In recent years the hairstyle du jour has become the blow out. It’s elegant, it’s bouncy and it looks effortless—except that it actually takes a lot of effort to perfect.
It’s an expedition I’ve been on for the last year and a half, trying to get my straight, sort of limp, hair to hold volume and curl in a blow out style that lasts.
Now, I can’t lie to you. I did get my hands on a Dyson Airwrap and I absolutely love that thing. But it’s also pricey.
This conundrum had me wondering, how can people replicate the style if their wallets can’t stretch the $899 price tag? We are living in a cost of living crisis after all.
I have the answer for you, and it comes in the form of the Mermade Hair Spin Curler in Black with 25mm barrel, which costs $109. Yep, a cheeky hundy note (and a few accessories) and you’ll be on your way.
Now, it is important to consider what type of blow out you’re looking to achieve. Personally, with straighter hair, I’m looking for a loose curl. Anything too straight will look like I didn’t do anything, but I also don’t want to look like Little Bo-Peep in ringlets or have it head into beachy wave territory. I want a glamorous, bouncy blow out curl.
And boy, is that hard to achieve. Many of the blow dry brushes are amazing at a sleek flick but can’t satiate my straight hair’s need to look like Matilda Djerf on a daily basis. Likewise, curling wands that are too wide simply drop out within the hour (or at the slightest whiff of humidity).
I’ve also gone the Goldilocks/Shirley temple route before by accidentally doing my pin curls too tight, and while it does drop over time, waiting for it to do so is a slight bore.
The answer? A smaller curling barrel, and slightly larger Velcro rollers. The smaller barrel seems to train the hair to stay in shape, while the larger barrel stretches out your curls a bit and gives them ‘va va voom’. It’s the perfect anti-blow dry blow out, and it lasts all night in my hair.
So, without further ado, here is the (detailed) blow out recipe (and yes, achieving a blow out is somewhat like cheffing the perfect souffle).
What You Need To Achieve A Blow Out At Home:
- Mermade Hair Spin Curler Black 25mm (Side note: they also offer a 38mm curling barrel for a ‘straight with a flick’ look, but in my straight hair I prefer a smaller barrel).
- Hair clips (ideally a thin metal duckbill style like this)
- Mid-size rollers (36mm to 40mm)
- Heat protectant (best ones are here)
- Blow dry mousse (we love Larry King’s Nana’s Mousse and Hair by Sam McKnight Cool Girl Volume Foam)
- Hairdryer (find our recommendations here)
- Hairbrush (ideally a Wet Brush)
Mermaid Hair Spin Curler 25mm, $109, Adore Beauty
My 10-Step Method For An At Home Blow Dry Look:
1. Wash hair or wet hair and apply your blow dry mousse. I like to dry this in with a hairdryer and hairbrush, focusing on getting some lift at the root. The mousse will add some texture to your hair which will help it to hold when you curl it. When the hair is completely dry, spritz it all over with heat protectant.
2. Section the hair into three horizontal sections, clipping the top two up on top of your head and letting the bottom third fall down.
3. Take sections of hair (no wider than the width of your rollers) and wrap the hair around the Mermade curler backwards away from the face. This will be an anti-clockwise direction on your left side, and clockwise on your right. I don’t use the tong on this curler for this method, but you can if you find that easier.
For best results, don’t leave your ends out of the curl. Wrap them the full way around the iron, this will make them more ‘bouncy’. Once the section has been heated (hint: try not to set your curler above 180 degrees Celsius if you can help it), let the curl fall off the iron in a spiral.
4. Now it’s time to wrap your roller – the most integral part. Take the Velcro roller and slide it along the hair to the bottom, doing a few rotations to make sure the ends of your hair are in between the Velcro snugly. The hair should still be turning in the same way it was on the iron (backwards away from the face).
Roll the curler all the way up the hair and use your duckbill clip to secure close to the scalp. If you prefer a more undone look, you can definitely roll up halfway and leave the top straight. Pro-tip, straighten out any kinks left by the duckbill clips at the end. Continue the same method all around the bottom third of the hair.
5. Once the bottom section is curled, rolled and pinned, leave it to cool and then jump into the middle layer. It’s the same process here, although some prefer to curl this section inwards towards the face. That’s personal preference so feel free to play with what works for you and your hair. The top layer should always curl away from the face.
6. Styling the perfect blow out bang is crucial once you’re mostly finished the top layer. If you have longer style curtain bangs, a great option is to split the hair down your part and curl each section away from the face, before adding the rollers, like this.
Others with shorter bangs may choose to collect the shorter strands at the front and curl the whole lot back towards the head in one go and then adding a roller at the top of the head like this.
7. Letting the rollers cool is crucial to keep the style in place for longer. I’d recommend 15 minutes at the very least, but I often will do my makeup while the style sets for around 25-30 minutes. I even take the rollers out after I have finished getting dressed, which helps to avoid frizz.
9. Take the rollers out, starting at the bottom layer to avoid tangles. Try to unroll the hair from the rollers to keep it sleek and be gentle. Don’t rip them out. When all your hair is down, run through the hair with a dry brush to break up the curls and give it a little more volume. If your hair is prone to frizz, consider a wide tooth comb for this step instead.
10. I often won’t wear hairspray because I find it can weigh my fine hair down, but if you know it works for you, spritz it with a little setting spray. If your hair gets frizzy at any point, feel free to hit it with a little (and I mean little) bit of hair oil for sleekness and shine.
And that’s it! You should have the perfect no-blow ‘blow out’ ready to go.
It’s important to remember that in all things it’s about trial and error, and that you may find your hair type needs a little more wrangling. Sometimes, I don’t perfectly wrap my Velcro rollers or have kinks from the duckbill clips, which I just straighten out (or recurl) at the end.
Good luck out there, bouncy blow out girlies. Go forth with your glamorous locks.
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