Blow-drying hair from the bottom up could help prevent knots, frizz and breakage, according to hair expert Anabel Kingsley.
Rather than beginning at the roots and working downwards, Ms Kingsley recommends styling the lengths and ends first, before moving towards the scalp. She said starting at the top can leave the ends being blown in different directions and becoming tangled.
“As the ends of hair are generally wispier, as well as more damaged and more porous, it leaves them prone to sticking and tangling together, especially when they are damp,” she said.
The brand president and lead consultant at Philip Kingsley said this could leave the ends looking frazzled and contribute to breakage. In her book, Haircare: The Ultimate Guide, she explains that beginning at the top or front can encourage tangles and frizz throughout the ends.
The effect is linked to hydrogen bonds within the hair. These bonds break when hair becomes wet and reset as it dries, helping hair to hold different shapes.
Humidity can also affect the bonds, which can cause carefully styled hair to lose its shape in damp or rainy conditions. Ms Kingsley said drying the top section first could cause the bonds in the lengths to reset randomly, creating a dry and frizzy appearance.
She advises working on the ends while they are damp rather than soaking wet, using low to medium heat. This allows them to be shaped without relying on excessive heat or pulling with a brush.
The roots generally take longer to dry because the hair is denser around the scalp. By the time the ends have been styled, they should still contain enough moisture to be shaped; if not, Ms Kingsley suggests lightly misting them with water instead of increasing the heat.
“Your ends, being older, are already more porous and weathered, so you really want to treat them gently,” she said.
Ms Kingsley acknowledged that hair behaves differently from person to person and some may prefer to dry the top first, but said she encouraged people to try the bottom-up method because it had worked well for clients at her clinic.
Haircare: The Ultimate Guide by Anabel Kingsley is published by Piatkus and priced at £25.
