Kate Middleton’s hairdresser on the four blow-drying habits he wants you to quit.

“Can you please give me Kate Middleton’s bouncy hair on the day?”

This was the question I genuinely asked Rose, my kind wedding makeup artist, last year. Yes, you could say the Duchess of Cambridge’s hair is an obsession of mine. Or for thousands of other women for that matter.

It’s an obsession Richard Ward is well acquainted with. He’s been tending to the hair of Kate Middleton, and many of the Middleton clan, for years. He’s the guy who invented the “Chelsea Blowdry”, also known as “Kate Middleton’s Bouncy Blowdry” to the uninitiated. He’s also created a new range of products called The Chelsea Collection (available at Priceline) that’ll get you one step closer to Duchess hair. 

So, when he tells me I’ve been blow-drying my hair incorrectly my entire life, I listen.

1. Stop shaking the hairdryer — it’s not doing your hair any favours.

Often stand there flicking your hairdryer furiously back and forth because it feels like it’ll dry your hair off quicker? It doesn’t, and could make matters worse.

“Shaking too much can actually make the hair more frizzy; you need to ‘rough dry’ on a low speed. When you do this, it helps to stop the hair from frizzing but you must pull the hair through your fingers and heat the roots,” Ward explains. 

How to use the Luxcurly — the ultimate curling tool. (Post continues after video.)

According to Ward, this is the biggest trick the Duchess of Cambridge herself has taken on board.

2. Always wait for your hair to cool before putting your hands through it.

If you’re partial to a curling tong or curling your hair with a straightener, it pays to wait until your hair cools down before brushing it. In fact, it’ll make your handiwork last longer.

“This is because the heat changes the structure of the molecules in the hair forcing them to change for example from straight to a curl. The cooling down allows time for the molecules to set in their new form,” Ward urges. 

Some photos of Kate Middleton and Prince William on their trip to India. (Post continues after gallery.)

3. Get acquainted with the various hairdryer nozzles.

That little piece of plastic that connects to the front of your hairdryer plays a big role, apparently.

“Use a nozzle on your dryer. Use a real bristle brush as this forces the cuticles to close which in turn de-frizzes the hair and makes it shine. You must get tension on the hair [really pull it],” Ward explains.

Beauty Editor Edwina got a blowdry from the master, Richard Ward.

4. If you want lacklustre hair, do these six things while blowdrying:

As a blowdrying maestro, you can bet that Ward has his pet peeves when it comes to amateurs (ahem, me) giving it a go.

“If you don't do any of these things you are much more likely not to get a great blow dry: Drying hair with a weak hairdryer with no nozzle. Overloading hair with product. Rough drying too much. Blowdrying with dirty hair. Blowing heat onto rollers that have already cooled down. Use a cold shot to set the curl.”

Anyone else basically guilty of each and every one of these?

Featured image: Getty Images