A diffuser is an essential tool when drying wavy hair. It distributes the air from your dryer evenly throughout your hair, helping to define your waves and preventing you from concentrating solely on one section.
The fact that a diffuser attachment is easy to remove also means that you’re not beholden to one specific style, and you can easily detach it to blow dry your hair in different ways.
So, with that in mind, we explain how to use a blow dryer diffuser for wavy hair and reveal some expert tips that will help you dry your hair like a pro.
What is a blow dryer diffuser?
A diffuser is an attachment you can fix on the end of a hair dryer to improve the way you dry your waves or curls. It’s a large plastic cone that features small spikes on the flat surface, which are crucial in distributing heat evenly throughout your hair.
The role of a diffuser is to re-direct (or diffuse) the air from the hairdryer throughout your hair rather than concentrating the hot air on one section of your head.
When used correctly, a diffuser can enhance the natural wave pattern of your hair, but it can also eliminate frizz and reduce the risk of your hair drying out. If you don’t use a diffuser to dry short wavy hair, it’s easy to blow your waves out of shape, which may lead them to look frizzy.
Helpfully, you can easily remove the diffuser attachment from your hair dryer whenever you like, which is ideal if you want to style your hair in different ways and don’t have use for the diffuser.
The benefits of using a diffuser for wavy hair
If you have wavy hair, there are numerous benefits of using a diffuser when drying your hair. They include:
Frizz prevention
Perhaps the biggest benefit of using a diffuser attachment is that it prevents frizz and flyaways. The even distribution of air means your waves will be well-defined, and you don’t need to worry about the dreaded frizz, which results from over-drying specific sections of your hair.
Enhanced wave pattern
When you use a conventional hair dryer, it blasts hot air between the strands of your hair, which can flatten them. In contrast, a diffuser directs hot air around your waves, which preserves their natural shape and helps to enhance your chosen style.
Save time
Compared to leaving your hair to dry naturally, a diffuser attachment will save considerable time. This is even the case if you use a diffuser with a hair dryer’s low or medium heat setting.
Healthier hair
When you consistently dry your hair with a diffuser attachment, you will notice that your hair is healthier and happier in the long run. The diffuser prevents you from overdrying a particular section of your hair, ensuring that you don’t accidentally break or damage your hair.
Flexibility
A diffuser attachment can be removed at any time, giving you complete flexibility when it comes to drying your waves. For instance, if you want to switch to a straight blow out in the future, simply remove the diffuser and attach the concentrator nozzle (if you have one).
The best hair dryer with a diffuser attachment
The Laifen Swift Special is the best hair dryer with a diffuser attachment. It actually comes with three nozzles – the diffuser, concentrator, and smooth styling nozzle. This gives you complete flexibility when styling your wavy hair, enabling you to switch between nozzles depending on the style you’re looking to achieve.
Moreover, the Swift Special is an ionic hair dryer. This means it emits negative ions to break down the positively charged ions within water molecules. As a result, it dries your hair much more quickly and efficiently while practically eliminating frizz.
Another significant benefit of the Swift Special is that it comes with adjustable heat settings, enabling you to switch between hot, medium, and cool air. Using the medium and cool setting protects your hair and prevents accidental heat damage.
In other words, using the Laifen Swift Special hair diffuser gives you complete control when drying and styling your waves while protecting your hair from breakage and damage.
Step-by-step: How to use a blow dryer diffuser for wavy hair
Though people often overlook the diffuser attachment, we believe it to be an underutilized tool that can have an impressive impact on the definition of your waves and the health of your hair in general. A diffuser is easy to use, too. If this is your first time drying your hair with a diffuser, here are the simple steps you need to follow:
Wash your hair
The first step is to wash your hair with a nourishing shampoo. We recommend products with jojoba oil or tea tree oil, as these are hydrating ingredients that can help your hair thrive, and they also help to eliminate frizz. Always read the label of the shampoo you use, and consider switching to chemical-free products that are free from sulfates and alcohol.
Towel dry your hair
Before grabbing your hair dryer, you need to dab your hair dry with a microfiber towel to remove the excess water. A microfiber towel is much better than a standard cotton towel, as it’s much softer for your hair, which prevents friction. Moreover, dabbing your hair, rather than rubbing or scrunching it, will protect the follicles and prevent them from falling out or becoming damaged.
Attach the diffuser
You’re now ready to blow dry your hair. Simply clip the diffuser attachment to the end of your Laifen dryer and ensure it’s tightly in place.
Dry your hair in sections
There are numerous ways to blow dry your hair with a diffuser, but we recommend splitting your hair into sections. You can use clips to do this, or you can simply hold your hair as you dry it.
You should place a section of your hair onto the diffuser directly to dry it, as the air will then flow around it as you dry. Make sure you tilt your head into the diffuser and ensure the airflow is always pointing to the roots of your hair – this will help with volume and texture.
Repeat for all sections
After thoroughly drying your first section of hair, repeat the process on each section and ensure that you have spent an equal amount of time on each area of your head.
Apply some sea salt spray
One of the best ways to define your waves and add depth and volume to your hair is to apply a sea salt spray after drying it with a diffuser. Simply spray it evenly on each section of your hair and leave it for a few minutes before styling your waves in any way that you choose.
Expert tips for using a diffuser attachment
Now you know the basics, here are some expert tips on how to use a diffuser attachment to achieve your styling goals:
✅ Massage your roots: Massaging your roots and holding the diffuser close to your scalp will help to achieve enhanced waves and is an excellent way to get the most out of your diffuser attachment.
✅ Detangle your hair when it’s still wet: A mistake that many people make when styling their wavy hair is trying to detangle their hair when it has started to dry. Doing so can result in breakage. Therefore, we recommend detangling your hair while you’re still in the shower.
✅ Dry your hair until it’s 80% dry: You don’t need to dry your hair until it is 100% with a diffuser – around 80% should do. You can then leave your hair to finish drying naturally. This will help your waves to stay defined and shiny.
✅ Don’t use the hottest setting: As you need to hold the diffuser close to your roots, you should avoid using the hair dryer’s hottest setting. We recommend using low or medium heat for the best results and to protect your scalp.
✅ Use a heat protectant if you have thin hair: If your hair is particularly thin or prone to breakage, you can apply a heat protectant to your hair before drying it with a diffuser for extra protection.
The bottom line
A diffuser attachment is your best friend if you have wavy or curly hair. Rather than concentrating the air from your dryer on one location, the diffuser distributes air evenly throughout your hair, helping to enhance your waves and prevent frizz.
When you purchase the Laifen Swift Special, you will receive a diffuser attachment as part of your bundle. You can then follow the steps listed above to dry your waves to perfection. Our ionic technology and adjustable heat settings mean that your waves will thrive, and you will be able to achieve a salon-grade blow dry at home every time
