How To Diffuse Curly Hair

Diffusing your hair can make a huge difference to your hair style because of how versatile curly, wavy, and coily hair is. Diffusing your hair not only dries your hair faster but can alter the look of your curls, coils or waves. Let’s discuss some of the various techniques so you can determine the best way to diffuse your hair.

 

Table of Contents:

• Benefits of Diffusing Your Hair
• 3 Ways to Diffuse Curls, Waves & Coils
• Pixie Diffusing
• Hover Diffusing
• Stretch Diffusing
• Top Tips when Diffusing Your Hair

 

Benefits of Diffusing Your Hair

Diffusing your hair can help you achieve the locks of your dreams. There are many ways to dry your hair: whether you’re air drying or diffusing, using a hooded dryer, or plopping. Diffusing your hair in combination with frizz control products can help you achieve the locks of your dreams. Some of the benefits of diffusing your hair include:

 

Can help to prevent frizzy hair from air drying

Dries the hair quickly

There are various techniques that give you different end results

Enhances your curl pattern

 

  

3 Ways to Diffuse Curls, Waves & Coils

Diffusing your hair is not as simple as picking the dryer up and waving it around your head and hoping for the best. You need to think about your desired end result. Do you want volume, elongation, more of a natural look, or a combination? 

Depending on the type of hair you’re diffusing, you may want to create more volume, root lift, definition, shrinkage, or elongation. Techniques for diffusing include:

• Pixie diffusing - Best for diffusing wavy hair because it can create more shrinkage to enhance waves.
• Hover diffusing - Best for diffusing curly hair because it can preserve the natural curl pattern or elongate it.
• Stretch diffusing - Best for diffusing coily hair because it manipulates the curls to dry in a more elongated position. 

Whether you have waves, curls, or coils, you can choose the method which is right for you. Let's review how to diffuse your hair using the Curlsmith Defrizzion Dryer & XXL Diffuser.

 

Pixie Diffusing

Pixie diffusing is a method of diffusing your hair where you use the diffuser to “scrunch” your hair. This method can be done upside down for more volume, or right side up. All curly hair types can benefit from pixie diffusing, especially those looking to enhance their curl pattern and create more shrinkage. 

The hair is pressed up towards the scalp, preventing gravity from stretching your curl pattern as it dries. This technique is therefore great for diffusing wavy hair, as it helps your style last longer because the heat “sets” the curl in a scrunched, tightened position.

 

 

Curl types: All, wavy, curly

 

 

Goals: Curl definition, shrinkage, volume, root lift

 

How to Pixie Diffuse

1. Apply heat protectant and styling products to clean, soaking wet hair
2. Remove access water with a microfiber towel or T-shirt
3. Flip hair upside down or remain upright
4. Gather the ends of the hair into the diffuser bowl and press the hair up towards the scalp
5. Turn the hair dryer on low speed and low to medium heat
6. Hold for a bit, then turn the dryer off and release the diffuser from the hair
7. Continue steps #3-5 until hair is dry
8. Finish with the cold setting if desired

 

How to Reduce Frizz with Pixie Diffusing

This method may create frizz because you’re touching the hair while it’s wet and the air is blowing up the hair shaft. 

• To help provide some frizz control, ensure you are using a hair gel with a firm hold and a heat protectant. 
• Turn the hairdryer off as you move to each section to prevent the hair from blowing around too much as you diffuse your hair 
• You can also angle the diffuse perpendicular to your head instead of directing it straight up. 
• Avoid holding the dryer too long in one spot - once an area is dry, avoid diffusing your hair again too much. 
• If your ends are already dry, focus the diffuser at your roots to avoid creating frizz on the ends.

 

Hover Diffusing 

Hover diffusing is the simplest technique for diffusing your hair because it involves holding the dyer away from the hair and slowly hovering it around your head. Hovering is the healthiest way to diffuse your hair because the hair is not getting direct heat against it which can cause damage to the cuticle. 

The heat is at a distance and with the continuous motion, it won’t cause stress to the hair’s cuticle. This mimics the drying effect of sitting under a hooded hair dryer. However, hover diffusing your hair can create volume in your hair because it can be done with your head upside down or to the side. 

