You leave the salon with hair that moves, shines and sits exactly where it should. Two days later you wash it, pick up the hairdryer, and it looks nothing like it did. If you’ve ever said “I can never get my hair like my hairdresser does”, you’re far from alone.
The good news: yes, you can. A salon finish is rarely down to one product, one tool or one clever trick. It’s built in layers: prep, support, heat protection, technique and finishing. Most of us, at home, skip two or three of them and expect one product to do everything.
Why can’t I get my hair like my hairdresser does?
Usually because a salon blow-dry is several steps, and at home it becomes one or two. Next time you’re in the chair, count how many products are on our trolley before we start styling. Each one is there to do a different job, in a particular order, for your hair.
None of that is a secret. It’s just easy to miss when you’re relaxing in the chair rather than watching what goes on, and in what order. Here’s what each layer does.
What should I do to my hair before I blow-dry it?
Start with clean, conditioned hair that suits the products you use on it. You can add a treatment at the basin before a blow-dry with us.
What “conditioned” means depends on your hair. Fine hair, thick hair, coloured hair and hair that’s been lightened all want different things, and we don’t believe one size fits all. Every member of the PeterJames team has specialist education in understanding individual hair and scalp needs and creating personalised System Professional care recommendations. If the shampoo and conditioner in your shower weren’t chosen for your hair, the rest of the routine is working harder than it needs to.
What do hairdressers put in hair before blow-drying?
Support: something that gives the style a foundation before any heat goes on. In the salon we use Sebastian Mousse Forte, for volume and body.
This is the layer people most often leave out at home. Without it, the shape the brush and dryer create has much less to hold on to. Sebastian Professional is our high-performance styling collection. From heat protection and shine to texture, volume, hold and definition, it gives our stylists the freedom to select and layer products according to the individual hair and the finish we’re creating. That’s the point: we layer, and we choose each layer for your hair.
Do I really need heat protection before blow-drying?
Yes. Whenever heat goes on your hair, protection should go on first. In the salon we use Sebastian Trilliant, for heat protection and shine.
It’s easy to think of heat protection as optional, especially if you’re only using a hairdryer. But professional haircare doesn’t stop with the products you apply: how you style your hair matters too. The right tool, appropriate temperature, professional heat protection and the correct technique all contribute to looking after the condition of your hair, which is why ghd is our styling technology partner. Treat your hair like skin: prevention is much easier than trying to repair heat damage afterwards.
It matters even more on colour. Hair that’s been lightened, coloured or heat-styled hard has less in reserve than hair that hasn’t, which is why we talk about it so much in our guide to going blonde.
Is a salon blow-dry about the products or the technique?
Both, and they depend on each other. The products give the style something to hold on to; the technique decides what shape it takes.
Technique is the layer that’s hardest to learn from a bottle, and the easiest to learn by watching. Next time you’re with us, notice:
- How your hair is sectioned, and where your stylist starts.
- Which brush is used, and on which part of your hair.
- Where the airflow goes, and how long each section gets.
- Which tool comes out afterwards, if any.
The tool matters too. ghd brings professional styling technology and hair science into our offering, allowing us to consider the tools our clients use at home as part of their overall haircare routine. So tell us what you use at home. It’s much easier to show you how to get a result with your own dryer or styler than with one you don’t own.
What do hairdressers put on hair after styling?
A finish: the last layer, which decides how your hair looks and feels when you walk out. In the salon we use System Professional Luxe Oil for the finish.
It’s the step most likely to be skipped at home, usually because by the time the drying is done, so are we. But the finish is what turns dried hair into styled hair. Depending on the look, the finishing product we choose may be different, and that’s exactly why it’s worth asking which one we used on you and why.
How can I get a salon blow-dry at home?
Ask your stylist to show you the steps at your next visit. We show our clients how to use the products we style with, because we don’t only want your hair to look incredible when you leave PeterJames: we want you to understand how to recreate and care for it at home.
Useful things to ask while you’re in the chair:
- Which products are you using, and in what order?
- How much of each, for my length and thickness?
- Which brush and which tool would you use at home?
- What would you leave out on a quick weekday morning?
Write the answers down, or take a photo of the products on the trolley. The first attempt at home might not be perfect. Give it a few goes: with the right layers in the right order, it gets easier each time.
Two more things help. A clean brush matters more than most people think, because styling products build up on it with every use: our guide to how often to clean your hairbrush explains why. And when there’s an event or a night out and you’d rather leave it to us, our wash and blow-dry is there for exactly that.
One product rarely does everything. A few, chosen for your hair and used in the right order, usually do.