What is hair dusting?
Hair dusting is a play-off of a Brazilian technique that includes twisting sections of the hair and then using a candle to burn off any free ends, although in this instance you don’t have to put a lit candle anywhere near your hair. With hair dusting you are able to trim off any damaged ends without having to completely trim off inches of hair.
What are the benefits of dusting your ends?
There are more benefits to dusting your hair than just losing those dead ends. Even if you are not looking to grow your hair out, dusting can still be a great option for you. By dusting your hair you are able to cut off ends that have previously broken or have dried. Have you ever styled your hair to find you have what looks like little pieces of hair sticking out from your defined curls? Those are the ends we look to get rid of when dusting. Getting rid of these ends help make any style more manageable.
How to trim your hair at home
There are two main ways to dust your hair. The ideas for both are the same and results should be no different so when it comes down to it, choosing between the two is all based on preference and what makes it easier for you.
The first option involves sectioning your hair and twisting the strands together to make a tight twist that you then do the dusting on, or the second option is holding your hair taut and straight between your fingers and dusting that way. Either way, you choose you can follow these steps to complete your at-home dusting for great results.
Photos by Brio Photography of @_thehalfafrican for NaturallyCurly
1. Twist a half inch section of hair
Begin by taking about a half inch section of your hair and either twist tightly together or weave through your index middle and ring finger, where your hair will sit on top of your middle finger.
2. Trim the hairs that stick up from the section
Once you have your section, you take your favorite hair shears (make sure you use quality shears otherwise you could end up tearing your hair instead of cutting it”> and begin to trim any of the little hairs that you see sticking up off of your section of hair.
3. Focus on the very ends of the hair
You only need to cut off the very ends of your hair so don’t worry about cutting off large pieces. it’s called dusting because the hair that you remove should only look like a light layer of dust below you.
4. Repeat & then twist the hair in the opposite direction
Move down your section of hair and continue to trim off any ends that are sticking out, if you are doing the twist method it is best to also twist your hair in the opposite direction when you are done to make sure you get all the damaged ends.
5. Continue around the head in sections
Once you are finished with that section you can move on and continue around your head, this is a more tedious process and will take time so feel free to do it over a couple of days, just be sure to remember the general areas you’ve already done so you don’t waste more time going over finished sections.
Hair dusting is the perfect solution to keeping length while growing your hair out or just keeping your hair looking as healthy as it can between cuts.
Dusting your hair won’t keep you from ever having to go to the salon again, but it will help keep your hair in check all while retaining your hard work!
Want to know more about dusting?
Read more on the dusting method here and sign up for the Naturally Curly Newsletter for even more!
This article has been updated for grammar and clarity.
