In this post, I’d like to take some time to tell you about all the cold air hair dryer benefits on your hair’s appearance and overall health.
Off the top of your head, I bet it’s super easy to name at least one person in your life who can’t live without their hair dryer. I know I can’t go a day without it!
I’m sure most if not all of us are incredibly dependent on our hair dryer to do our hair every single morning.
It’s a fast, easy, convenient way to dry your tresses as soon as you step out of the shower, making it essential for daily hairstyling.
But there’s this one little button on your hair dryer that you might not be maximizing.
It’s something that you shouldn’t be taking for granted because of all the benefits it can provide to your hair.
However, it isn’t really as popular as any of the other features of your hair dryer. I’m talking about the cool-shot button.
A lot of people don’t really know what the cold air setting is supposed to do for their hair.
It’s kind of intimidating for some.
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Why Do Hair Dryers Have A Cool Setting Anyway?
Most people use their hair dryer for the same exact reason – to dry their hair as fast as possible.
And heat helps you do that.
Many of us think that the hotter the temperature of your hair dryer, the better and more effective it is for drying your hair.
But that’s not the case.
Perfecting your hairstyle or how you dry your locks doesn’t depend only on how hot your hair dryer is.
It might surprise some of you to know that what really finishes off your hairstyling properly is a blast of cold air.
That’s why the cool shot button is there in the first place.
Many people choose to ignore the cool setting on their hair dryer thinking it doesn’t do anything.
Drying their hair with the hottest setting possible on the blow-dryer already works, so what good will cool air do?
Simply put, the cold air setting on your hair dryer is supposed to ease your drying and styling process.
It’s meant to supplement how you dry your hair with hot air, and at the same time, perfect your styling routine.
We will go a little bit more in-depth about how it does those later on.
Cold Air Hair Dryer: Benefits For Users
It’s easy to dismiss the cool shot button on your hair dryer as an additional or optional feature that only a handful of people will actually use.
But just like the hotter settings on your hair dryer, the cold air setting has a huge role to play in your styling process.
It also has a bunch of extra benefits your hair will love.
Let’s take a look at them one by one:
It’s Less Damaging
If you like styling your hair in different textures, then you’re likely very familiar with hot tools.
Heat seems like it could be your best friend when it comes to experimenting with hairstyles, be it a curly updo or pin-straight, sleek hair.
But with the joys of heat-styling also comes a ton of hair damage.
When your hair is exposed to extremely high temperatures because of your flat iron, curling wand, or hair dryer, the keratin proteins that make up each strand are broken down.
This weakens your hair fibers, making them more dehydrated and fragile.
That’s why many experts say that you shouldn’t be blow-drying with heat daily.
Fine, low-density hair can easily be fried.
At the very least, you have to be using a heat protectant before your straightener even touches your strands.
The cold air setting on your hair dryer helps soften the blow of heat damage caused by your hair dryer.
Use Cool Shot Button Towards The End
You’re not meant to use just the cold air to dry your hair (that will take an eternity!).
However, it’s a great last step for drying your hair.
Experts say that when you get out of the shower, you should blow dry as normal, with a high heat setting.
You can also style your hair and create curls and waves as you please during this step.
But when your hair is about 80% dry, you should change gears and use the cool shot button.
Finish drying your hair with cold air until your entire mane is all dry.
Even if the temperature is lower, don’t get the hair dryer too close to you – about six inches away will do.
To get some volume, direct the cold air to your roots.
This will lessen the heat damage you’ll likely get from drying your hair with heat from start to finish.
At the end of the day, you still applied less heat than usual on your precious hair.
Plus, it feels nicer to have that blast of cool air at the end of your drying process instead of sweating it out in the heat for 15 minutes!
It Locks In Your Hairstyle Better
Have you ever noticed how quickly your hairstyle disappears throughout the day when all you used to style it was the heat setting of your hair dryer?
That’s because hot air is terrific at altering your hair’s texture, like creating voluminous curls or straightening your hair to make it sleek and chic.
However, hot air doesn’t help keep those textures and styles in place.
That’s the job of cool air.
Stylists often tell their clients never to touch their hair when it’s just been styled with heat.
That’s because the hair needs to cool down completely so that the style is locked in well.
If you touch it right after it was altered by heat, you’ll completely ruin the shape of your locks.
Back to the cool air setting on your hair dryer.
Aside from giving you a healthier alternative to drying your hair, it also serves a very important purpose in the styling process: locking in the hairstyle you worked so hard on.
When you give your styled hair a blast of cool air, you’re essentially locking in the hairstyle so that it can last as long as possible.
It does so by sealing your hair cuticles, therefore locking in the shape you put it in with your other hot tools.
It’s kind of like a low-budget hairspray or gel, but better – it keeps your hair’s overall texture intact, but without the crunchiness or stiff feeling on your strands.
It Helps Your Hair Retain More Moisture
Everyone knows how important moisture is for hair strands.
When your locks are dehydrated and parched, they’re lackluster and don’t have that healthy bounce.
They also become extremely weak and fragile, making them more vulnerable to breakage.
Sadly, when you use a lot of heat on your hair, you could be drying your hair out by a ton.
When you blow-dry with the hottest setting you can find on your hair dryer, you’re basically helping the water molecules in your hair escape and evaporate faster.
This leaves your strands stripped of moisture and super thirsty.
Cold air does pretty much the opposite.
It seals your cuticles, shutting them so tight that no water or moisture leaks out from them.
Because of this, it helps keep all the hydration in.
It’s the same logic as rinsing your hair with cold water after using a conditioner.
The cool temperature helps lock the conditioning, moisturizing ingredients in your hair, keeping it soft and silky for longer.
This is also why you’re supposed to use cold water to wash out hair dye.
It locks the pigments in, allowing your hair color to stay put instead of being washed away immediately.
When you use the cool air setting on your hair dryer, you’re slowing down the process of drying out your hair.
And if your hair stays hydrated, the bouncier, shinier, and more elastic your hair will be.
Makes Hair Shinier, Smoother, And More Frizz-Free
Today, hair tool brands try to come out with fancy technologies like ceramic plates in flat irons or LED technologies in dryers.
They’re meant to help flatten your hair cuticles and keep your mane super smooth and frizz-free.
But what if I told you that something as simple as cold air can do the exact same thing?
You heard that right – cold air can make your hair look extra smooth and shiny.
Cold air seals and lays your cuticles flat, and keeps frizz and flyaways at bay.
This is great for keeping your tresses tamed all day.
So, you can say that technically, the cold air setting on your hair dryer also helps make your hair more manageable throughout the day.
Conclusion
Bet you didn’t know that the cool shot button could do so much for your locks, did you?
These are some of the cold air hair dryer benefits that you’ll reap once you familiarise yourself with the cool button setting.
So please, better not be wasting that cold air setting on your favorite hair dryer.
Make the most out of the cool air setting by locking in your hairstyle with it.
You can also give your mane a blast of air after styling to leave it softer and more manageable without the frizz.
Just a couple of seconds with that setting on, and your hair will reap all its glorious benefits.
So, next time you get a little worried because of heat damage or need a way to make sure your curls stay in place all day long, turn to your hair dryer’s cool setting for help.
It’s a surefire way to achieve that glossy, tame, long-lasting hairstyle you want!
