I wanted to quickly write about flat irons again. A lot of people are wondering about how to prevent damage from flat ironing. Many of my clients are surprised to find out that you aren’t really supposed to use a flat iron to straighten the hair. Flat irons are a finishing tool. Your hair is supposed to have already been blow dried straight, and just smoothed over with a flat iron. Going over and over the same section with an iron is going to torch anybody’s hair, it’s just not what they are made for!

Here is my best advise for someone who wants the straight look:

After showering, towel dry your hair. Put a protective product in it like a leave in conditioner, a protein spray, or a straightening syrem. If you’re not in a rush, let your hair air dry until it’s about 80% dry, or as close to that as possible.  Then blow dry sections of your hair using a flat brush to get it straight. Using a blow dryer with a nozzle will help it get more smooth and straight. Please try your hardest not to touch your hair with the point of the blow dryer. It is so bad for your hair, and it will burn your brush I admit, sometimes I do it on accident myself when the hair isn’t staying on the brush, as a reaction, but try to avoid this. We are trying to prevent damage, k?

After my hair is blow dried, I assess whether it needs flat ironing or not. Which is usually not. My hair is naturally wavy/curly so of course it doesn’t take the amount of work to straighten that some people’s hair needs. Also, I have loads of experience with blow drying every hair type, and if you’re not able to get it at first, you shouldn’t feel bad. It’s a skill that you have to work hard for!

I use my flait iron for making curls more than anything else. It might also be because I like big-full hair! Big like Dolly.

Ok, did we learn something today? What tips have you learned for blow drying your own hair? Would you guys like a blow drying tutorial?

*note, I’m not posting a question because this was a very popular one. And I apologize for being a lazy hairdresser on fire. If you want to call me hairdresser on mildly flickering flames, I’ll understand.

How bad does dandruff suck? Even in moist New York, my clients still deal with dandruff during the dry winter months. I hate the word moist. So, I always feel for people with dark hair who have dry, itchy scalp and flakes. First, I want to say that it’s common….really common, and when I’m combing out a freshly shampood head of hair, and see flakes, this is what I advise….

~Scalp treatments. You can do them yourself. Often times the dry flakes are conditioner/product buildup that is irritating your scalp and making it flake/itch. If you brush your scalp (I mean really brush. With some good hard pressure) thoroughly all over your head before showering, you’ll loosen up that buildup and it will wash right off. Leaving your hair all squeaky like Marsha Brady. Her hair really was amazing, right? This is your typical scalp brush. It has hard bristles for the job it’s faced with.  PS you can get a brush like this anywhere, it doesn’t have to be fancy.

~Shampooing. SCRUB! Scrub hard, guys. Get that scalp real clean. Half of you are probably thinking ‘duh, we know how to shampoo our freaking hair, hairdresser on mildly flickering flames.’, well la di dah, you can read ahead because you are so much smarter than the rest of us, because I didn’t learn how to shampoo properly until beauty school. And not until I was an assistant at a big swankalicious salon did I become a shampoo ninja. The point is this, scrub your *swear word*ing heads! It also makes your hair grow fast. Scrubbing my hair is my secret to a long and prosperous life, but I have absolutely no facts to back that up.

~For more chronic dry scalp, you might have to get a medicated/special shampoo, which is a fancy way of saying head and shoulders (or the like). Did you know that dandruff is a minor form of fungus? Don’t feel embarrassed, it’s totally common. It’s happened to us all. Use your special shampoo every day until it’s better. Did I just tell you to shampoo everyday? This is a first. Dandruff is an exception guys. Don’t get too excited.

~Dandruff is also genetic. So if the above list doesn’t help, ask your dermatologist.

Love ya!

Q by Amanda: First, I’m looking for a new, great hairbrush. Do you have any recommendations? I have wavy hair that I straighten, if that makes a difference. Also, what brand of dry shampoo do you recommend? (Sorry if you already answered this- I couldn’t find it) Thanks!! ~(hdof says use batiste dry shampoo!)~

**A by Reagan: I’m pretty surprised this is our first question about brushes! Hooray! So, the first brush that comes to any hairstylists’ mind is (Cue angels singing)……

The Glorious Mason Pearson

This hair brush is the Rolls Royce of Hair brushes. I’m not really sure what else I need to say about it. If you have ever held one in your hand, you know…you just know the difference between it’s magnificence and other ordinary hair brushes. Please buy this hair brush. A regular sized one (there is also extra large and pocket size) will cost you almost 150$. Ask for it for mother’s day/christmas/birthday/halloween/or just I want it and what are you going to do about it day.  Here is an oath.

I, Hairdresser on Fire Breinholt, do solemnly swear that this hair brush kicks total ___, and your hair might explode in a good way when it finds out you bought it. Rave. Rave. Rave. This is me raving.

And now, let me present you with your knock-off…

The Denman

I’ve never used the Denman’s knock off version of the MP, but I know Denman is a great brand, and 15$ is very inexpensive. I’m just guessing that you’d be able to tell the difference in quality right away if you held one of each in your hands, but again, I’ve never used this brush. I have used several knock off MPs, and they have all been pretty good, but there is just no comparison to the real thing. It’s like a chinatown bag and a real bag. It may look almost the same, but when you touch it, feel it, hug it, you just know you’ve got an impostor.

Every woman deserves to have a Mason Pearson Hair Brush. I think they should give me some presents for saying that.

**I responded right away and asked Amanda specifically what kind of brush she was looking for, she replied that she was looking for a flat brush. I assume pretty soon we’ll do a few posts on some more types of brushes…