There are two kinds of blow-outs: The kind that carry you through the night and the kind that can see you through a barge ride down the sweltering Congo. I scored the latter yesterday at the Frederic Fekkai salon on Melrose Place.

There, a small man named Lito shampooed me and plopped me down in a seat surrounded by various round metal brushes, a super-powered hairdryer and some setting spray.

Using said spray liberally, he spent at least 25 minutes meticulously puffing up and blowing out tiny sections of hair, concentrating on adding volume by concentrating the spray at the roots then blasting them with heat. He took my not-quite-grown-out bangs and made them look like they belonged there, and added 60s-cum-80s wave to the ends with a big-barrel metal brush and more heat.

The result was a little “Welcome to Texas” at first, but settled down beautifully into pure va-va-voom within 30 minutes. I walked out with a new pep in my step and a bottle of magical Fekkai Coif Shape & Set Mist in my paws. We’ll see if I can even remotely replicate Lito’s skills on my own.

Photos: A happy camper; Frederic Fekkai’s Coif Shape & Set Mist.