How to Blow Dry Medium-Length Hair

1.

Throw in the towel -- well, not really, just don't use it your hair. Drying your locks with a towel roughs them up and sets the stage for frizz. Instead, use your hands to squeeze excess water out of sopping strands gently. Then blot with paper napkins.

2.

Rake a styling product through your mane from roots to ends. If your hair is fine, work in a few palmfuls of volumizing foam. Curly or coarse hair needs some straightening balm for a soft, smooth blowout. If your hair is more or less normal, stick with a lightweight leave-in conditioner.

3.

Ease your finger off that trigger. Tempting though it may be to crank your dryer full blast, that kind of heat and speed is just asking for frizz. For now, keep your blow dryer on its lowest setting. Shake your strands through your hands for a few minutes as you wave the dryer's nozzle all over your hair.

4.

Flip your hair forward over your face to dry the back, and then move the dryer haphazardly over top tresses to create some volume. Continue until your hair is about three-fourths dried.

5.

Use hair clips to separate your hair into front, back and side sections.

6.

Now you can let that dryer do its thing: Dial it up to high heat and speed. Grab a 2-inch section of hair from the front. Glide a giant round brush through the section, following closely behind it with blow dryer. Keep the dryer's nozzle aimed downward over the hair. This stylist trick seals down the cuticle for a smooth, shiny blowout.

7.

Score yourself some sultry lift at the top. Brush the layers of hair at the crown forward with the round brush, rolling the brush away from your face as you go. Hold the hair section taut as you blow dry it. Aim the dryer away from it for a few seconds to let it cool and set around the brush, then release. Et voila, a perfect Brigitte Bardot-esque bump.