Top Tips for Maintaining a Blowout: Keep Your Style Fresh Longer

Modern technology makes it easier for women to achieve the appearance they have always dreamed of having. This includes sleek, shiny, and frizz-free hair by having a blowout done in a professional salon.

A typical blowout can last 3-5 days before you need to wash your hair or return for another blowout salon visit. However, your shiny, bouncy, and voluminous hair can easily get messed up once humidity joins the party.

Humidity is the enemy of a good hair day. The frizz. The flyaways. The styles that fall flat in seconds. Humidity can instantly turn your perfectly styled strands into a hot mess. And no hair type is spared when it comes to the effects of the dreaded moisture in the air. If it’s humid out, your hair will show it.

So, is it tough maintaining a blowout in humid weather? In this article, we’ll discuss how humidity affects hair and how to ensure that your blowout lasts even in humidity and your hair care routine.

What is a Blowout?

Many believe a blowout is more than a hair blow-drying session and a few curls for styling. There’s more to a blowout than just these aspects. A stylist needs to handle each section of hair carefully and skillfully to turn damp strands into a perfectly dried style.

This process is typically done using a round brush and a blow dryer while lifting the hair away from the scalp. By doing this with a round brush, stylists aim to enhance the final result since lifting the hair helps distribute natural oils more evenly when strands are kept apart.

A well-done blowout usually lasts three to five days without any touch-ups or fixes. People with naturally textured hair may get longer-lasting results than those with fine hair, as styles can sometimes hold for up to a week on curly hair.

How Does Humidity Affect Hair?

When the air is humid, hydrogen bonds form between the moisture in the air and the proteins in your hair, causing frizz and curls to appear.

If you have longer hair, you likely don’t need a weather report to gauge humidity levels—you can grab some strands and feel the texture. Human hair reacts strongly to moisture in the air, so much so that certain hygrometers (devices that measure humidity) use hair as a sensor, as it changes length based on how damp the air is.

Straight hair starts to develop waves. If your hair is naturally curly, humidity can make it even curlier or frizzy. Controlling frizz has grown into a massive industry, with countless smoothing serums claiming to “transform” and deeply nourish hair “without making it feel heavy.” But what exactly causes humidity to have such an unusual effect on human hair?

The answer lies in hair’s chemical structure, which makes it highly reactive to the amount of hydrogen in the air—directly tied to humidity levels.

Most hair strands comprise tightly packed keratin protein bundles, which can be seen as dense layers of black dots in a cross-section.

These keratin proteins connect in two main ways. One is through a disulfide bond, where two sulfur atoms create a strong, permanent chemical link. This bond gives hair its durability and doesn’t change when exposed to humidity.

The second type of bond, a hydrogen bond, is much weaker and temporary. These bonds constantly break and reform whenever hair gets wet and dries again. That’s why if your hair dries in a specific shape, it usually stays that way until it’s exposed to moisture again.

Hydrogen bonds happen when molecules from nearby keratin strands create a weak connection by linking to the same water molecule, indirectly holding the two keratin proteins together. Since humid air contains far more water molecules than dry air, a single strand of hair can develop a much higher number of hydrogen bonds on a humid day.

When too many of these bonds form between the keratin proteins in a strand, the hair starts to bend and fold more at the molecular level.

On a larger scale, naturally, curly hair tends to get curlier or frizzier when exposed to humidity. To visualize this, think about a metal coil spring. When hair is straightened and dried, it’s like stretching the spring into a long, straight rod. But on a humid day, if your hair naturally curls, water molecules will gradually be absorbed, forming hydrogen bonds that pull the straightened rod back into its original coiled shape.

Having a Blowout: What To Expect

If you’re new to blowouts, you might wonder what happens during your first appointment. When you get to the salon, your stylist will ask what results you want and review their different blowout treatments.

The whole process usually takes 45 minutes and over an hour, depending on how much hair you have and how long it is.

The hairstylist will first wash your hair using dry shampoo and conditioner to prepare it for styling. Some stylists might also give a relaxing scalp massage during this step.

Afterward, they gently towel dry your hair to remove any extra moisture. Once done, they will apply a special product to help detangle the hair before starting the blow-drying process.

To make styling easier, they will divide your hair into sections using clips so they can work on one part at a time. The stylist will likely use a round brush and a blow dryer, sometimes with a special attachment.

