The blow dry can be one of the most time-consuming parts of your hair care routine. If you’ve got long or curly hair, your blow dry time can feel especially long and difficult, and you might feel like you spend more time with your blow dryer than your friends and family!

We feel you. That’s why we created Speed of Light Blow Dry Accelerator, which helps protect hair from thermal damage while blow drying, reduces blow dry time, tames static and leaves hair feeling soft and smooth. Of course, we had to do a lot of testing to get it just right, so we had our network of Aveda Artists help us develop and perfect the product. They spend hours blow drying every day, and were excited to work on creating a blow dry accelerator that really works!

Now that the product is available to the whole world, we wanted to get their expert help again, so we had them share their best tips for the ultimate blow dry — all using Speed of Light, of course.

START SMART

“Start the process while still in the shower by combing your conditioner from your mid-lengths to ends to keep hair detangled and soft.”
-Timothy Walkinhood, @timothywalkinhood

“Leave your hair in a towel turban for at least 5 minutes for mid-length hair and at least 10 minutes for longer hair so your hair is damp, not wet.”
-Bea Carmichael, @beacarmichael13

“For curly hair, clarify and cleanse first to remove product and excess oils, then follow with need-based shampoo, like Dry Remedy or Damage Remedy. Deep condition with the corresponding treatment for 5-10 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with warm water until it runs clear. Skip the towel-dry — it can make the blow dry more difficult.”
-Monica Stevens, @moknowshair

WHILE YOU DRY

“Sectioning hair doesn’t have to be time consuming. Three to five sections is enough! Make sure you dry the front sections of your hair first, and anywhere you have cowlicks or double crowns. Hair is finer and dries quicker around the hairline, and it’s easier to blow dry this with a bit moisture still in the hair.”
-Darren Summors

“I like to keep it simple by working in 3 sections—the front bang section the sides and the back.”
-Harmony Beus, @harmonize_beauty

THE GRAND FINALE

“Don’t stop once the hair is dry! There are three stages to drying hair: wet and shiny, dry and matte and dry and shiny. Once the hair is dry in a particular section, it’s important to continue going over that section for 3-4 more passes to bring out natural shine.”
-David Anders Palmira

“Straighten or smooth with a ceramic flat iron, and apply your finisher of choice. I like Light Elements Smoothing Fluid for shine and Brilliant or Firmata hair sprays for hold, if needed.”
-Monica Stevens

“Finish with a cold shot from the blow dryer, directing the air flow to the ground. This helps to seal up the cuticle of the hair and help set your style.”
-Harmony Beus