I had a roommate in the 90s who did a blowout every day. It was voluminous, with a little height in the front, and perfect for the times. Every day I watched her create this style, and it came out just like Cindy Crawford. I can tell you, it’s way easier than it looks.
So you can throw out the hot rollers, the pins, and the diffuser. I’ll tell you how to really do it.
What is 90s Blowout Hair?
First thing first: what is a 90s blowout? The 90s hairstyle is characterized by high volume and loopy curls that have a luxurious look. You’ll use your length to create more fullness while curling your ends for a look that’s tousled yet sleek.
Everyone back then wanted to look like supermodel-Cindy with lush, thick hair and the signature curl dipping into her face. Once you’ve mastered the look, you’ll be able to use this blowout for any occasion, from casual to formal.
How to Do 90s Blowout
1. Start With a Professional Haircut
Let’s say her name was Nina because it was. Nina wasn’t working with straggly ends. Her hair was trimmed by a professional consistently.
She had medium-thick hair that was cut using short layers to bring the extra volume. She also had subtle highlights, which brought a lot of movement on their own. Her hair was just past her shoulders.
Note: Straggly ends can ruin any blowout.
2. Add Curtain Bangs
And she had curtain bangs. They were long and she would create extra volume with them while styling the center of them back off her forehead. The volume in the center, at the roots, is key to a 90s blowout, whether you have bangs or not.
But if the hair is not cut into bangs and is too long in that area, the weight of it will certainly drag down the newly created volume over the course of the day. On one side the curtain bangs would frame her face with a loopy curl that dipped.
Note: Long curtain bangs frame the face, the center of which has added volume.
3. Wash and Condition
She would wash her hair every day and condition it. That’s a lot to say because these were the days before sulfate-free shampoos.
But she used a salon brand, which is always better than the drugstore variety. She didn’t skip on conditioning, as it would help protect her hair under the blow dryer.
4. Rake in The Mousse
Mousse was a new product back then. Nina would rake it through her wet tresses to make sure to maximize her volume. Then she’d start blow-drying.
5. Blow Dry Upside Down
She would always blow dry with her head upside down. I remember her taking breaks, but the whole process would be done upside down. This creates volume at the roots and gets your hair used to the idea that it will be in an “out” position, not down.
Note: Blow drying upside down creates enormous volume.
6. Tease Select Sections
After her hair was dry, it had the lioness look of the 90s, but her top was still pretty flat still. I remember seeing her very carefully and lightly tease her bangs in the front and coax them back, off her face.
Note: Tease the bangs gently in the center and coaxed them back, off the face.
7. Hairspray
Then she would close her eyes and envelop herself in the mist of hairspray to keep her hair set. So while everyone else was floundering around with their hair, she truly made everyone jealous of her blowouts. They were fabulous!
FAQs
After blow-drying upside down, you can use a flat iron to create a few loose curls and to do your bangs. Always start at the roots to create volume.
Twist the iron at a 90-degree angle to create the curl. You can style your bangs back in this manner and also create loopy curls that frame the face.
Because of the movement blowouts create, they are popular in every era.
These are short layers that create volume, even in long hair.
They were curtain bangs that were brushed back or to the side.
Blow dry upside down, but you also need to have short layers so that your hair is already disposed to get voluminous. You can also use a round brush, but it’s kind of tricky to do that upside down.
For this, you can use rollers that are set close to the scalp. You can start on wet hair, but then the curls might be too tight. It’s a better idea to start on dry or slightly damp hair and use hair spray to set it.
You can create volume with a hot air brush by turning it to a 90-degree angle when starting at the roots.
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