Hair Oil Before or After Blow-Drying? How to Use It With Heat

Before the midwinter feast, Sigrun, the newest recruit in my hall, poured half a bottle of oil into her soaking-wet hair, cranked a borrowed dryer to its hottest setting and held it two inches from her head. The hall filled with a smell like a hot pan. Her hair came out stiff at the ends, limp at the roots and somehow frizzy in between. She looked at me and asked the question every warrior asks eventually: did the oil go on at the wrong time?

Here's the straight answer. If you're asking whether to use hair oil before or after blow drying, the best plan is both, in small doses. Before you dry, smooth 1 to 2 drops onto damp, towel-dried ends for slip, after your heat protectant if you use one. After you dry, once your hair has cooled, finish with another drop or two for shine and frizz control. Oil is a polish, not a shield, so it never replaces a heat protectant.

Hair oil before or after blow drying: what each one does

Most people treat this like a one-or-the-other question. It isn't. Oil does different work at different moments, so the real question is how much goes on at each step.

Before: slip and a smoother surface

On damp hair, a little oil spreads easily. It helps your brush glide through instead of snagging, and fewer snags means less breakage while you dry. It also lays the outer layer of the strand, the cuticle, a little flatter, so your blowout starts smoother.

After: shine and frizz control

Once hair is dry and cool, oil does its best visible work. It catches the light, tames flyaways and helps the surface resist humid air for a while. Because dry hair doesn't dilute it, you need very little, and you can see exactly where it lands.

The split-dose rule

So I split the ration. A small amount before, the rest after. If you only want to use oil once, use it after. Your hair will forgive you for skipping the pre-dry drop. It won't forgive a heavy pour followed by high heat.

If you air-dry most days, the rules shift a little. Gossip Girl covers that side in hair oiling on wet or dry hair, and Wanderlust has a full drop count for every length in how much hair oil to use.

Can you put hair oil on wet hair before blow drying?

Yes, with three conditions. I give these orders once and expect them followed.

• Damp, not dripping. Squeeze your hair in a towel or an old T-shirt first. On soaking-wet hair, oil and water fight, the oil sits on top in patches and your drying time gets longer. Longer drying means more time under heat.
• Light, not heavy. One or two drops for most hair, a few more for very thick or coily hair. Save the generous amounts for a pre-wash treatment, not a pre-heat one.
• Lengths, not roots. Start at the ends and work up to about ear level. Roots near a hot dryer and a slick of oil is how you end up flat on top and greasy by lunch.

Fine hair gets an extra warning. If your strands are thin or straight, the pre-dry drop is optional. Many fine-haired warriors look better skipping it and using a single drop after drying instead. The Sprite has more on that in hair oil for fine hair.

Hair oil or heat protectant first?

This is where most routines go wrong, so hear me clearly: hair oil is not a heat protectant unless it's been made and labeled as one. A plain oil can make hair feel smoother, but it isn't designed or tested to shield your strands from a dryer or an iron. Our Hair Oil Elixir isn't labeled as a heat protectant either, so I never ask it to do that job.

A heat protectant is your shield. Oil is the polish you put on the shield afterward. Here's how I order them.

1. Read the protectant's label first. It's the one product in this routine with a specific job, so follow its directions. Most are made for clean, damp hair.
2. If the label doesn't say, protectant goes first. Sprays and creams spread more evenly on hair that isn't already coated in oil. Mist or smooth it through every section that will meet heat.
3. Then the oil, ends only. One or two drops, warmed between your palms and pressed into the bottom few inches.
4. Then the heat. Medium setting, dryer moving.
5. Then the finishing drop. Once your hair is dry and has cooled for a minute, skim a drop over the surface and the ends.

If your protectant is itself an oil or a serum, you may not need a pre-dry oil at all. Doubling up is how blowouts turn heavy.

How to blow-dry with hair oil, step by step

This is the full battle plan I gave Sigrun the next morning. It takes about as long as her old routine and treats her hair a lot better.

1. Wash and condition. Rinse the conditioner well. Leftover conditioner plus oil weighs hair down.
2. Towel-dry gently. Squeeze, don't rub. Rubbing roughs up the cuticle and makes frizz.
3. Detangle with a wide-tooth comb. Start at the ends and work up.
4. Apply heat protectant. Section by section if your hair is thick.
5. Add 1 to 2 drops of oil to the ends. Optional for fine hair.
6. Rough-dry to about 80 percent. Use medium heat and keep the dryer moving. Point the nozzle down the hair shaft, root to tip, so the cuticle lies flat.
7. Finish with a brush. Work in sections for smoothness or volume, then hit each section with the cool setting to set it.
8. Let it cool, then finish. One more drop, warmed between your palms and skimmed over the surface and the ends.

Distance and heat matter as much as product

In a small lab study on hair samples, researchers found that surface damage went up as dryer temperature went up, and they recommended holding the dryer about 15 cm away (roughly 6 inches) and keeping it in continuous motion (Lee and colleagues, Annals of Dermatology, 2011). It was one study on hair in a lab, not on heads, but the lesson matches what every good stylist will tell you: keep your distance, keep it moving and don't park on one spot.

Hair oil before heat styling with irons and wands

Dryers blow warm air. Flat irons and curling wands press hot metal straight onto your hair, and that's a different fight. A coat of oil under hot plates can sizzle, leave hair greasy and feel rough on ends that are already fragile. So my rule for hair oil before heat styling with irons is simple: don't.

• Before the iron: make sure your hair is fully dry. Then use a heat protectant made for hot tools, as its label directs.
• Heat setting: use the lowest setting that gets the job done. Fine and lightened hair usually needs less than you think.
• One pass, not five. Smaller sections and a steady glide beat going over the same piece again and again.
• After the iron: wait until your hair has cooled, especially curls, then press a single drop into the ends.

If your ends are already dry and splitting, read The Vixen's guide to hair oil for dry ends. And if you want waves without hot tools at all, heatless beach waves give your hair a day off from the fight.

Mistakes that ruin a blowout

• Pouring oil on soaking-wet hair. It slows drying and leaves patches. Towel-dry first.
• Using oil instead of heat protectant. The most common mistake in my hall, and the most expensive one over time.
• Holding the dryer too close. If the back of your hand feels uncomfortable at that distance, your hair does too.
• Max heat every day. Medium heat and a little more patience is the trade I'd make every time.
• Oiling the roots. Your scalp makes its own. Keep oil on the lengths unless you're doing a scalp treatment on purpose.
• Skipping the cool shot. Hair sets as it cools. A few seconds of cool air locks in smoothness and shape.
• Expecting oil to fix damage. Oil can make heat-worn hair look and feel smoother, but it can't repair split ends. A trim does that. If your hair is breaking badly or your scalp is irritated, see a dermatologist.

Frizz that comes back an hour after your blowout is usually about humidity and technique more than oil. Wanderlust has the full plan in hair oil for frizzy hair.

My picks from the armory

All Fable Beauty hair oils share the same blend: coconut, sweet almond, avocado and argan oils with vitamin E. The difference is the scent. Each one is a 2 oz bottle, handmade in Nashville, TN. One note before you buy: sweet almond is a tree nut oil, so skip it if you have a nut allergy, and patch test if your skin tends to react to fragrance.

• The Valkyrie Hair Oil Elixir, $30. My Radiant Mist scent: fresh flowers, coconut milk, French vanilla and sandalwood. A drop on damp ends before the dryer and a drop after, and your hair smells like the hall on feast night, not a hot pan. For the full ingredient rundown, see my best hair oil for dry hair guide.
• The Valkyrie Razor & Radiance Duo, $50. That same hair oil paired with my Shave Oil Serum. Good value if you shave your legs and want one scent from head to toe.
• The Valkyrie Sea Salt Hair Tonic, $25. A texturizing mist for soft waves and volume on the days you give the dryer a rest. Salt can feel drying, so finish your ends with a drop of oil.
• The Sprite Hair Oil Elixir, $30. Same blend in Tart Citrus Burst & Fairy Blossom, if you want something brighter for your morning blowout.

Free shipping kicks in on US orders of $75 or more, so the duo plus the tonic gets you there.

FAQ

One last thing

Sigrun tried again the morning of the feast. Towel-dried hair, heat protectant, one drop of oil on the ends, the dryer on medium and moving, then a final drop once it cooled. No hot-pan smell. Her hair swung when she walked into the hall, and three warriors asked what she'd done. She told them the truth: less oil, at the right time, and a shield before the heat.

Every beauty has a story.

— The Valkyrie

Keep reading in The Princess's Vanity

• How to use hair oil
• Overnight hair oil
• How to fix static hair