Boise air does a funny thing to hair. The dry high-desert climate, the wind that funnels down the foothills, and the dramatic swings between a heated car and a cold morning all leave hair puffed up, static-charged, and harder to control than it should be. We hear about it constantly behind the chair at Sølvi, our Scandinavian-inspired studio at 104 S Capitol Blvd downtown. One of the products our stylists reach for to fight that frizz is the Davines Love Smoothing Perfector, a leave-in priming step you use before you blow-dry. Here is exactly how we use it at home, and how to get the smooth, polished finish you walk out of the salon with.
What the Love Smoothing Perfector actually does
This is a leave-in smoothing primer, not a styling cream you scrunch in and walk away from. It is built for frizzy, coarse, and humidity-prone hair, the kind of texture that fights back when you try to wear it sleek. You apply it to damp hair before you blow-dry. It helps tame frizz, softens coarser textures, and makes the actual blow-dry faster with a sleeker result at the end. Think of it as the step that does half the smoothing work for you so your round brush is not doing all the heavy lifting. The standard size is 5.07 fl oz and it runs $33.00 in the studio. You can see it on our shelf page right here.
Step 1: Wash and condition first
Start clean. Shampoo and condition in the shower the way you normally would. The Perfector is a leave-in that layers on top of clean, conditioned hair, so do not skip your usual wash routine thinking this replaces it. It does not. Rinse your conditioner the way you always do, then gently squeeze out the excess water with your hands or a microfiber towel. You want hair damp, not dripping.
Step 2: Apply to damp hair, mid-lengths to ends
This is the part people get wrong at home. Work the Perfector through damp hair before you pick up a single hot tool. We start at the mid-lengths and pull it down through the ends, where frizz and dryness live, then bring whatever is left on our hands up toward the roots. Coarse, thick hair can take a bit more product. Finer hair needs a light hand. Section your hair into a few clips if it is dense, so the product reaches everywhere evenly instead of sitting on the top layer.
Step 3: Blow-dry with tension
Now blow-dry. The Perfector is doing its job during the dry, so this is where you see the payoff. Use a round brush or a paddle brush and keep gentle tension on each section, following the brush down with your nozzle pointed at the same angle as the hair. In Boise's dry climate, getting hair fully dry matters more than you would think. Damp spots left behind are exactly where frizz and that static halo creep back in by midday. Take your time on the sections around your face and crown.
How often, and who it is not for
You can use it every time you wash, or just on the days you actually want a smooth blow-out. Here is the honest part. If your hair is naturally fine or already sleek, this product was not really made for you, and you may find it feels heavier than you want. It earns its keep on frizzy, coarse, or rebellious hair that needs taming. If you are not sure which camp you fall into, that is a great thing to ask your stylist at your next appointment. We would rather steer you toward the right product than have you buy something that fights your texture.
Pairing it with a salon smoothing service
Home care and salon work go together. If you are constantly battling frizz in our climate, a professional smoothing treatment can do the deeper work, and the Perfector keeps that result looking fresh between visits. You can read through our full menu on our services page to see what fits your hair, and when you are ready, book with us at vagaro.com/solvisalon. We will show you the application in person so you can copy it exactly at home.
The honest takeaway from our chair
The Love Smoothing Perfector is one of those quiet, do-the-work products that does not get a lot of attention but earns its spot on our shelf. It will not turn coarse hair into something it is not, and it will not save a blow-dry you rushed through with hair still wet. What it does, reliably, is make frizzy and humidity-prone hair easier to smooth and faster to dry, which is exactly what Boise hair needs most of the year. Wash, apply to damp ends, dry with tension. That is the whole method, and it works.