Nothing beats the feeling of jubilation you receive as you first step out of the salon, ready to showcase your freshly tendered hair to your social circle and beyond. Whether it be for a social event or work engagement, we all love to indulge in a session at the salon – but our home and work commitments mean this isn’t always practical. That’s why learning how to achieve the salon blow-dry at home is an essential money saver that will ensure your hair stays styled for hours.

Whether you want to add some extra volume to hair that is lacking lift or want to create a power hold for a special event, the perfect blow-out is your new best friend. Hair maestro Asgar Saboo, who has styled a broad range of A-list personalities such as Cindy Crawford, Eva Longoria, Katrina Kaif and Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, is here to share his top tips on how to achieve the perfect blow-out that will leave you looking and feeling like you have just stepped out the salon

Pre-Dry

Pre-drying your hair makes it much easier to manage later on. Towel dry your hair then detangle with a wide-toothed comb to minimise breakage.

Prep

In achieving the perfect blow dry, preparation is key! Smooth over towel-dried hair with a small amount of serum or natural oil, such as coconut or argan oil, ensuring you use on the mid to ends of your hair to avoid greasiness. For curly hair, the trick is to ensure the curls remain constructed, so add a volume enhancing mousse or curl enhancing product to set them. Finally, brush through again with a wide-toothed comb to spread the product evenly. Add a heat protection spray to dry or damaged hair.

Section

For particularly thick hair, sectioning it will make the process of drying a lot easier and quicker. Start by creating a horizontal parting along the back of your hair and fasten the top section of hair out of the way. Drying the bottom layers first will ensure all the hair is dried thoroughly.

Dry

The perfect blow-dry is about focusing the direction of the hair when it is drying. For this, it is best to use the concentrator nozzle of your hairdryer. Using a barrel brush, take a small section of hair and lay the top end over the brush. With the hairdryer on high heat but medium power, hold it adjacent to the hair and pull along the brush. Curl the brush under slightly when you reach the end of the hair to ensure it falls with a soft finish. For curly hair, using a brush will cause the look of frizziness so it is best to dry by scrunching and holding your hair under the heat.

Volume

The volumising mousse will have already added some va va voom to your hair but if you are looking for extra volume, Velcro rollers are a perfect way of naturally lifting and curling your hair. Focusing on the top layers, particularly for thicker hair, separate individual sections and place the roller at the roots underneath your hair. Pull the roller along the hair and when you reach the ends, roll it back under itself to the scalp. Fasten the roller onto your head with a grip and secure with a medium hold spray. Once you have secured all the rollers, give a final spray and warm gently using a low setting on the hairdryer.

Finish With Finesse

Now your hair is beautifully prepped and dried, the final steps allow you to polish the look as much or as little as you like. For a bouncy blow dry, remove the rollers and shake your hair gently but be wary of running your fingers through the curls as this can cause the look of frizziness. Position your hair around your shoulders to beautifully frame your face. For a sleek and sultry style, carefully brush through the hair with a paddle brush to eliminate stray hairs and give a soft finish. Finish with a spritz of shine serum and spray to hold.

In an age where every embarrassing facial expression is caught on camera and every pose shared online for all to see, having a youthful and healthy complexion is a must for the selfie generation. Ours is also a time where potential damage to the skin is high – pollution is on the rise, the sun is burning hotter and we’re working longer hours. All can lead to more wrinkles. With these concerns in mind, here are our IDEAL tips on how to avoid and reduce wrinkles.

AVOID PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THE SUN

That burning yellow circle in the sky. It feels so good on our faces. The subsequent healthy, bronze glow certainly looks good too. Prolonged exposure to it, however, especially without appropriate protection, can lead to wrinkles, skin damage and worse. There are a number of proactive measures we can take to reducing the potential for danger. Most simply, limiting our time in the sun is essential.

Secondly, shade, whether it be in the form of a funky sun hat or the relief of a tree, can provide necessary respite. Sun cream, additionally, should be in the carry bag of anyone who loves looking in the mirror. Whilst the more gradual, subtle tan is a labour of love, you’ll thank us in the long run.

UTILISE VITAMIN AND MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS

One vital piece of the puzzle for looking younger and staying healthy is Vitamin C, which the body can have trouble absorbing. Dupplements containing Vitamin C are readily available and can assist greatly in the fight against wrinkles, particularly in reducing dullness of the skin. Omega 3 extracts are also superb and Vitamin D supplements can go a long way to fighting environmental damage, such as from pollution.

EAT SMARTLY

There are certain foods which can greatly help in fighting wrinkles. A fish (is there anything it can’t do?) heavy diet, especially oily varieties high in omega3, can make you look, and feel, young and radiant. Nuts are another superb source of nutrients which combat wrinkles. Ditto avocados, berries and tomatoes. The list goes on, just maybe don’t eat them all together!

TRY A TREATMENT

One of the options available for reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles is hyaluronic acid serum treatments, which help to “fill the gaps” where wrinkles have taken hold and reduce the appearance of fine lines as well.  However, many people do not know where to buy hyaluronic acid serum, nor how it is used.

There are a variety of methods for making use of this serum.  The most commonly used is deep tissue injection, which helps to fill the gaps left by wrinkles.  This treatment also helps the skin to maintain moisture that it needs to appear younger and healthier.  However, the treatments alone are not going to keep up that healthier glow.

Another method for using this serum is to have a provider apply the serum onto your skin.  This is generally done after using a dermabrasion-style treatment in order to open up the pores and give the skin a better chance to absorb the serum.  The results of this treatment last for a varying period of time, depending on the amount of previous damage done by the sun and other everyday chemicals like pollution in the air.

You can also try plasma pens to lessen the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s important to understand the recovery process and the common side effects; this article on ”is plasma pen swelling normal?” should help with some of that understanding.

STOP WORRYING!

Finally, stress can age even the youngest soul. Therefore, maybe the most important advice of all is to stay calm, always take stock, look after your mind as well as your body and exude a zen-like calm both inside and out. A youthful worldview will inadvertently lead to a youthful visage. Simples.