Did you know that having wet hair for too long can damage your beautiful tresses? That's right. This whole time you've bene worried about dryness and heat damage, but wet hair isn't good for you either.
So if heat damages hair, but you can't leave it wet, what do you do? Let us help you with these hair drying tips. We'll walk you through the best techniques and tricks for air drying hair, towel drying hair, and even bringing in your blowdryer.
Air Drying Vs. Blow Drying
Before we get into the hair drying tips, let's talk about methods. You're probably wondering if you should air dry or blow-dry your hair.
The answer is that the best way to dry hair without facing damage is to air dry it. Blowdryers rely on heat which will cause dryness, breakage, and split ends in your hair. While you can use a blowdryer on cold, it probably won't dry your hair very fast.
However, for some styles, you may need a blowdryer, and it certainly is the fastest way to dry your hair. In this guide we'll go over the best ways to dry your hair with a towel and how to air dry hair so that you can use a blow dryer for as little time as possible.
1. Use the Right Conditioner
The trick to fast-drying hair actually starts in the shower. Make sure that you're using a high-quality conditioner on your hair while you wash it.
Conditioner will strengthen and protect your hair so that it can withstand the heat of a blowdryer better. Not only that but they also repel water which stops your hair from absorbing too much. If your hair isn't oversoaked, it'll dry faster. You can even use a leave-in conditioner for even better effects.
2. Use the Right Towel (And Be Gentle!)
Towel drying can help your hair dry faster in the air, but the old method of rubbing your hair dry with any old towel is not the way! This method is far too rough and damaging to hair. Remember, hair is especially fragile while wet, and all that friction breaks it apart.
Instead, get a very absorbent, microfiber towel just for your hair. Your technique should be more like plopping, squeezing, dabbing, and blotting. Very gently remove the water in your hair by trusting the absorbency of your towel. Then, you can take a second microfiber towel to wrap your hair up for a while.
3. Comb Before
A good way to make sure that you get the most out of your towel and air drying process is to comb your hair.
Don't use a brush or comb with too dense of teeth. Instead, choose your widest tooth comb to gently detangle your hair. This will remove some water, and it will also ensure that your hair is spread apart. With more air between strands and fewer tangles, each strand will have room to properly dry.
4. Get to the Root of the Problem
The roots are the area of your hair that have the hardest time drying. It's also most important that they get dry - especially in cold weather. Having wet hair on your scalp can make you more susceptible to cold and hypothermia.
Your roots have trouble drying because they're so tightly packed. Help them out a bit! Shake up your head a bit, fluff your roots with your fingers, flip your head upside. Do whatever you need to in order to make sure that the roots are lifted and some air is getting in there.
5. If You're Going to Blow Dry, Use Protection
If you're going to blow dry your hair (and with these tips you can), make sure that you use a heat protectant and proper techniques. Follow our air drying and towel drying tips first and wait a little bit before you use the blowdryer. This way you can spend as little time with it as possible.
Set your blowdryer to the lowest setting you can while still getting the results you want. If you've air and towel-dried your hair a little bit before, you won't need much heat to finish the job from the blowdryer. An ionic dryer works even better at lower settings.
Hold your blowdryer at least six inches away from your hair and move it around frequently. Let an area of hair cool completely before you bring the dryer back to that spot.Â
Most importantly, apply some kind of heat protectant to your hair before you begin drying. These come in the form of sprays, mousses, creams, and more!
6. Let it Be a Little Damp
Want to know a great secret to getting your hair to dry faster? Don't try to dry it all the way! It's okay to let your hair be a little damp if you're warm and not going anywhere.
In fact, you can even sleep on damp hair if you have a silk pillowcase. This will prevent frizz while it finishes drying, but your movement in your sleep will fluff up your roots a little.
7. Stop Washing Your Hair So Often!
One more cheeky way to get your hair to dry faster. Don't wash it so often! If your hair isn't wet in the first place, you won't need to dry it.
At most, wash your hair every other day. You can stretch the lifespan of your hairstyle with dry shampoo and updos so that you don't have to try your hair every day. Not only will you save time, but your hair will face less damage too.
Hair Drying Made Fast, Easy, and Beautiful
With these hair drying tips, drying your hair should be fast and pain-free while maintaining your beautiful locks. Never do anything rough or damaging in the process of drying your hair, and avoid heat as much as possible.
Do you need a super absorbent towel to start properly drying your hair? Check out our special hair towels here!