Hair Care
How to Get Salon-Quality Hair Without Leaving Your Home
May
Love how smooth and bouncy your hair feels when it’s fresh out of the salon? While that pro-level shine and smoothness may seem impossible to achieve yourself at home, it can be done…so long as you follow the right steps. Keep reading as Nubi explains how to get gorgeous, salon-quality hair without needing to leave your home.
Use High-Grade Hair Care Products
First up, let’s talk about hair care products. This is something that a good salon will never skimp on, meaning that you shouldn’t either. Lavish your locks with formulas that are brimming with high-grade, proven ingredients and your hair will look all the better for it.
So, which hair care products do you actually need? While your salon may have shelves upon shelves of potions to choose from, these are the most essential:
Shampoo and Conditioner
A shampoo and conditioner are the two most basic hair care products. However, you’ll likely notice that your hair always feels lusher after it has been washed/conditioned at a salon. Why? Because hair salons know how to pick superior formulas.
While aggressive blends that promise plenty of action may seem appealing, always go for gentle options. Find hair care products that make use of premium ingredients without resorting to harsh chemicals – this will bring out your hair’s natural shine and body.
Deep Conditioner or Hair Mask
While using a high-quality conditioner after shampooing your hair will give your hair a much softer finish, a deep conditioner or hair mask will enhance this even further. These products contain an even higher concentration of moisturizing ingredients than regular conditioners, enabling them to provide the silky smoothness that’s synonymous with salon-quality hair.
Heat Protectant
Heat styling tends to be non-negotiable if you’re trying to achieve salon-quality hair, meaning that a heat protectant is essential too. Attempt to heat style your mane without one and you’ll only end up causing frizz and damage. Whether you go for a heat protectant cream, spray, mousse, or anything else, pick a product that, again, only contains high-quality ingredients and make sure that it’s compatible with your hair type.
Hydrating Serum or Oil
Professional stylists know that the secret to a healthy-looking mane is moisture. This is why a visit to the salon usually includes the application of a hydrating hair serum or oil. Of course, a professional stylist won’t slather just any serum/oil onto your locks. They’ll ensure that the formula they pick for you works well with your hair type, be it a lightweight hydrating serum for hair that’s naturally oily or a richer oil for dry ends. Either way, make sure that you do the same when it comes to tailoring your product choices to your hair’s specific needs.
Adopt a Gentle Touch
Love how relaxed you feel after a visit to the salon? This just goes to show how gentle the entire process is…and should be! Yes, your hairstylist may apply pressure at certain points, but this is still done in a very gentle way, which is why it feels so soothing.
However, in addition to its therapeutic properties, there’s another reason why professionals are so gentle with the scalp and hair. It helps to keep friction and damage to a minimum, significantly contributing to salon-quality hair.
Here are a few areas of your hair care routine where a gentle touch is particularly important:
Washing
Many people use a harsh scrubbing motion when shampooing their locks. Some even resort to using their nails to scratch at their scalp, believing that this will help to dislodge debris. In reality, it’s not doing your scalp any favors. Treat it roughly and you could cause everything from micro-tears to irritation, all of which will affect how healthy your hair looks in the end.
Make an effort to keep things gentle when washing your hair. Use the pads of your fingers to firmly but gently massage your shampoo in, keeping your nails away.
Detangling
While detangling can be a frustrating process, always resist the temptation to yank a brush through your hair. Snapping your strands is the last thing that you want to be doing if you’re hoping to achieve salon-quality hair.
Instead, the secret lies in giving your hair plenty of lubrication. The best time to work on stubborn knots is after you’ve applied your conditioner. Start by using your hands, working your way up from bottom to top. Then, move on to a detangling brush, taking your time as you work through each knot.
Towel Drying
Towel drying is another area where people often get quite rough with their strands. However, think back to your last salon appointment, after you lifted your head from the sink. Chances are that your stylist gently wrapped your locks in a towel before squeezing excess moisture out, rather than vigorously rubbing your hair and making all of those hair cuticles stand up.
