Beauty & Fashion
While growing up, as far as hairstyles are concerned, if there was a telling sign of the changes in seasons, it was when the Black women in my life who had type 3 hair would blow their tresses out. What they would always tell me is, due to the heat and humidity of Nashville, it was easier to let their natural curl pattern do its thing during late spring and early summer and for them to then turn around and straighten their hair during fall and winter.
As someone who keeps my own 4a-4b hair blown out pretty much year-round (more on that in a sec), I’ve never really given the weather motivator a ton of thought. However, now that I think about it, the method behind their madness actually makes a lot of sense because cooler temperatures can result in having a longer-lasting blowout, which ultimately means less heat damage (since you don’t have to apply heat as often), which is always a good thing.
That’s why, now that we are officially in the season of autumn (yay!), if you happen to rock your curls and coils in their unstretched state most of the time and you’d like to do something different for a while, here is why wearing a blowout is a marvelous option to consider.
Why Autumn Is Awesome for Blowouts
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One of the best reasons why autumn and blowouts are such a match made in heaven is something that I already addressed in the intro: although there is humidity virtually all of the time (especially in certain climates), oftentimes there is less when it’s colder outside (or, at the very least, your head sweats less) which means that you don’t have to deal with as much shrinkage — which again, means that your blowouts will last so much longer than they would during the late-spring and summertime.
Another thing that is wonderful about wearing your hair straightened out during the fall is the fact that, although UV rays linger around whenever the sun is out (and the sun does indeed shine during the fall and winter; in fact, I used to go to high school with white girls who would bikini ski in order to get a tan), they aren’t quite as potent, which means that you don’t have to worry about them drying out your strands or stripping your color as much as you would when the weather is warmer.
And so, if you want to wear your hair straight (or straighter), fall can accommodate you without you having to worry about it damaging your locks (or natural curl pattern) in the process.
The Pros of Going with a Blowout Hairstyle
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And just what about blowouts is so wonderful, overall? Well, for me personally, I choose to blow mine out, almost every wash day, for the following reasons:
- I don’t have to worry about tangles and fairy knots as much
- My tresses don’t experience as much damage whenever I style it
- My hair tends to have less frizz
- It can reduce styling time
- My nighttime routine is quicker
- When maintained properly, it can last for several days (easily)
- BONUS: It can keep you encouraged if you’re trying to grow your hair out and you want to see results that it is actually happening
Y’all, definitely one of the best things about being a Black woman is our hair is capable of doing so many different things. When it comes to a blowout, specifically, if you want the length, flow, and manageability of an almost flat-ironed or relaxed look while still having a lot of texture and even dimension, this is the hairstyle that will make that happen for you. I am certainly a witness.
5 Tips for Achieving a Healthy and Long-Lasting Blowout
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A part of the reason why I decided to share three different blowout tutorials throughout this piece is that, while the general concept of a blowout is that you use a blow dryer to stretch out or semi-straighten your hair, there are little “tweaks” that can help to give you the exact results that you want; hopefully, these videos can help you out in that department. However, when it comes to things that everyone should do to achieve a healthy and long(er)-lasting blowout look, here are five tips that have definitely given me the results that I like.
1. Dust your ends. If it’s been months since you’ve stretched out your hair, there’s a high possibility that you will need to at least dust your ends. That process can help to remove split ends or fairy knots and help to even out your hair if there is an ever so slight bit of unevenness. For tips on how to dust your own ends, check out the video here, here, and here.
2. Apply more product than you think you should. When I’m prepping my hair for blowing it out, I apply several things: a leave-in conditioner, a bond spray (check out “Everything You Need To Know About Bond-Building Your Hair”), a thermal protectant (a cream-based one is best if you want to really penetrate your stands), and towards the end of blow drying my hair, I will apply some grapeseed oil and/or a sheen or conditioning spray (Bronner Brothers’ Smooth Sheen is a favorite of mine) to give some extra moisture and shine.
For me, it just seems like the more coated my hair is, the more “weighted” it becomes and more conditioned it is, so that there is less dryness and my locks are easier to style.
3. Use a cream straightener. Speaking of hair products, hands down, one of the best things that you can do is apply a cream straightener to your hair before you blow dry it. Not only will it help to smooth your cuticles, but it can also keep your hair straight for a longer period of time than if you didn’t apply it. As a bonus, a cream straighter can add sheen, softness, and more manageability without permanently altering your curl pattern. If you’ve never used a cream straightener before, Cosmo has several options that you can read about here.
4. Braid your hair at night. Okay, do genetics play a role in hair growth? The speed, yes. However, if you maintain your ends, which ultimately leads to length retention, you can eventually have some serious inches, regardless of what your hair type is. Don’t believe me? In walks, Indigenous Strandz — and if you don’t click on any other article in this piece, click on this one here. Although I’m not sure if she braids or twists her hair in order to keep it stretched, her video does represent the benefits of braiding at night in order to maintain your blowout — especially if you want to keep “touch-up heat” down to a minimum.
Although some people like to simply pin curl or wrap their hair up at night, I find that if you sweat at night or you don’t want a lot of “bumps” in your blowout, braiding (including cornrowing) is best. Also, as Indigenous Strandz mentioned in the link that I provided, because your ends are the oldest parts of your hair, it’s essential that you apply a carrier oil like hemp seed or an essential oil like rosemary (or both) as you’re braiding it up in order to nourish your ends and keep them stronger; that way, there is less of a chance that your hair will break off during your blowout.
5. Keep your bedroom cool. I grew up in a cool home, so keeping my thermostat(s) set to 68 degrees is normal to me. And guess what? It’s what’s also recommended if you want to keep your energy bills down. When it comes to your hair, specifically, this hack can help to keep you from sweating out your blowout at night. Then you can wake up the next day, take down your braids (or pin curls), spray some of the sheen that I mentioned earlier, use a paddle brush on your tresses, and boom — you’re good to go! The perfect blowout, just in time for fall. Fabulous.
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