Pro Tips for Drying Long Hair Fast

A blowout at the salon can take up to half an hour for long hair but you don't have to spend more than about fifteen minutes to dry your hair at home. Longer hair needs to be divided into sections before drying or you'll be left with patches of damp hair and roots that are still wet. If you want a professional-looking blowout without the trip to the salon - and want to save some time with your hair routine - use some of these drying tips to achieve your look in fifteen minutes or less:

1. Apply a heat-protecting mousse to the roots. Use a volumizing and heat-protecting mousse only at your roots to create a barrier against the high temperatures from your blow dryer. Massage this mousse into the scalp with your fingers or use a wide-toothed comb to ensure your entire scalp is covered with the product.

2. Use an ionic blow dryer. Ionic blow dryers can help you achieve that salon-like finish by distributing heat evenly across your strands. Ionic dryers use less heat but can still speed up the drying process. When you want to dry long hair fast, make sure you're using a high-quality ionic dryer that will cause less damage than standard dryers and help you create that sleek, shiny look with ease.

3. Begin at the roots. Tip your head over so that you can start blow drying your hair from the area right around the nape of your neck and work up towards the crown. You only need to dry your hair in this position for about three to four minutes as a "pre-drying" session before you move in close to the scalp. This will help to warm up your strands and dry out some of the roots before styling. You'll want to make sure your hair is about 75 to 80 percent dry before you move on to the next step.

4. Divide hair into sections. Clip your hair into sections that are between two to four inches wide so that you can focus on only a small section of hair at a time. I like to use five large salon hair clips to divide my hair into several sections - one at the top, two on each side, and two at the back of the head. Twist hair tightly and secure in place with each clip.

5. Focus on air flow. You need to make sure that you're directing the heat from the dryer down the hair shaft at all times. This top down approach will help your roots dry as quickly as possible and also protect the strands from excessive heat damage. Remove one clip and dry hair from the root down, holding the dryer as close to the hair as possible. Use a large-barreled brush to keep the hair flat and straight as you dry. Let the hair cool on the brush for a few seconds before moving on to the next section.

6. Continue drying each section. Remove each clip as you go and continue with the top-down approach as you work your way around your head. This entire process won't take longer than ten minutes.