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DIY your blowout: Stylist spills ways to save money on your hair

Celebrity stylist Ted Gibson stopped by TODAY on Tuesday to share his secrets to great hair — without spending a lot of money.DIY your blowout!While salon blowouts are incredible, there's an easy way to get a blowout at home: You'll need a good blow drying hair spray — look for sprays that say they will add volume and shine and have a heat and UV protectant. Spray this throughout your hair w

Celebrity stylist Ted Gibson stopped by TODAY on Tuesday to share his secrets to great hair — without spending a lot of money.

DIY your blowout!
While salon blowouts are incredible, there's an easy way to get a blowout at home: 

  • You'll need a good blow drying hair spray — look for sprays that say they will add volume and shine and have a heat and UV protectant. Spray this throughout your hair while wet. 
  • The secret is to start with your fingers. Pull them through your hair, starting at the roots, and shoot the heat at the roots while holding the hair taut. Get your hair about 75 percent dry using this method. Then, part it in your desired way.
  • One of the biggest mistakes women make in their at-home blow dries is that their sections are too large, resulting in flat hair. When blow drying, focus on 1-1 ½ inch sections. 
  • In the salon, most stylists blow dry hair using a boar bristle and nylon round brush, but this method requires practice and skill. If you're not comfortable using a round brush, use a boar bristle and nylon paddle brush. The boar bristle gives hair great body and shine. Avoid using a metal brush when blow drying your hair — the metal heats up too fast and can damage your hair. 
  • Take one section of hair, hold your dryer by the handle about 3 inches away from your head, and blow dry while brushing with the paddle brush. 
  • Once your section is dry, curl the hair up in a Velcro roller. Do this to your entire head. 
  • Once you're finished and your hair is cool, take out the rollers and lightly rake through with your fingers. Turn your head upside down, shake it out a bit, and spray with a light, flexible holding spray. Flip your head up and you'll find you've given yourself a sexy salon quality blowout at home.
blow-drying
Be sure to hold your dryer by the handle about 3 inches away from your head.Today


Trim your own bangs
Bangs are sexy and chic and any woman care wear them, but they do require a bit of maintenance. To save money in between salon visits, here's how to trim your bangs at home:

  • Make sure that your hair is 100 percent dry. If you cut them while they are wet, your bangs will shrink up once the hair is dry. 
  • Make sure that you're cutting the bang from "iris to iris" — from above the iris of your left eye to above the iris in your right eye. Follow the lines that your hairdresser already established in the initial cut. 
  • Cut your bang vertically, holding your scissors up and cutting into the bang. This will allow your hair to have a softer edge to it rather than a hard, sharp edge. 
  • Make sure that you don't take the tip of your shears too far up your bang, keep them at the ends and clip to your desired length. Take your time. 
  • Be sure to use small shears so that you can have more control.

Clipping tips and straighter hairlines for men
For men, those visits to the barber can really add up — some men need to make visits every week. To maintain a clean look in between barber visits, here's how to line your hair up at home:

  • You will need a T-trimmer. This T-blade is ideal for trimming around the ears, back of the neck, edge ups, beard and mustache. To get started, you will want to make sure that your hair is 100 percent dry, otherwise you can cause your trimmer to rust. 
  • When using the trimmer, it's important to understand the construction of the blade. The blade has two parts: the stationary blade and the mobile blade. The stationary blade picks up the hair like a comb would, while the mobile blade moves back and forth, cutting likes scissors would. It's imperative that the stationary blade is resting on the skin while the clipper is moving in an upward motion, shaving the stubble on the neck and sideburn area. 
  • To make a line to square off the sideburns, square the back hairline, or line up on the forehead and temple area, hold the clipper with the blade facing the skin, gently touch the skin with the blade and pull it directly back at the same angle you touched the skin. 
  • Proceed with the clipper in an upward motion. Making a line and dragging in a downward motion will cause razor burn, pinching or biting of the skin, or an abrasion. This will be the result of the mobile blade coming in contact with the skin at the same time as the stationary blade. 
Men's liner
Make sure you'e cutting the hair in the direction the hair grows. Cutting against the grain can cause ingrown hairs, razor burn, or general irritation.Today


Touch up your roots
Finding a great colorist is like finding gold, however those visits to the salon can definitely add up. While it's best to have a skilled professional do your highlights and extensive color, it is easy to save money from the salon by doing simple root touch ups at home.

  • To find your drug store color, you'll need to know your "level" and "tone." You will find your level on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the darkest, blackest color and level 10 being very light blond color. Look at the pictures on the box to find the level that most closely matches yours.
  • You will want to match your tone, which will be warm, cool or neutral. A good trick to finding your tone is to think about clothing — if you look best in jewel tones like blues, greens, purples or pinks, then you are "cool." If earth tones like yellow, orange or brown look better, then you are "warm." Neutrals look great in everything and can go either way when selecting tone. When you decide on your desired color, find a tone that's one shade lighter on the box, since these formulas tend to dye hair darker than promised.
  • Once you've purchased your root touch up and are ready to apply it, make sure you perform a strand test before applying all over your entire head. This way you will be able to ensure that the color you've purchased is the right one.
  • When you're ready to apply, make sure you're wearing something you're not afraid to get dirty and put on plastic gloves. Divide hair into four sections, down the middle and from ear to ear. Pin each section up with plastic hair clips.
  • Apply petroleum jelly along your hairline to prevent the dye from staining your skin. Mix color as directions suggest on box. Unclip one of the front sections and, using a brush, apply color evenly around the perimeter of the section from the roots up to the point where the processed color begins. You will want some overlap. Don't massage into your scalp. Use the applicator tip to work in 1-inch panels. 
  • Flip hair over and apply color to this new part. Repeat halfway until all roots in that section are covered. Re-clip saturated hair, then repeat on remaining three sections. 
  • Use any leftover color from the bottle. Leave on for five minutes. Rinse hair thoroughly in the shower with lukewarm water until the water runs clear. 
  • Condition according to package directions (most kits come with conditioner). 
Root touch-ups
Be sure to perform a strand test before applying. This way you will be able to ensure that the color you've purchased is the right one.Today