Hair dries really quick - what does this mean?

[raingirl]

I was reading up on all the threads that people have been posting about their hair taking forever to dry.

I have very thin/fine hair (volume wise a pony tail is about as thick as my thumb). It was BSL but I recently cut to shoulder and it air dries in maybe 30 min max. It's always dried insanely fast, short or long. If I put it in a towel after a shower, take the towel off a few min later while getting dressed, it will be 75% dry by the time I head back to the washroom to do the rest of my routine (10-15 minutes). If I don't comb or style it within a few minutes of taking the towel off my head, I get all kinds of kinks and bends that look awful.

What does this mean? Is it just because my hair is so thin and fine? Or do I have non-porous hair? Is it a bad thing?

[Ayjay]

I think it means you are just very lucky and can get your hair dried quickly. It doesn't sound like there is anything wrong or weird with your hair. Some people just dry quicker than others.

[Marbid]

my hair does the same thing. In the time between getting out of the shower and getting dressed, my hair has already begun fuzzing up. Takes up to 40 minutes (at waist length) for my hair to be dry and fuzzy. It would take longer if I put conditioner on it. It also takes no more than 15-20 if I blow dry it on cold setting. No way can I dry my hair on hot, my hair will dry the second hot air hits it, and it would be extra, super dry. Not in a good way.

I'm guessing is because the hair is low porosity so it does not absorb water. Other hairs with higher porosity would absorb more water and take longer to dry.

Anyway, that is just an educated guess. I am not sure about that.

But if it is true, low porosity hair also has a harder time absorbing moisture and other hair stuff..... So I've heard.

[biogirl87]

Marbid, I think it is the opposite way with high porosity and drying time. Hair with high porosity absorbs more water quickly but also looses moisture quicker. You are right in that low porosity hair has a harder time absorbing moisture and other hair stuff.

raingirl, if your hair dries that quickly even at shoulder length, you may have high porosity hair (I am not discounting the possibility that it may be because your hair is thin and fine). I am not saying that this means that your hair is damaged because some have high porosity hair naturally. You can try contacting Firefox7275 for specific ingredients in hair products that can help reduce porosity of your hair if you want to reduce the porosity of your hair.

[RubberDucky]

Wow, you're lucky that your hair dries so quickly - my hair (when it was long) took about 8 hours to air dry if left completely alone.

[florenonite]

I'm guessing is because the hair is low porosity so it does not absorb water. Other hairs with higher porosity would absorb more water and take longer to dry.

Anyway, that is just an educated guess. I am not sure about that.


As one of those people whose hair takes forever to dry, I'm pretty sure it's the opposite. Low-porosity hair takes a long time to dry because, after wetting it, it takes a long time for the water to get out again.

[Chromis]

Another possible factor is humidity. If it is dry (forced air heating and woodstoves both tend to dry out the air a great deal), then things dry much faster. Air conditioning does this too. I don't really notice so much with my hair since I tend to put it up and soon as it stops dripping like mad, but I really notice the difference on things drying on our clothes rack since I don't use the dryer.

[Nadine <3]

My hair drys fast as well. It takes a bit longer now that I CO was only though. It was at about a half hour, but CO washing bumped that to about an hour. Weird.

[Foxylocks]

I don't think it is strange that your hair dries quickly. The longer your hair gets, the longer it will take to dry. Besides, everyone has different hair, therefore different drying times. My hair takes about 2-3 hours to dry completely. Since I put it in a braid, it usually stays damp for 5-6 hours.

[vanillabones]

I have very fine thin hair as well and mine dries in 30 mins too. It is all virgin now so I know it's not from bleach damage any more. I think it is just our hair type. My friends are very jealous that my hair can dry so quickly, especially when they see me after a shower it is like magic wet to dry in a matter of minutes! I'd rather have thick hair that would take two days to dry but... what are ya gunna do.. enjoy what you've got :D

[jeanniet]

High porosity hair will dry fast, but in your case I would guess that it's mostly due to the density of your hair. i hair will dry faster than ii hair, and ii hair will dry faster than iii hair. High porosity hair typically has some level of damage, but even if your hair is on the high side it's not necessarily "bad." You just have to be careful.

[vindo]

Thin and fine hair can certainly dry faster. For one the hair shaft is smaller, single strands have a smaller diameter, so there is not too much room for lots of water. And since your hair is thinner, lots of air can get to it.

I always notice the difference between my ends and my hair around shoulder length. My ends dry much faster because they are thinner than the hair on top.

It certainly is not a bad thing if your hair feels healthy. I would worry more if it takes forever to dry because it could mean that the hair is damaged enough to soak up with too much water. I have hardly ever heard of that though. Most people that do have a long drying time likely have thicker and coarser hair or hair with a high moisture content..(or they OD-ed on hair oil :lol:)

[Phlegmatic]

I agree with Emichiee. I have waist length hair that is fine and the ends dry very quickly since it is thinner. You may have high-porosity hair, which means your hair absorbs and expels moisture quickly. Unless it is damaged, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[Darkhorse1]

I have a lot of hair (Almost 4' circumference for a ponytail) and medium thickness of strands, and my hair can dry lightning fast or take a whole day depending on: Weather, humidity levels and how I put it after washing. Leaving it loose, it dries much faster in all conditions. Of course, if I bun it wet and it's cooler/less humid outside and over cast, my hair can stay wet for a lot longer.

I find it odd that my hair will dry VERY fast even in a bun if it's very hot and humid. I couldn't understand this because by definition, if it's humid, there is already moisture in the air, therefore things take longer to dry. But, my hair dries soooo fast in humid conditions (hot humid days). I'd wash my hair before going out in high humidity/heat to keep myself cool, and it was dry in less than 30 mins. Even in a bun.

I would suspect that low porosity hair means your hair does NOT absorb much water, which would take less drying time and higher porosity means more water is absorbed thus more time to remove it.

Hope that helps!

[lillithnight]

I would suspect that low porosity hair means your hair does NOT absorb much water, which would take less drying time and higher porosity means more water is absorbed thus more time to remove it.

Hope that helps!

Low porosity hair especially if its thick traps water close to it. It just doesn't penetrate easily. It actually dries much slower because things are sitting on top of it trying to be absorbed.

High porosity hair is easily penetrated by products and water, but it realeses those things just as easily. So it actually dries faster then low porosity hair. My low porosity hair take a few hours o dry with no products. Even at its shortest it took longer then average.

[Flor]

I think no one mentioned this yet, but for instance, my drying times depend on how cleansed my hair is after a wash. If I used diluted shampoo and try to wash off just the excess of sebum, my hair will take longer to dry, because it's covered with oil/wax to some degree and water has more difficulty escaping. If I wash it squeaky-clean, it dries real fast.

Same with the use of oils/serums/conditioners. If I put oil on the ends when they're still relatively moist, it might as well take whole day for them to dry, while the roots will be done in an hour.