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View Full Version : Blow Dry Cool Setting - Is it REALLY Damage free?



RavenBaby
September 30th, 2012, 09:44 AM
Would blow drying my damp wet hair on the coolest setting (cold) cause NO damage if I didn't touch my hair at all during the process? is the act of cool blow drying itself 100% damage free? or is it better for me to keep letting it air dry :/ is there literally any damaging effects at all to cool blow drying with 0 touching to hair?

minxe
September 30th, 2012, 09:46 AM
I'm not entirely sure, but my hair always seems damage free after I blow dry on cool.

RavenBaby
September 30th, 2012, 09:51 AM
I'm not entirely sure, but my hair always seems damage free after I blow dry on cool.

hmm a lot of people seem to say that but I gotta be 100% sure that it's as good for my hair as air drying since my hair is bleached and thus SUPER dry.

melusine963
September 30th, 2012, 10:09 AM
I can't speak for your hair, but not touching mine during blowdrying would guarantee a ton of damage from all the tangles that would work themselves in this way. I wouldn't get any heat damage from what you describe, but I'd get a ton of mechanical damage from unpicking the knots.

minxe
September 30th, 2012, 10:11 AM
hmm a lot of people seem to say that but I gotta be 100% sure that it's as good for my hair as air drying since my hair is bleached and thus SUPER dry.

I've read many times that it is best to let your hair air dry around 80% of the way, and then blowdry it. That's what I do. Maybe do that, and then apply a little bit of oil to your hair before blowdrying?

I'd do it on the slowest speed, too, because air that is too fast can cause tangles.

rock007junkie
September 30th, 2012, 10:14 AM
Well, I would believe so. I think heat is what causes the damage not air.

melusine963
September 30th, 2012, 11:00 AM
I've read many times that it is best to let your hair air dry around 80% of the way, and then blowdry it. That's what I do. Maybe do that, and then apply a little bit of oil to your hair before blowdrying?

I'd do it on the slowest speed, too, because air that is too fast can cause tangles.

This would certainly solve some of my tangling problem. Thanks for the tip!

lapushka
September 30th, 2012, 12:01 PM
My hair's blown dry with a warm setting (comfy warm (not hot) on the hands). I'm past hip, on my way to TBL and I've not seen a bit of damage from it.

Lesiaoc
September 30th, 2012, 12:51 PM
This morning when I decided to dry my hair a bit (I hate wet hair in cold weather,) I thought about this. From now on my rule of thumb is to always keep the heat a tad lower than my hair would be exposed to on a hot day. Assuming your hair does not get dry on hot days, I don't see how it would cause too much havoc. Also, I go as gently as possible on the low speed. A little detailing but I don't rip a brush through half wet hair either. I think finding this little bit of balance will work for me.

KAggs
September 30th, 2012, 06:41 PM
I was really wondering about this as the cold months are coming upon me where I live. I've been diligent on just letting it air dry 100%, but I know it's going to get uncomfortable when the weather gets worse.

I was thinking about just using the cool setting, but I didn't think about the low setting since it's not as hot as it could be. I think that hot, hot heat can be damaging, but like lapushka said, comfy heat can possibly be less damaging! (Or at least that's what I think she's getting at. xD)

Quahatundightu
October 1st, 2012, 03:46 AM
What I hope prevents damage is
1) I diffuse my hair - so when it is being dried it is in one position, wrapped in the diffuser, not being blown around
2) although I use mild heat I never dry my hair 100% so there is still some moisture left

In winter I often just can't stand my hair being too wet, it makes me too cold, so I do blowdry every now and then. Sometimes I just sit in front of the fire instead :D Which if it's not burning my skin, hopefully it's not damaging my hair too much either.

spirals
October 4th, 2012, 11:32 AM
I even let it airdry in winter. But on days that are 10°F or below, I blowdry. I use a ceramic diffusor. I usually use high heat, but this winter I'll try warm. I just blowdry long enough to get excess moisture out, as it will literally freeze on the way to work. I have to say, though, that icicles on the hair are a fun novelty!

StephanieP3
October 4th, 2012, 08:21 PM
I've discovered that for me if I use the lowest heat setting and the cool button (with my paddle/square brush (gently)) that my hair ends up straight, silky, and soft. Especially when I use coconut oil prior to drying.

I have been letting it air dry for months now ( I live in Florida, ick humidity!) and air drying seems to leave me with a ridiculous amount of dry flaky scalp, with nearly black hair, that sucks! Blow drying this way is the only way I've found that my scalp won't flake and that I get a straight style with no notifiable damage.

goldloli
October 11th, 2012, 07:08 PM
I'm sold! I did it the other day and had hair that was 95% straighter than air drying. It was also still fairly moisturised, silkier and tangled less than when I flat iron.

I've gotten to a point where I'm sick of wearing updos or twist curls. it's really nice to have this method. btw I use my fingers to rake a lot instead of constant brushing.

hairhair
October 11th, 2012, 09:21 PM
I've blowdried a couple of times since joining LHC (on warm or cool on my 3-setting dryer). I think the key is to focus on getting a lot of air flow around the hair, rather than simply "heating up the hair so much that all the water evaporates off". Usually I hang my hair down and direct the air stream toward the outside of it, sort of like this diagram

||| <--- (my head)

Where the lines are my hair and the direction of the blowdryer is the arrow. It sort of moves the hair around and seems to dry it quite quickly, although it can lead to tangling (which might be how this could cause damage). Directing the air stream down a bit (roots to ends) may resolve some of the tangling.

Chimom79
October 11th, 2012, 09:32 PM
Omg, what spirals said made me soooo remember something! Ok, I dont even own a blowdryer, so since winter is coming, I will probably buy one to use on low heat or cool. However, many, many yrs ago, I was working overnight shift and was running late for work. It was soooo cold and snow and ice was everywhere. Well, since I lived up a steep hill, some work folks came to pick me up. I had to jump in the shower, and WALK down the freezing icy hill to where they could get me at. My hair was wet! I know, it was crazy! But I am telling you, when I got in the work van, my entire head of hair, curls (permed back then) was frozen solid! It was crazy! They looked at me like I was insane! Hahaha! I never let that happen again! I truely had no sense or I would have just not washed my hair that night, right? Lmbo!