ABS 2012: How Jessicurl Uses a Hair Diffuser

When you’re the creator of a super awesome curly line of hair products, people expect you to have the best of the best hair gear. That’s what Jess McGuinty of Jessicurl found out at America’s Beauty Show. When she was doing a live styling demonstration of her product line on the Texture Pavilion stage, someone made a comment that she should have a better blow dryer and diffuser. “I’ve been using the same dryer for literally eight years,” Jess said. “and it’s always worked for me, so I never really thought about changing it up!”

Since we were at a show geared towards showcasing the latest and greatest hair products, Jess set out on a hunt for a new Jessicurl diffuser! After sifting through the hundreds of dryers and surfacing several compelling options including some over $200 (think: the same kind Justin Bieber uses to dry his signature swoop“>, she settled on an ionic dryer with a rubberized diffuser. “I had heard that ionic dryers help reduce frizz,” explained Jess, “and I’ve noticed that over time, the plastic on my existing diffuser has gotten a little bit rougher, so I thought a super smooth diffusing attachment would be the best.”

In an effort to practice due diligence, Jess stopped to chat with the vendor about the dryer and see if there were any other special features about the diffuser. When she asked if the smoother diffuser and ionic technology worked to eliminate frizz, the vendor curtly responded “Well, it doesn’t matter because anytime you add heat while drying you cause frizz.” As a woman who has made a living from reducing frizz, she was seriously taken aback from this statement and realized that frizz doesn’t come from what kind of diffuser you use, but rather how you use your hair diffuser.

How to Use a Hair Diffuser

I asked Jess to give us a play by play on how she uses her diffuser daily to create her perfect red ringlets:

“I blow dry using a diffuser on the end of my blow dryer. I use high heat and it takes about 10-15 minutes. When I begin blow-drying I also scrunch the hair to get it to form spirals. I alternate between hanging my head upside down, hanging it over to the left and hanging it over to the right. Once the spirals are formed, I don’t scrunch anymore. Instead, I let the curls fall into the cup of the diffuser and gently push up to get the hair and scalp. Leave the diffuser in one place for about 20 seconds, then move to another section of the hair. Leaning over while blow-drying and scrunching encourages the curls to separate from one another resulting in fabulous curl definition. It also really helps with volume at the roots.

After a few minutes, I stop touching it all together and just move the hair dryer around to get it to continue drying. I’m still alternating between upside down, left and right. I then flip my head up to normal and arrange any curls that look weird. I let it continue air-drying for the next hour or so, then scrunch out any crunch I may have. The result is frizz-free curls that last until I go to bed!”

The moral of the diffusing story: it’s all about technique, not necessarily the most expensive or fanciest tools. “The diffuser I’ve had for eight year works,” said Jess. “Not to mention, it matches my colors, so why change up a good thing?”

Final thoughts

Be sure to check out Jessicurl’s ultra hydrating and frizz busting products!