air drying hair in winter / trying to be curly

[citylove]

I am prob a 2a and have been taking steps to minimize frizz and maximize curl. This includes plopping and Curl Keeper and trying not to touch while it dries. Does anyone successfully do this before a commute? I would have to wash my hair like 2 hours before bed if I washed at night ... Then what would I do with it in am?

Also consider it is winter in Chicago and I take public transit...thanks for your thoughts!

[Madora]

To help things along, have you considered sitting near a portable heater to dry your hair? **

The thing about lessening hair drying time is to get air to circulate thru the hair. That requires a bit of manipulation from you (detangling first, then combing with a wide tooth comb).

Since you want to retain your curls, perhaps you could partially dry it via the heater, then put it up and sleep on it (or whatever you do).

Next morning, comb it out and go about your daily business. If styling your hair takes time, then I suggest that the night before you put out everything you need for the next day (clothing, cosmetics) and your breakfast items (non perishables)...and have everything ready and waiting for you so that you won't have to scramble for stuff after arranging your hair.

I can sympathize with you about the commute!

** Some members here have used the "cool" setting on their hair dryers to help speed things along.

[meteor]

If I want to wear hair down that day, I just put it up in a braided bun on cinnabun first thing in the morning for the commute. The hair needs to be damp and with some leave-in or oil before I put it up. Once I've reached my destination, I take my hair down, shake it up a bit, and I have nice waves for the day.
Keeping it contained at night and during morning commute minimizes frizz for me.

[DweamGoiL]

In the Summer, I wash the morning of, apply my DevaCurl gel and a bit of oil and put a couple of claws to hold my hair in an exaggerated half and half so the front is really lifted. Before the claw clips, I scrunch for a good 2 or 3 minutes, and then I go on my way like this. By the time I get to work, it is dry and super wavy...no frizz.

In the colder months, I wash at night and pretty much do the same thing, but even if it's still a bit damp by the time it's time to go to bed, I just pineapple it as high as I can, but not too tight and in the morning it's pretty much dry, has lift, good waves, some ringlets and of course, no frizz. All I have to do to it is finger comb it after I let down the pineapple.

[citylove]

In the Summer, I wash the morning of, apply my DevaCurl gel and a bit of oil and put a couple of claws to hold my hair in an exaggerated half and half so the front is really lifted. Before the claw clips, I scrunch for a good 2 or 3 minutes, and then I go on my way like this. By the time I get to work, it is dry and super wavy...no frizz.

In the colder months, I wash at night and pretty much do the same thing, but even if it's still a bit damp by the time it's time to go to bed, I just pineapple it as high as I can, but not too tight and in the morning it's pretty much dry, has lift, good waves, some ringlets and of course, no frizz. All I have to do to it is finger comb it after I let down the pineapple.

Speak to me of this "half and half" and "pineapple" ... I can get a visual of the pineapple but what do you use to secure it for bed?

[Suze2012]

I do the same in summer as in winter.

II walk to work with very wet hair.

I scrunch some of the wetness out straight after my shower, scrunch a little curl creme in and in the winter spritz it with glycerin & rosewater.
I scrunch a little as it dries and have a final scrunch to get any cast from the curl creme out about an hour or so after I start work..by which time it's all pretty much dry.

If it's really cold then I wear a hood while on the way to work..or get up earlier to wash it earlier.

[jeanniet]

I wash in the evening, plop for a few hours, and then put it loose in a silk bonnet for bed. In the morning I just shake and fluff a little, and get great curls. My hair is pretty dry, too. But my hair is 3a, and I'm thinking putting your hair in a bonnet might give you some wonky waves. If you have a bonnet, you could try it on a weekend and see if it works for you.

BTW, Curl Keeper adds to drying time for a lot of people, so that's something to consider if it doesn't do much for you. CK was a big fail for me, lol.

[CurlyCap]

If I want to wear hair down that day, I just put it up in a braided bun on cinnabun first thing in the morning for the commute. The hair needs to be damp and with some leave-in or oil before I put it up. Once I've reached my destination, I take my hair down, shake it up a bit, and I have nice waves for the day.
Keeping it contained at night and during morning commute minimizes frizz for me.

Yup yup.

Bun it damp before bed with leave-in. Wake up, shake it out, get on with your day. It's the only way I look like a grown up for work.

[lapushka]

We use a diffuser. Wrap hair in a turbie towel after washing, for about 15 minutes. It will get the most wetness out, leaving your hair nice and damp. Then my hair's usually air dried for about an hour to two hours, then diffused just 5 (yes 5) minutes. And voilà, it's dry.

[kitschy]

I just put my hair in a turban for about 20 minutes, take it down and clip the roots while it dries. I do my thing at home for about 1 hour, then I commute for 1/2 hour. By the time I get to work, I take out the clips and my hair is mostly dry. The hardest thing about keeping nice curls is keeping my danged hands out of my hair.

[endlessly]

My hair is very loosely waved (tighter in some areas, though) and what works best for me if I want to showcase the natural texture is to loosely braid the night before when my hair is damp after washing. In the morning, it's normally dry enough that I can wear it loose, but since I also public transportation, I have a tendency of keeping it braided (I feel it protects it better) and then just loosening it when I get to my destination.

[melesine]

In winter I make a point to make sure my hair is clean the night before. I try and avoid morning hair washing unless I'm not going anywhere for hours.

[DweamGoiL]

Speak to me of this "half and half" and "pineapple" ... I can get a visual of the pineapple but what do you use to secure it for bed?

for the half and half, I basically take a claw clip and take the top half of my hair (the hair around the crown) and pull it up until when I tie it in the back the roots are lifted at the front so while it dries, it doesn't dry flat. I place the claw clip closer to the top of my head rather than the back of my head so that the hair is lifted. This is a good example:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/181692166186576599/

Here is information on the pineapple:

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/home/how-to-pineapple-your-hair

Since I have fine hair, if I bun my hair wet, the length does look nice in the morning, but the top of my head will be completely flat. To add volume, I use one of the methods I described above.