hair styling Archives » Alina Avery

How-Two: Round Brush Blowout

October 29, 2015 by Alina Avery Leave a Comment

How-two: 2 easy steps to doing something just a little bit better…

As the weather gets colder, leaving the house with wet hair is not an option. I also hate to sleep with wet hair (damp hair + warm head + pillow = gross things growing where you put your face), so drying my hair is pretty much a necessity. While I’ve been #blessed with hair that dries pretty straight and smooth, I’ve always been thrilled with how my hair looks when it’s blown out at a salon and have dedicated hours and hours to replicating those results at home. Here’s two little tricks that work for me to get a salon-worthy round brush blowout.

Before we get to the actual two things, here’s a freebie: get your hair almost dry before you start trying to style it. Either wait for it to air-dry to about 85% or blast the roots with your blow dryer, lifting with your fingers, to rough dry before trying to smooth and shape your hair. It will make everything so much easier.

1. Pay attention to your sections. This depends entirely to what tools you’re using. When you section your hair, choose a piece that’s no wider than the barrel of your brush or the length of your dryer’s nozzle. You want to be able to lay the hair flat on the brush and hit the whole section with air at once. Similarly, you want the section to be no thicker than the length of your bristles, so the whole section can be held by the brush at once. It will be a lot easier to manage than if your sections are too big or too small. The general idea is that you want to keep tension in the hair by pressing it against the brush with the air stream from your dryer, so getting the right sized section is key.

2. Twist your hair as it comes off the brush. This is going to be a hard one to explain. Section the hair as described in step one. Place the brush behind the section of hair and direct the air to press it into the bristles. Gently slide the brush down the hair, twisting backwards as you go to keep contact between the brush and hair. Once you’ve made a full rotation, slide the brush down the hair without twisting, and then without sliding, twist the brush another full rotation. This will create a “coil” of hair above where it meets the brush. You can continue the pattern until you reach the end of the section. As the hair comes off the brush and out of the air stream, it will begin to cool. Hair stays in the direction it cools, so if it’s being pulled taut, you’ll end up with smooth but straight hair. If it’s twisted instead, you’ll end up with more waves and texture. For looser curls, choose a larger brush to allow for larger sections. For tighter curls, go for a smaller brush, and therefore, smaller sections.

A closer look, this time twisting towards my face instead of away:

Making these gifs by myself was probably one of the top ten trickiest things I’ve ever done.

Here’s the final result (awkward office selfie):

How-Two: Get the Most out of your Dry Shampoo

September 29, 2015 by Alina Avery 1 Comment

How-two: 2 easy steps to doing something just a little bit better…

Dry shampoo is seriously a game changer. Not only does it let you go longer between washes, something that’s not only great for your hair and scalp but down right convenient, but it also gives your hair more volume and texture. The quick and easy way to apply it is just to sprinkle or spray (or scrunch if you’re opting for this paste) right onto the sections of your hair that need a pick me up to absorb grease and refresh your ‘do. Here are two ways you can up your game.

Apply before bed. If you know you’re not going to wash your hair in the morning, add a little dry shampoo before you go to bed. Not only will this cut down on your morning routine, but keeping your head warm against your pillow all night will actually help to work the powder formula into your hair. This means you’re less likely to encounter the dreaded white cast and the product it gives the product more time to truly soak up any oil.
Use heat. Giving your hair a quick blast with a blow dryer after applying dry shampoo can blow off any excess product, so your hair doesn’t get weighed down. Since any excess powder that might be visible is blown loose, you’re just left with clean looking hair. It can also help activate the product so it works harder to keep your roots looking fresh.

If you need a dry shampoo recommendation, here are my favorites:

Eva NYC Freshen Up Dry Shampoo / R + Co Dry Shampoo Paste / Klorane Non Aerosol Dry Shampoo / Lulu Organics Hair Powder

Hair Paste Rundown

September 22, 2015 by Alina Avery 3 Comments

If you had asked me a year ago how I felt about hair paste I probably would have responded:

“Hair what?!”

But they have become part of my regular hair care and styling routine, so I thought I’d give a quick rundown on my favorite products and how to use them.

The newest and probably the star of the show: R+Co Badlands Dry Shampoo Paste

I feel like people are just coming around to the idea of dry shampoo, and now you throw a paste version at them?! But actually this product is exactly what it sounds like. The formula is solid and sticky but when you emulsify it with your fingertips it transforms to have a powdery texture. Don’t ask me how; I’m a blogger not a chemist! But once in powder form, you can use your fingers to apply it precisely where you need it: in your bangs, along your part, through your lengths, wherever. What I love about it is there’s no white cast, you don’t risk sprinkling or spraying it all over your clothes/surroundings/self, and there’s virtually no wasted product, aside from what’s left on your fingers. And it works.

I also apply it to towel dried hair for extra texture and definition, before either blow drying or air drying. Sometimes squeaky clean hair can be too slippery and flat to style, so using a bit of this to give it some grip helps a ton.

Finally, I’ll use a tiny bit post styling to roughen up curls or position bangs. It’s great for that lived-in, I-just-have-great-hair look.

Another paste I have grown to love: Parlor by Jeff Chastain Reworkable Hold Paste

This gives a more polished look compared to the R+Co paste. It’s less texturizing, but gives more hold. I have a sample from Birchbox that I carry around with me in case my hair needs smoothing or roughing up. Seriously, it’s like the great hair equalizer. Tames frizz and crazy ends while also volumizing and texturizing.

Last but not least, an old favorite of mine: Bumble and bumble Semisumo Pomade

This isn’t really a “paste”, but it’s pretty close. First I have to mention that this stuff smells phenomenal. It’s like, not overly masculine or feminine and mostly fresh but a bit musky and really hard to describe, but if you get the chance, go give it a sniff. I couldn’t stop smelling it while I had it open for photos. So so good.

It’s described as “hi-shine, lo-hold” which is right on point. Just use the tiniest bit of this on wet or dry hair to amp up the shine and give a little more control when styling. My favorite way to use it is to work a bit into the ends of second (ok, third) day hair. My ends can get weirdly crimped from sleeping so this helps to smooth and reshape them a bit. Remember that less is more, but this is like sexy bed head in a jar.

The best part about hair pastes: they’re unisex, so if you’re taking a trip you can stash it in your boyfriend’s or husband’s or brother’s suitcase so you have more room for shoes. Just kidding. But seriously.

(For the record, Matt swears by the Rusk Paste, and has ever since he received it in his Birchbox last November. It has more of a liquid-y school glue texture… like actual paste. I haven’t tried it, but he’s gone through multiple tubes and I pretty much can’t get him to try anything else.)

Do you use hair paste? Would you?