The perfect blow dry is the cherry on top of a killer haircut. It’s that last little something that makes you feel like a rock star when you’re walking out of the salon with soft, thick, perfectly styled hair. (We know you’re secretly pretending you’re in a hair product commercial, fess up.) But then you get home…and the magic sort of ends. Mostly because that salon-quality blow dry is a difficult one to pull off at home. More often than not, you end up with a flat, frizzy mess when you’re done – and that’s not such a cute look for the rock star you clearly are.

Never fear, there is a way to master the at-home blow dry! Celebrity stylist Peter Butler is demonstrating for us the technique that is going to get you that flawless, salon blowout every single day. This method is going to minimize that unattractive frizz and maximize that superstar volume you crave.

It seems too good to be true, right? Surprisingly, this is an easy technique that anyone can do right at home! All you need are a few basic supplies to get you going.

Materials

• Wide-Tooth Comb
• Spray Bottle of Water
• Hair Clips
• Blow Dryer
• Narrow Dryer Attachment
• Paddle Brush
• Round Brush

Instructions

1. Start by dampening your hair. If you’re doing this right out of the shower, you’re good to go. If you’re reviving dry hair, wet your locks with a spray bottle of water; this will help your hair start fresh.
2. Section off your hair using large hair clips. The part of your hair you want to isolate is the front, crown area (think around your bangs) because this is where you’re going to get that amazing volume.
3. Split the bottom layer of your hair into two sections, one on each side of your head.
4. Take a wide tooth comb and brush through the first section to nix any tangles before the blow dry.
5. Grab your blow dryer (Peter uses a Infiniti Pro by Conair 3Q blow dryer for $120, available at Ulta) and make sure the narrow attachment is in place. This attachment helps to concentrate the air from the blow dryer so that your hair becomes less ruffled and therefore less frizzy. Start with a rough blow dry; this basically means blow drying your hair with your fingers as a “brush.” This helps to take some of the moisture out of your hair before you get started with an actual brush.
6. Work your paddle brush through your hair to really get some drying done. Move the hair gently with the brush; if you yank the damp hair too hard, you could break it.
7. When the hair is 3/4 of the way dry, split the hair in half. Take one half, roll the ends of your hair around your round brush, and apply the heat of the blow dryer right on the ends. Turn off the dryer and let the ends cool for a minute. Heat the ends up again with the blow dryer. Let the ends cool one last time before rolling the hair out.
8. Repeat on the other half of hair. Remember, your brush is acting as a heat conductor for the ends of your hair, so try blow drying from the top of the curl.
9. Repeat steps 1-8 on the other side of your hair.
10. Go into your crown section, starting in the back. Add some thickening spray (Peter uses TIGI Bed Head Superstar Queen for a Day Thickening Spray for $17.50, available at Ulta) on the roots for that extra boost of volume. Hold your hair in the paddle brush and blow dry the roots to really get that thickening spray into your hair.
11. For the front of your crown, blow dry your roots FIRST before adding your thickening spray. Finish by brushing the front of your crown out and styling the front of your hair as you prefer.

Once you get the hang of this technique, that Insta-worthy hair is achievable any day you want it. Which, let’s face it, is most days.

Here’s a couple more pro tips to get you a super polished look:

• You don’t have to hold a blow dryer by its’ handle! Feel free to hold it closer to the nozzle for more control.
• Similarly, make sure to always point the nozzle down to reduce frizz and flyaways.
• If you’re bad at sectioning, tie your hair off into ponytails for easy blow drying.
• Don’t be afraid of thickening product! It’s going to give you that extra oomph to give you that heading downtown look.

Thanks to Refinery29 for this great video!

What do you think of this blow drying technique? Will you be trying these tips and tricks to get a flawless blowout at home? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

This is a sponsored post, paid for by our friends over at Refinery29.