Photo: Hugo Yu
We asked seven exceptionally tasteful New Yorkers to tell us about an item they bought forever ago — and that they still love (and use) today. Here, freelance fashion writer Emilia Petrarca on the diffuser she has used since she was 13 years old.
Growing up, I would come home from haircuts sobbing because my hair would get totally botched. I don’t know exactly how my mom found this place, but she took me to DevaChan Salon in Soho when I was 13 years old. I remember sitting down at the front of the salon in anticipation, and they gave me this book titled something like Love Your Curls. I felt I had finally found my place. It was the best haircut I had gotten to that day. After my appointment, I immediately bought the salon’s entire line of products. I still use everything — shampoo, gel, and this weird-looking little diffuser.
If I don’t have my diffuser, I won’t go near a blow-dryer. Otherwise, my hair is a poofy mess. Instead of a traditional diffuser, this one is shaped like a hand and has five “fingers” that distribute air from the blow-dryer. With it, I’m able to turn my head to one side and scrunch up my curls as if I were drying my hair with my own hand in a towel. It’s easy, feels natural, and reduces frizz. If I want to add some volume to my hair, I just run the little hand through my scalp and style it from the root.
My curls are so tight that it used to be difficult to dry my hair from tip to bottom. Those traditional megaphone-looking diffusers really only dried half my head. In the winter, I’d go outside with partially wet hair and it would literally freeze. I haven’t had to go through that with my DevaCurl diffuser. I can dry my hair in about five-to-ten minutes instead of waiting hours for it to air-dry.
Unfortunately, the original DevaChan in Soho has since closed down and I’ve had to find a different salon. But I’m still very much loyal to this weird little thing that lives in my bathroom. At this point, switching brands and my routine is too much of a daunting task. Before I found this, I hated my hair. Now I don’t. And I don’t plan on going back to The Before anytime soon.
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