It’s the most clandestine relationship you can have when you’re in hair recovery.

You know you shouldn’t do it- your stylist has told you to avoid it at all costs because your hair is fragile, so you tryyyyyy, but dude . . .

It’s winter.

And it’s cold.

Really, really cold.

So the days you do wash your hair, you do the unthinkable; you whip out your hairdryer and blow your ‘do out, high and dry.

You’re comfy and dry and warm.

You’ll deal with the hair masque you need to make your hair shiny again later.

Except . . . well, your dryer smells weird . . . and . . . was it your imagination, or did it seem like the air was blowing hotter than it used to?

The answer to that question is, yes, all of the above is probably true; so what would make this happen?

The reason behind this phenomena is when your hair dryer gets to be a year or so old, dust and hair and all kinds of effluvia of living clogs up that mesh filter on the back-end of the dryer, making it stink, overheat and thus more likely to singe your hair and take more time to work.

It’s not a lost cause, however; I have had the same hairdryer for the past 3 years and have a simple method for keeping that screen on your hairdryer clean so your appliance will continue to work at it’s optimum capability.

You need three things in order to do this successfully;

A Colgate wisp.

A damp washcloth.

A few squares of dry paper towel.

OK so make sure that your hairdryer isn’t plugged in, first and foremost (it sounds silly, but I assume nothing in regards to common sense) and then take the mesh housing off the back of your hairdryer.

That looks like this;

You’ll know if it’s dirty; it won’t look at all like that anymore. It will be all shades of clogged with everything you can imagine, so once you have it apart from the main body of your hairdryer, take the wisp and start gently brushing the dust and hair out of the holes of the filter. This won’t be easy- some of it will stick to that filter like it belongs there; in fact, you won’t be able to get it back to looking completely brand new but we’re not aiming for perfection, improvement will do just fine.

Now take the wet washcloth and begin wiping down where you’ve brushed with the wisp; the dust and hair will start to roll down the filter; make sure you wipe the mesh down thoroughly.

Once you’ve done that, take that dry paper towel and start plucking the gathered dust and dirt; most of it will come right off; when you can see clearly through the mesh housing again you’re where you want to be.

Reassemble the dryer, plug it in and give it a try; you should notice an immediate difference in the heat and amount of air output and no more frying dust smell!

Go forth and blow dry your locks (responsibly, of course)!

Let me know if this cleaning hack was useful in the comments below or on the Chick and Chickadee FB page.

Until next time!

Love,

The Chick and her Chickadee