Curly Hair Blowout Products
1 Curly-Haired Latina Discovers the Secret to the Perfect Blowout
Believe it or not, it took me 32 years to find the ideal styling products to help blowout my curly hair.
Despite the fact that I spent my preteen years hating my curls, I’ve never done anything to drastically change my texture. As a half-Peruvian Latina, there wasn’t really anyone in my classes at school with hair similar to mine, aside from my identical twin sister, Carla. We inherited our curls from our Peruvian mom, who took quite the opposite approach, chemically straightening her hair, dyeing it blond, and cutting it to a short bob. I’ve always preferred to grow my hair and keep it long, so all the way through middle school, my sister and I pretty much lived in braids and ponytails to hide the frizz.
My mom passed away when we were 11, so Carla and I had to figure out our best hair routine on our own as teenagers. For us, that meant a simple towel-dry, brush-out and mousse application were all our curls needed to look flawless (weather-permitting, of course). By the time I got to high school, I was finally happy to wear my hair down and flaunt my curls rather than hiding and bemoaning them.
Once I finally figured out how to properly style my natural texture, I grew fonder of it. Now I love my curly hair, but I've been repeating the same cycle every day. For the past two decades or so, my hair routine consisted of washing, towel-drying, and brushing out my tangles with a little bit of leave-in conditioner before styling and air-drying my curls every morning. I longed for the chance to experiment with different styles and looks without having to resort to drastic or permanent measures. Then I tested out some products I never thought would work for me. The Sexy Hair Flash Me Quicky Blow Dry Spray and the Control Me Thermal Protection Working Hairspray turned out to be exactly what I needed to change up my hair game.
"I was finally happy to wear my hair down and flaunt my curls rather than hiding and bemoaning them."
I wash my hair every morning. That may sound shocking to other textured-haired girls, but my curls are an unbrushable mess when they’re dry and I’ve just gotten out of bed. So even though it’s an extra step, it’s a necessary one for me. I like to get a morning run in and give myself plenty of time to shower and air-dry my hair before I sit down and log on by 9 a.m. to start my day working from home.
I never thought blow-drying my hair on my own would be possible. I considered it just another morning chore that I didn’t have time or patience for. Plus, naturally textured hair is so damage-prone already that I wanted to spare myself any more wear and tear! But these new products proved me wrong.
On the first morning I tried out my new hair routine, I showered and wrung-dried my hair as usual before brushing out the tangles. I then applied Sexy Hair Flash Me Quicky Blow Dry Spray ($19) and finger-styled my hair as I normally do. Being a blow-drying novice, I was a bit intimidated, but the whole process only took 25 minutes versus the couple of hours it normally took for my hair to air dry. Suddenly, I had all this extra time back.
"Using these products actually convinced me that I was still doing something good for my hair while blow-drying it."
But even more surprising than how quickly my hair dried was how good it looked. I was so pleased with how sleek my curls were — something I usually have to work hard for. In the past, I’ve always been hesitant to try finishing sprays or hairsprays because they tend to leave my curls feeling sticky or crunchy — and when you spray your hair once, you're done. But I gave my whole head a good spraying of the Control Me Thermal Protection Working Hairspray ($19) before and after styling my hair, which surprisingly set my hair and kept it frizz-free and touchable the entire day.
Being a curly haired girl, one of my biggest concerns about blow-drying my hair had been the potential damage it could bring to my already fragile strands. But these products really stood up against heat. My hair felt softer after I was done drying it. Using these products actually convinced me that I was still doing something good for my hair while blow-drying it.
"Giving myself a blowout with the Flash Me and Control Me sprays is a genius solution and an obvious lifesaver."
What I really love most about these products is how much easier it is for me to get ready now — especially for special occasions. In the past, I’ve been known to shower and get ready hours before I needed to be ready to leave just so my hair was dry in time for the event and I wouldn't mess it up when getting dressed. This meant a lot of wasted time sitting around.
Giving myself a blowout with the Flash Me and Control Me sprays is a genius solution and an obvious lifesaver. In addition to saving me preparation time, it allows me to style my hair without having to turn my back on my natural texture. Will I be blow-drying my curls out every morning? Probably not. I love my natural curly texture, and it's a huge part of me. But next month we'll be heading to Mexico to attend my nephew’s wedding, and you can guess what products I’ll be packing in my suitcase.
