waves. Diffusing your waves will help you define their shape without experiencing unnecessary frizz.
First, you will want to get an ideal product for wavy hair. Applying product is important since it will give your waves the nourishment and hold they need to form without the frizz.
Once your product is in, you will want to get your roots partially dried, locking in some volume. To do this, you can begin drying upside down or with your head tilted to one side.
If you want to make your waves appear more curly, you scrunch your hair in sections by placing it in the bowl of your diffuser and holding it closer to your scalp. This has the potential to dry out your hair, so you can do this step once your hair is already partially dry.
What Diffusing Techniques Are Best for Curly Hair?
Diffusers are the most popular way for people with curly hair to dry their hair quickly and efficiently. However, it still takes technique and skill to get tight curls to dry as intended.
Let’s take a look at how to diffuse curly hair successfully:
Use Trusted Products
Before getting started, remember to put a trusted product for curls in your hair.
You will want something that will nourish and hold your curls. Your product should keep them from separating and getting frizzy as you dry.
Once your trusted product has been applied, you can get started with your diffuser.
Avoid Over-Drying
First off, avoid beginning with the ends of your hair as you start diffusing. You might be tempted to use the bowl shape of your diffuser to gather all your hair up and press it close to the air.
However, this technique will be bound to disrupt the natural curl pattern of your hair and leave you with a messy result.
When your curls get overheated or overdried, they can easily look chaotic and unsettled. Drying in this way can cause too much shrinkage in your curls, making your hair look far shorter than necessary.
You might find your ends drying out and starting to split as well.
Diffuse Without Contact
To avoid these problems, begin diffusing without making any contact with your hair or scalp. With your hair upside-down, begin gently blowing the air at your roots without direct contact.
You will want to hold your diffuser several inches away from your scalp, giving your hair plenty of room to dry without overheating.
Continue to hover around your hair without making contact. You can move it up and down the length of your hair– still not making any contact at this stage. This will mimic the air-drying process and give you results faster than if you were actually air drying.
You won’t be disturbing your curls at all during this phase of diffusing.
As your curls start to set, you can get closer to your hair and begin making contact with the diffuser. You might even want to use the rounded spikes to help lift your roots to add volume.
Apply Different Angles
Before your hair is totally dry, remember to switch positions.
You will want to be upright again before your roots are totally dry. This gives you a chance to help fix any unflattering shapes in your hair before they dry completely.
As you continue to dry your hair right side up, you can tilt your head from side to side, giving your hair different angles to dry at. You can continue holding the diffuser a few inches away from your hair.
This best mimics the air-drying process and is most advantageous to curls to dry in their natural shape.
This technique will give you a natural, elongated look when finished. If you want your curls to shrink and tighten at any point, you can use your diffuser’s bowl shape to scrunch the curls closer to the heat source.
This will give you a bit of shrinkage and a tighter look to your curls.
Don’t Touch it too Much
When you dry curly hair, using a trusted product for your curls is a must. This also means you need to keep your hands off your hair during the drying process.
You might be tempted to grab and squeeze your hair to shape it, but this will take the product off your curls. Resist the urge to touch your wet hair as much as possible for the best end results.
Final Thoughts
Diffusers are a must-have for anyone with curly hair.
When using a diffuser, you give your curls a chance to dry in their natural shape without frizziness. You can even enhance and tighten your curls by using the shape and design of the diffuser to your advantage.
Diffusing your hair upside down is a must for volumizing your roots. It’s only the first step, though– remember to turn right side up once your roots are partially dry.
This will maximize movement and give you the most control over your hair’s final look.
Sources:
Aveda: The Ultimate Guide to Diffusing Your Curly or Wavy Hair
Oprah: How to Use a Diffuser for Perfectly Defined, Frizz-Free Curls at Home
Youtube: 4 Curly Hair Diffusing Mistakes that Everyone Makes