If you want salon-quality hair, you’ll need to adopt this technique too. Switching to a microfiber towel often makes things easier, thanks to how absorbent microfiber is. It will soak up moisture much faster than a regular terrycloth towel without causing the same amount of friction.
Know How to Use a Blow Dryer
A big part of achieving that salon bounce and volume comes from the blow dry that your hairstylist gives you. If you want to replicate this at home, there are a couple of areas to focus on.
The first is in choosing the right blow dryer. Salons use professional-quality dryers, meaning models that have a powerful motor (at least 2000 Watts) that’s capable of getting the job done quickly and efficiently, just like the Nubi Blow Me Away dryer. This hairdryer also comes with all of the features that professional stylists rely on, from its different temperature settings to the choice of two concentrator attachments.
Next, you’ll need to get your technique right. Stylists spend a lot of time practicing their methods so that every client leaves with salon-quality hair, so you may need to put some effort into this too, especially if you don’t already regularly blow dry your locks.
Start by sectioning your hair so that each section is manageable and easy to work with. This will ensure that your hair dries evenly. Then, using a round brush to smooth each section while adding tension, run your blow dryer from your roots downward. Keep the nozzle pointed down, in the direction of hair growth, as this will help to encourage your hair cuticles to lie flat so that you can achieve a smooth, salon-esque finish. Once you’ve worked your way through each section, give your locks a blast with your hair dryer’s cool shot function to set your style in place.
Choose High-Quality Styling Tools
While the right hair care products paired with a good blow dry will give you salon-quality hair, professional stylists often turn to heated styling tools to enhance a client’s look. However, again, it’s not as simple as grabbing a cheap flat iron or curler – the quality of your styling tools will have a huge impact on how your mane turns out.
Our advice? Only shop from brands that go the extra mile when it comes to creating styling tools that are efficient yet safe. The Nubi Soft N’ Straight 1.25” Ceramic Purple Styler, for example, is one that hairstylists love. Its snag-resistant ceramic plates provide an even heat without any hot spots, guaranteeing a silky-smooth finish each time. Meanwhile, with negative ion technology, infrared heat, and an adjustable temperature setting, it’s extremely versatile, lending itself well to all hair types.
Another tool that would be worth investing in, even though it’s not often utilized at salons, is a hot brush, like the Nubi Simply Sleek Brush Teal. It’s essentially a hairbrush that heats up, meaning that it straightens and smooths the hair just like a flat iron, yet not to the same extent. It won’t give you poker-straight hair but it will give you a smooth, frizz-free finish with very little effort needed.
Work With Your Hair Type
Want to know another secret behind achieving salon-quality hair? Again, this can be attributed to the knowledge and experience that professional hairstylists have. They can take one look at your hair and immediately understand your hair type and, therefore, the best ways to style it. Rather than working against nature and trying to turn your locks into something they’re not, a good stylist will embrace your natural texture, enhancing it in a way that really showcases your hair’s best features.
Say, for example, you have very fine hair. A hairstylist will likely turn to volumizing products to give your hair a fuller and thicker look but will stay away from heavy formulas that could weigh your strands down. On the other hand, if you have curly and coarse hair, those heavy formulas are exactly what your hair needs. They’ll provide intense moisture while working with your hair’s natural texture, making stubborn strands much easier to style.
Understanding how to adapt your styling techniques to your hair type will go a long way in helping you to achieve salon-quality hair. While you may not have the years of experience that a professional stylist has, spending some time getting to know your hair and testing how it responds to various types of products will allow you to build on your knowledge of your hair type so that you can style it in a way that truly suits it.
Achieve Salon-Quality Hair With Nubi
Professional stylists tend to have many tricks up their sleeves, which is why your hair always looks so flawless after a visit to the salon! However, achieving salon-quality hair yourself at home is very possible too, so long as you use the right products and techniques. Follow the guidelines that we’ve shared above and you’ll soon be rocking hair that looks professionally styled and cared for!
Click here to browse more bestselling hair products from Nubi.