When everything is finished, they will apply additional products to enhance shine and hold. Depending on your preference, they might straighten your hair for a sleek finish or curl it for a bouncy look.

Advantages of Blowouts

One of the biggest advantages of getting a blowout is that your hair will look gorgeous afterward. It will have a smooth, shiny, and polished appearance. It looks better than when you try to style it at home.

Blowouts also help add more volume to your hair and can last anywhere from a few days to a full week. If you have naturally curly hair, a blowout can temporarily straighten it, allowing you to enjoy sleek hair without committing to a long-term straightening treatment.

A blowout is a simple way to achieve that glamorous, celebrity-like hairstyle. If you have a big event coming up, getting a blowout beforehand can save you time and effort while ensuring your hair looks perfect for the occasion.

Maintaining a Blowout in Humid Weather

We understand how annoying it is to deal with hair getting frizzy because of humidity, so we’ve put together some helpful tips to keep your blowout looking great, even on the hottest and muggiest summer days.

1. Apply an Anti-frizz Serum

Putting a serum on damp hair specially made to fight frizz can give your strands extra moisture and protection. These products control frizz and keep hair looking sleek in humid conditions.

Use the right amount of serum on your hair before you leave the shower, before drying and styling.

2. Keep Your Hair Up

The easiest way to keep your hair tame in humid conditions is to throw it into an easy updo. Curly hair is especially prone to frizziness due to humidity, and putting your curls up into a loose topknot can help keep your hair from expanding à la Monica Geller on vacation in Friends.

A loose braid or bun will also help keep your hair out of your face and off your neck during those hot summer days.

3. Moisturize with Shea Butter & Oils

Keeping your locks moisturized is the key to keeping the frizz away. Coconut oil, whipped shea butter, and black castor oil are great sealants for thick hair. A small amount goes a long way, and you can apply a little before heading out the door to lock in your style.

You want to keep the outermost layer of your hair strands flat to protect from humidity, and moisturizing oils can help smooth this layer after you’ve styled your look.

4. Avoid Water-based Products

Why is thick, curly, or wavy hair prone to frizz? It’s simple science. It will revert whenever you try to force your hair to do the opposite of what it does naturally.

When touching up your blowout, steer clear of products that will prompt your hair to return to its natural state, such as water-based creams. Go for a light serum or oil that will add polish without creating waves.

5. Use a Terry Lined Shower Cap

While you may be cool with pushing back your next dry shampoo session as far back as possible, I’m also going to guess that you’re not willing to forgo showering altogether for that long, too. As you know, humidity, steam, and water can all wreak havoc on a fresh blow dried hair, so keeping your protected from hair with a shower cap (no, a ponytail holder will not suffice) is a must.

You should also choose one that has a soft terry cloth lining since this type of fabric helps block moisture and prevents frizz from forming.

6. Apply a Spray for Humidity Control

Besides staying away from humid environments and limiting excess sweat (though, of course, that’s not always realistic), protecting your hair with a spray that shields against humidity is a smart choice for those days when the weather isn’t in your favor.

You’ll want to turn your head over and spray a generous amount to ensure even dispersion and keep the volume at the next level.

7. Try Different Styles

Speaking of volume, by day 3 or 4, you may notice a major decline. Rather than overloading your mane with the product, opt for a large barrel curling iron and not a flat iron to re-create some texture, add some shine, and restore volume without creating too much of a curl. 2 inches are the best size to go for if you’re looking for blowout-looking voluminous waves.

8. Use a Sweat Wicking Headband and Use Dry Shampoo

If you’re unwilling to give up your fitness routine but can’t imagine sacrificing an extended blowout, keeping hair swept away from the face while you’re breaking a sweat is essential.

In addition to wearing a sweat-wicking headband, you also want to apply spritz dry shampoo or anti-humidity spray before you hit the gym rather than after.

The soft, powdery texture from the dry shampoo acts like a protective shield that stops sweat from soaking into your hair and is far more effective when used to prevent problems instead of trying to fix them afterward.

9. A Silk Pillowcase is Your Best Friend

Using a silk or satin pillowcase has several beauty benefits, such as reducing the appearance of fine lines and keeping your hairstyle looking smooth, glossy, and free from frizz for longer. Cotton and microfiber pillowcases can lead to matted and tangled hair, but a silk pillowcase’s smooth and soft feel will keep your blowout intact. A silk pillowcase will be your best friend.

Do you want to learn more about blowouts or want to schedule one? Please reach out to us today!