 

Curl types: All, curly, coily

 

 

Goals: Reduce frizz, elongation, volume

This technique is great for diffusing all curl types, but may be especially beneficial for diffusing curly hair. This method can help preserve the natural curl pattern or elongate it. Gravity naturally elongates our hair, so diffusing your hair without cupping the hair into the diffuser bowl will dry your curls in their natural state without any manipulation. 

Hover diffusing creates less frizz compared to other methods because you’re not touching your hair while it’s drying and definition is maintained.

Many people like to combine the hover method of diffusing your hair with other methods. First, hover diffusing to “set” the gel cast to reduce frizz, then, continue diffusing your hair with the pixie method.

 

How to Hover Diffuse

1. Apply heat protectant and the best styling products to clean, wet hair
2. Remove excess water with a microfiber towel or T-shirt
3. Flip hair upside down, or all to one side if root volume is desired
4. Turn the hair dryer on low speed and low to medium heat
5. Hold the dryer away from the hair and slowly move it around your hair
6. Flip your head from side to side as you go to help dry the top section
7. Finish with the cold setting it desired

 

How to Encourage Shrinkage with Hover Diffusing

If your goal is to encourage shrinkage and enhance your curl pattern, then you can try flipping your head upside down to diffuse your hair. 

• Set the ends of your hair on a flat surface, then move your head down towards the surface, similarly to “plopping.” This keeps these curls pressed towards the scalp but does not result in frizz since the diffuser is not touching the curls.
• Gently cupping the ends of your hair in your hand as you hover to encourage shrinkage. Whenever you are touching your hair while it’s drying, though, it can result in some frizz.
• If you have trouble holding a hairdryer or a limited range of motion, you can use this plop technique of diffusing your hair by setting the hair dryer down so you don’t have to hold it. The Curlsmith Defrizzion Hairdryer has a stand on the back so you can prop the dryer up. With this convenient prop, drying your curls can be done with your head upright if you’re unable to flip your head upside down to diffuse your hair.

 

Stretch Diffusing

This final common method of diffusing your hair is the stretch approach. This technique manipulates the curls to dry in a more elongated position. This reduces shrinkage and maintains length, which can oftentimes be the desired look for those diffusing coily hair. 

While your hair is drying, you can use the diffuser prongs or your hands to gently pull downward or outward on your hair to create elongation. If your goal is to reduce the volume and fullness of your hair, you can hold the hair dryer above your head, and stretch your curls in a downward direction. 

This method can be combined with other techniques as well.

• Curl types: Coily

Goals: Elongation, reduce shrinkage, reduce volume

 

How to Stretch Diffuse

1. Apply heat protectant and styling products to clean, wet hair
2. Turn the hair dryer on low speed and low to medium heat
3. Place the diffuser prongs into the hair and gently move it downward, or use your hands to hold the ends of your hair as you hover around that section
4. To stretch the curls at the root, place your fingers under the section, right at the scalp, clamp your fingers together to create light tension on the hair, and hold the diffuser before moving to another section.
5. Continue around to each section until your hair is dry
6. Finish with the cold setting it desired

 

How to Create Volume while Maintaining Length

For those who want to create more elongation using the stretch diffusing technique, but still love volume and fullness, there are some tweaks you can make to the aforementioned steps. 

• Diffuse your hair in the upside-down position, while incorporating the stretching techniques on the lengths of your hair. When stretching the roots with your fingers, direct the hair upwards or out to the side so the hair is lifted off the scalp and dries away from it. 
• You can also use the pick attachment that comes with the Curlsmith Defrizzion Hairdryer to lift the hair at the roots.

There are so many great methods of diffusing your hair and various techniques that you can incorporate to adjust the look of your curls as they dry. The wonderful thing about diffusing your hair over air drying is that you have more control over how your curls turn out. 

 

Top Tips when Diffusing Your Hair

Remember that your natural curl pattern is beautiful as is, and does not need to be manipulated to look great. However, the techniques for diffusing your hair outlined here will help you achieve your desired look, whether you want to encourage curl definition, maximise volume, or maintain your length, use the best stylers for curly hair to assist you. 

If you are not sure about the products to suit your needs try our curl quiz, designed to provide you with a personalised list of products to achieve amazing curls, waves, or coils.

 

Hair Care from Curlsmith

At Curlsmith, we’re passionate about using natural and nourishing ingredients to create curly hair products, wavy hair products, and coily hair products. All our products are vegan, cruelty-free, and do not contain parabens, sulfates, or silicones.