CGM · Curly Girl Method · Curly Hair Volume · Curly Volume · Diffused Curls · Diffused Hair · Diffusing Hair · Fine Hair Volume · Hair With Volume · Hover Method · How to Diffuse · IntrinsiCurly Me · Pixie Method Diffuse · Jun 05, 2021

Diffuse Drying

by Lisa Skinner

Depending on how you feel, Winter is a celebration of cozy fires and Netflix binges or a battle between your cosy bed and facing the day. Regardless of your stand-point we can all agree it can be a tough time to air dry your hair.

For those of you who are not die-hard air drying fans (and if you are we salute you, you brave things) you may have to turn to diffusing to get you through these chilly times.

Avoiding direct heat is one of the best things you can do for your hair (next to using IntrinsiCurly Me of course). Standard drying using a nozzle on full heat and speed can cause frizz, dry out your hair strand and disturb your curl pattern. The kinder cousin to this is diffusing with a diffuser attachment on low to medium speed and low to medium heat. The gentler heat and air flow will dry your curls more slowly but will be much more forgiving. Diffusing can also create big sexy hair AKA volume.

Make sure you are using a well balanced conditioner like The One And Only Creamy Conditioner to give your hair an equal amount of moisture and protein.

There are a few ways to diffuse - The Hover Method, The Pixie Method, The Net Method and The Hammock Method. Or a combination of them. We're going to walk you through a step by step guide of the two most popular methods for curls - The Hover Method and The Pixie Method.

HOVER METHOD

This is a method of diffusing without touching hair with your hair dryer
Add your styling products
Turn your head upside down (to create volume)
Use a low to medium speed with low to medium heat
Hover your diffuser over your hair without touching your hair
Hover near your roots first so they don't get flat
Once your roots are partially dry hover over the rest of hair
You can dry until a cast forms (80% dry) OR dry until 100% dry
This method allows your hair to dry in natural clumps
No bending occurs and your curls form in their most natural state

PIXIE METHOD

Add your styling products
Turn your head upside down (to create volume)
Gather all your hair into the bowl of diffuser, try and let your hair fall into its natural pattern
Keep a low speed and low heat because of the direct contact with your head and hair
Raise your diffuser until touching head
Keep in this position for a few mins depending on porosity and thickness of hair, you'll have to experiment to see what works for you
Aim to get your hair 60% dry
Turn your dryer off, this is important as you don't want to blow your curls out of their pattern as you lower the dryer
Lower from your head
Stand upright and correct any pieces that are out of place
Gather a side section of your hair into the diffuser and hold against the side of head while standing upright
After a few minutes switch off
Lower diffuser
Do this for each section of your hair until is 90% dry
Rather go around your head twice repeating the process than drying off everything in one go
Once your hair is dry do not fiddle or touch as this breaks up the curl pattern and can cause frizz

Remember practice makes perfect so don't give up if this is your first time diffusing and you don't get it exactly right.