One small button on your hair dryer can make the difference between a blowout that lasts and one that frizzes by noon. Most hair dryers come with a button many people never touch. It sits near the handle, usually marked with a snowflake or a blue dot, and it blasts cool air instead of hot. It looks like an afterthought. Professional stylists see it as the most important step of a blowout.
It is the cool-shot button, and used correctly, it is one of the easiest ways to fight frizz and add shine.
Why Heat Alone Is Not Enough
When you blow-dry, heat makes hair flexible so you can shape it, smoothing it straight or curving it into volume. But hair only holds a shape once it cools down. If you stop while it is still warm, the style can relax quickly, and humidity can make strands puff back up.
Heat also lifts the outer layer of the hair, the cuticle. A raised cuticle reflects light unevenly, which makes hair look dull and more prone to frizz.
What the Cool Shot Actually Does
A blast of cool air helps set the shape you have just created and smooth the cuticle back down. Sam Villa, co-founder of the Sam Villa tool brand and global artistic ambassador for Redken 5th Avenue, recommends limiting heat and then finishing with cool air. “Styling hair with one or two passes of a thermal tool should be enough,” he says, “then utilize the cool shot button to lock in the finish, close the cuticle and add gloss.”
He also warns against going over the same section again and again with hot air, which he says is “not the most efficient way to create shine.” A smoother cuticle also means fewer tangles and less frizz, and cooling hair while it is wrapped around a brush helps it keep its volume.
How to Use It Like a Stylist
Work section by section. Blow-dry a section with warm air until it is fully dry and shaped, keeping the nozzle pointed down the hair shaft, from root to tip, to encourage the cuticle to lie flat.
Then, without moving the brush, press the cool-shot button and hold it over the same section for a few seconds until the hair feels cool to the touch. Release the brush and move on. For volume at the roots, cool the hair while the brush still holds it lifted.
Finish with a final pass of cool air over the whole head to set everything in place.
The Mistakes That Undo It
Using the cool shot on damp hair does little, because the style has not been set yet. Skipping heat protection is another common error: apply a protectant before drying. And avoid the highest heat setting, especially on fine, color-treated or gray hair, which damages more easily.
If your dryer has no cool-shot button, switch to the lowest temperature setting at the end, or let each section cool on the brush before releasing it.
The Finishing Touch
A drop of lightweight serum or a light mist of shine spray after cooling can add extra gloss, but use sparingly to avoid weighing hair down.
Goodbye frizz. A few seconds of cool air at the end of every section is the simple trick professionals rely on to lock in a smooth, shiny blowout.
