Whether you’re a veteran hair stylist or a complete novice, you must have felt the same frustration after putting a great deal of time and effort into blow drying your hair, only to wind up with a tangled mess of frizzes.

Fortunately, there are ways to avoid that kind of hassle. Armed with these tips and one of AFRA’s selection of hair dryers, you’ll know what NOT to do to style your hair like a pro.

1. Blow drying hair that’s too wet.

After stepping out of the shower, your first instinct is to probably reach for the hair dryer. However, it’s probably a better idea to set it down for now and wait for your hair to dry a bit on its own. You can either use a towel or let your hair air dry. By letting your hair dry out for a bit, you can use a hair dryer without too much frizz or heat damage.

Wet hair also needs more time with the hair dryer. So, letting dry a little beforehand, is also a good way to cut down on time spent using the hair dryer.

2. Not drying from root to tip.

Most people start blow drying from the tips of their hair, and then work their way back to the root. But this can cause your hair to become frizzy and flat. The best way to blow dry is to do the opposite, from the roots of your hair and then towards the tip.

It’s also a good idea to avoid wrapping your hair around a brush and using the hair dryer on it. Not only will it take more time to dry, but it will also cause long term hair damage.

3. Not sectioning your hair.

You might be tempted to dry your entire head of hair all at once. However, this is a bad idea; you’ll very likely end up tangling your hair and create knots. It’s better to section your hair into rows (how many rows depends on how thick your hair is), and then work one section at a time for the best results.

4. Your heat setting is too hot.

You might have reasoned that turning your hair dryer to the highest heat setting could help dry your hair faster. But this approach isn’t good for your hair; using a high heat setting too frequently can cause damage. It’s a good idea to adjust you heat settings as well as the airflow, depending on the type of hair you have.

If your hair is fine and thin, set your dryer to a low or medium heat and airflow. For thicker hair, set it to a bit more heat and a lower airflow setting.

It’s also important, when finishing off, to switch to a cool setting.

5. Using the wrong brush

Many of you most likely use a round brush for your hair. But round brushes are not the ideal option; they tend to create tension for the hair strands and can cause damage if the hair is wet. Even worse, many such round brushes use metal cores which heat up in a hair dryer’s airflow, and this can cause further damage.

For the best results, a brush with more surface area is much more suitable; it’ll give more room for your hair to dry and still brush the sections out smoothly. This is doubly useful if your hair is prone to being flyaway.

6. Moving too fast

If you’re prone to blow-drying very quickly, then the style you’ve worked hard for may not last very long. To extend the freshness of your blowout, let your hair cool off on the brush for a short while and then move on to the next section. It’s also a good idea to let your hair set for a while, which will keep your blowout fresh for up to two days.

7. Ignoring the nozzles

Your hair dryer may come with different attachments that all serve a unique purpose. Each nozzle can help you have a different blow-drying effect on your hair. If you neglect using the nozzles, you’ll end up blowing hot air all over, instead of having an airflow concentrated to where you need it.