Fluff Drying 101

Fluff drying is the process of drying the coat while brushing it straight at the same time.

Instead of letting the coat dry naturally into curls or waves, we use airflow, heat, and brushing together to stretch and separate the hair so it sits straight, lifted, and ready to work with.

Done properly, it gives you a clean, even base for clipping and scissoring.

WOW AND MINKI

These two liitle dogs have already been high velocity dried. This next step is about spending five to ten minutes fluff drying to properly straighten the coat before scissoring.

We’re focusing on the legs, tail, ears, and face, separating and lengthening the coat so it sits clean and even.

If the hair is left clumped or compacted, the finish will look choppy. Straightening it here gives you a much cleaner result to work with.

ZEMO

In this tutorial, Colleen works through the full fluff drying process on a curly coat, using a competition dog with significant coat length.

Zemo is maintained in competition coat, so the hair is much longer than what you’d typically see in everyday grooming. That means more time, more control, and a stronger focus on preserving coat quality while straightening.

You’ll see how to: