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Is It Okay To Brush Hair While It’s Wet?

Plus how to make a blow dry last all week.
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Love them or hate them, you have to admit that the Kardashians and Jenners have great hair. They've also had more style changes than we've had hot dinners and one of the masterminds behind many of their looks is L.A based celebrity hairstylist Jonathan Colombini.

Colombini is currently in Australia working with hair accessories brand Lady Jayne, and last time he was here he gave us so many great tips about styling our hair. So, this time we caught up with him to ask about the best brushes the everyday person needs in their kit plus how to get a killer blow dry at home (and make it last).

Is it bad to brush wet hair?

We've all heard that it's bad to brush your hair while it's wet as it will snap, so we checked with the master.

"No, it's not. But, you want to make sure that you're not pulling your hair too much because when it's wet is when it's most venerable. Especially with colour treated blondes, so just be cautious."

"Go for something with wider tooth comb, like a paddle brush. Or even a vent brush. You wouldn't try to brush wet hair with a round brush as it's too dense," Colombini said.

If you're prone to tangles, however, it might be worth getting a special brush to work those out.

"If you get knots it's best to use a specific detangling brush. The bristles are softer so will bend through the hair. Any brush with metal combs isn't going to bend in the hair so if you apply force or it snags it's going to snap the hair."

Brushes and backcombing

We forced Colombini to pick just three brushes everyone should have at home.

"You can never have too many brushes in your kit. You should see mine! But if I had to narrow it down to three they would be a round brush, always, because it's such a staple. One that conducts heat will help when blowdrying to get that nice bend in the hair. Then a comb out brush or a detangling brush, and then a vent brush."

And is teasing the hair for volume (called backcombing) still a 'thing'?

"I'm still a fan of backcombing. There's ways to do it subtly so it' doesn't look at all obvious. Teasing the ends a little bit too is good and I find it more beneficial for shorter styles. When I style Kris Jenner we do a little backcombing at the roots where her cowlicks are to hide them," Colombini said.

Blow drying at home

We don't all have a glam squad on speed dial (sigh), but you can DIY a decent blow dry if you know how. First step, don't work from the back forward like is often suggested.

"I always work from the front first. Because for me, I think a woman doesn't really want to sit facing a mirror with wet hair, it's not very glamorous."

"So blow dry the front first, because also this is where all the cow licks are, so I tackle those first while the hair is wet. If I worked from the back first the front would air-dry and it would be harder to style," Colombini said.

As for what products to work with, you might need a combo.

"I use a conditioning spray on the ends and a texture or thickening spray in the roots. I make sure both have heat protection. There are so many great products out there but if they don't have heat protection there's no point. Especially if you get blow dries often."

Once it's done, finish with some texture spray so it's workable for the full week.

"Even though your hair is clean you can still use dry shampoo as a texture spray to give your new blow dry a bit of a lived-in look. I prefer that to hairspray for an everyday style. I will use hairspray for red carpet but for a regular blow dry I prefer getting a bit of texture from a volume spray or dry shampoo," Colombini said.

THE KARDASHIAN DECADE #KendallJenner ✖️ #HairByColombini

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After all that hard work you're going to want to make the style last.

"What kills a blow dry is it getting dirty and oily by you touching it all the time. If you're a hair tocher that's fine, but just realise that you're putting oils into hair."

"Use dry shampoo on the second and third day. The blow dry shape is still there but this way it will look more relaxed and piecey. When you're on your last day and it's almost unbearable and greasy just do a chic ponytail and you can get one more day out of the style," Colombini said.

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