Air drying. It seems like a pretty simple concept. You take a shower, wash your hair, wrap your hair in a towel, give it a swift rub down, and go. Only it's not quite as simple as you might think, which leaves you thinking, is it bad to let your hair air dry?
In fact, if you've been air-drying your hair, you've probably noticed your hair turning into a frizzy, limp mess. However, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't be air-drying your hair. You just need to know how to dry your hair. In this blog, you'll find a few hair drying tips to get you started on air-drying the right way.
1. Condition Your Hair in The Bath
If you want sleek, frizz-free hair, then your process has to begin in the shower. The only way to do that is by using a shampoo and conditioner that is gentle on your hair.
Choose a shampoo and conditioner that is sulfate-free, instead choose one full of glycerin, which is a moisturizing agent. Hydrating your hair while in the shower is the first step to being able to air dry it when you're done.
2. Rinse Your Hair With Only Cold Water
You want to seal the cuticles in your hair so that air drying is an option. Rinsing your hair with cold water is the second step in the process, with hydrating being the first. You don't have to use freezing cold water; however, just water that's colder than the temperature in the room. Rinsing your hair in cold water works to seal hair cuticles, so they lay flat, which helps them hold your conditioner. This is precisely what you need for the perfect air dry.
3. Dry Your Hair the Right Way
Rinsing with cold water and hydrating isn't enough to keep your hair looking great and healthy when you're air-drying your hair. You need to ensure you're drying your hair the right way as well. For example, many people think that plush towels are the only way to dry their hair when in reality, the material in those towels could be the worst thing for you.
When choosing hair-drying towels, you need to consider a few things. The fibers in most towels cause frizz, are far too harsh to use on wet hair, and can do severe damage if you aren't careful. Your best option for a hair-drying towel is cotton. Cotton has more of an absorbency rate than many other heavier towels, and it feels great as well.
4. Comb Out Tangles
After you've soaked up the excess water in your hair, it's time to move onto getting out the tangles from washing it. Don't jerk through your hair with a comb because you risk doing damage. Instead, comb out the tangles gently with a comb with wide teeth, a little at the time.
A good comb is the best thing for wet hair, as it has extra space for your hair strands to slip through without pulling your hair or creating extra friction that causes damage and frizzing. For less damage to your hair, start combing at the bottom and work your way up to your roots. Then, continue combing your hair is detangled and knot-free.
5. Use a High-Quality Leave-In Conditioner
Once all tangles are removed, apply a high-quality leave-in conditioner by running it through your hair with your fingertips. This will ensure that you don't end up with frizzy hair after your hair is dry. Nothing ruins an air-dried look like flyaway frizzies do. Not only does a good leave-in treatment combat frizzies, but it also helps to protect your hair from sun damage and styling products that can be damaging as well.
6. Add Any Styling Products You Use
Once you've finished the steps above, it's time to add any of the normal styling products you use. Make sure that these products work well with air-drying your hair for the best results.
7. Let Your Hair Dry
Once you've added the styling products to your wet hair, it's time just to leave it alone. You can curl up on the couch and watch Netflix, read a book, or do whatever you please until your hair is dry. If you're going to go to sleep after your hair is washed, however, you don't want to twist it into a braid because that can cause breakage as well. So if you must go to sleep with your hair wet, just leave it down instead.
8. Leave Your Hair Alone
While it may be hard to do, the final step in perfect air-dried hair is to leave your hair alone. This means you shouldn't scrunch, twirl, run your fingers through, or brush your hair once you've set it and left it to dry. The reason to keep your hands out of your hair is that all you're going to be doing is messing up all the hard work you just put into fixing your hair. You'll also be risking damaging your hair cuticles and causing your hair to frizz anyway.
So follow the steps above, then keep your hands out of your hair for the best results.
Is It Bad to Let Your Hair Air Dry?
So in answer to the question, is it bad to let your hair air dry, the answer is it depends. If you follow the instructions above, then air drying your hair is the best thing for it.
For more information and tips on healthy hair, and even hair towels, contact us today.