Dominican Blowout: What Should You Expect?

The Dominican blowout is almost here. It's usually cheaper than traditional Black salons when compared to traditional Black salons. Sometimes, it's much lower. It might be enough to sway you just by itself. Your hair may be charged more if it is long, thick, and/or all-natural. Additionally, the heat can be quite intense. In a salon, you can expect the following results from this technique.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Dominican Blowouts

The first thing a stylist does is shampoo and condition your hair. You can usually request to bring your own products if you're unsure about the products the stylist uses.

Untangling

Most African-Americans who frequent salons that specialize in this process are looking for ways to straighten their hair without or with chemicals. You can expect a detangling session if you're natural and want a temporary straightening solution. Before moving on to the next step, detangling your hair is necessary even if it is relaxed.

Set of rollers

Magnetic rollers offer better results than any other heat tool when it comes to smoothing and straightening hair. Depending on your hair length, you should expect to have your hair set on rollers in the largest size possible. Creating curls is not the goal, but drying your tresses quickly while keeping your mane straight is. It's likely you won't have any product applied to your hair while it's being set. It will take at least an hour for your hair to dry once it is rolled. Dominican blowouts usually require more time under the dryer than regular wash-and-sets, sometimes about 20 minutes longer.

Blow Drying

A Dominican blowout stylist excels in this field. Traditional Black salons offer excellent blowouts, but many women believe Dominican stylists have perfected this technique into an art form. A big roller brush with bristles around the edge is used, along with a high-temperature blow-dryer with a focused nozzle. A small area is concentrated with hot air. A brush and dryer will be applied simultaneously from the root to the tip of the hair shaft by the stylist. In order to ensure maximum smoothness, she will apply the brush and/or dryer to the top and bottom of each section. A stylist with experience can perform this step rather quickly, even on very long hair. These stylists also seem to offer faster service than their competitors. When extra straightening is needed, some stylists follow up with a flat iron. You will apply oil or serum to your hair after it is completely blow-dried.

Heat Concerns

Although wet setting the hair is a great method of straightening without direct heat, the long time spent under a dryer and the temperatures associated with blow-drying can cause damage to the hair. Among women who have had Dominican blowouts performed for years, some have never experienced breakage; others have had the service performed once and have never regained their natural curl.

What are the major differences?

What is it about these blowouts that make some women absolutely crazy about them? The airy look these stylists produce is what makes them so impressive. The reason is that they rarely apply any products before blow-drying; if they do, it's usually water-based and lightweight. A heavy amount of "grease" applied to tresses before hot combing is one of the main reasons old-fashioned press-n-curls looked limp and lackluster after a few days. A phrase such as "fried, dyed, and laid aside" has some merit: adding oils or grease before heating the hair does nothing more than "cook" it, making the old-fashioned press heavy.

A lot of tugging and pulling is often required (more so for natural clients) to achieve that perfectly straight look, according to former customers and even current ones. Additionally, blow-drying requires high temperatures. Sore scalps are a common complaint among customers. It's rough treatment, not relaxers, that causes the soreness.

You might understand why Dominicans are so good at straightening hair if you understand Dominican culture. A growing number of salons offer this service, but you should do your homework before settling on one.

Set up an appointment with Nazzi in Larkspur and Santa Rosa, California, and she will help you with these ideas. For more information, visit www.nazzihair.com