Don't like how my hair looks when it dries naturally, need advice.

[oceanlove]

I am down to washing my hair only 2-3 times/week and that has not been an easy task. I rely on dry shampoo A LOT, and when my hair looks REALLY gross I dry shampoo and use my curling wand. I know, I know...not good. My question is, how do you guys get past not liking how your hair looks when it is "natural?" Like when you just let it air dry or without using any heat styling products? I just had a bad hair cut a little less than a month ago that involved layers and taking off a significant amount (for me) and now my hair looks SO blah when I just let it air dry so I have been blow drying it because it looks amazing when I do. I'm stuck though because I know it is bad for my hair, I just don't know how to deal with not liking how it looks when it air dries and I have to go out (to work, appointment, anywhere really...) any advice??

[Deborah]

How about putting it up in a pretty bun? The bun itself will look good, and your hair will usually look nicer after being bunned than it does just air dried. At least that is true of my hair.

Good luck with finding a happy solution for your hair!

[oceanlove]

How about putting it up in a pretty bun? The bun itself will look good, and your hair will usually look nicer after being bunned than it does just air dried. At least that is true of my hair.

Good luck with finding a happy solution for your hair!

Thank you :) I think my main issue is before this last haircut, my hair was pretty long and all one length (no layers), so it looked very different than it does now and I was used to wearing it naturally and letting it air dry and I liked how it looked down so I wore it down a lot. I am not used to wearing it up, but perhaps I will start bunning it up while it is wet instead of blow drying to protect its health.

[Dickiebow]

The longer mine gets (including the awful layers I have) the better it looks when air dried. I find that my hair is most frizzy and ugly on washday so I usually wear it up and then I wear it down on day 2. I've stopped heat completely as think the virgin hair and non heat damaged hair will air dry really nicely.

If you prefer to wear down, maybe you could use some aloe vera gel on the length after washing so tame frizz and comb very gently a few times while it dries to smooth out your texture. Finally add a serum or oil lightly when dry to make it smoother and sleek.

[Frankenstein]

I don't really like my natural texture air dried (limp wonky waves), so I usually let it dry in a bun or braid which gives me more uniform waves.

[spidermom]

Blow drying is not so bad and there's even some evidence to suggest that your hair is better off in the long run not hanging around wet for so long. The trick is not to use the hot setting and not pull and stretch with a styling brush. When I blow dry, I section it out and start with the bottom-most section using the warm setting near the scalp and the cool setting near the ends. I use a shower comb to control my hair until it's nearly dry, then I switch to a paddle brush with nice smooth teeth and no balls on the end. Oh, I also use a spritz of heat protection spray on each section, not because I'm using so much heat but because it contributes to the smoothness and shine factors.

[oceanlove]

The longer mine gets (including the awful layers I have) the better it looks when air dried. I find that my hair is most frizzy and ugly on washday so I usually wear it up and then I wear it down on day 2. I've stopped heat completely as think the virgin hair and non heat damaged hair will air dry really nicely.

If you prefer to wear down, maybe you could use some aloe vera gel on the length after washing so tame frizz and comb very gently a few times while it dries to smooth out your texture. Finally add a serum or oil lightly when dry to make it smoother and sleek.

I figure that when mine gets just a little longer (even like an inch or so) it will look better and I will be more comfortable with it. And I totally agree!! My hair also looks much better the day after wash day. I am really trying to stop with heat completely, but it is really hard with the length and layers I have now. I will keep doing my best though. I haven't tried aloe vera in it, thank you for the suggestion! I usually just use an argan oil serum which helps with the frizz a lot. I had to stop using my leave in spray because it was just too heavy for my hair at this point. Thank you for your suggestions!! :D

[oceanlove]

I don't really like my natural texture air dried (limp wonky waves), so I usually let it dry in a bun or braid which gives me more uniform waves.

Braiding it while it is wet is a good idea. I should try that and see how it looks on me. Thank you!!

[oceanlove]

Blow drying is not so bad and there's even some evidence to suggest that your hair is better off in the long run not hanging around wet for so long. The trick is not to use the hot setting and not pull and stretch with a styling brush. When I blow dry, I section it out and start with the bottom-most section using the warm setting near the scalp and the cool setting near the ends. I use a shower comb to control my hair until it's nearly dry, then I switch to a paddle brush with nice smooth teeth and no balls on the end. Oh, I also use a spritz of heat protection spray on each section, not because I'm using so much heat but because it contributes to the smoothness and shine factors.

Yay!! I am happy to hear that. As much as I would LOVE to give up the blowdryer altogether, I just don't think I can at this point (with my length and layers as they are now). I will follow your advice and try the sectioning, comb, paddle brush, and using the heat protection spray as well. Any recommendations for a heat protection spray I should buy? I believe I have used one by Treseme in the past, but perhaps there is a better one out there?

[meteor]

Wet-setting helps, or more appropriately damp-setting. :) Try a few cinnabuns or braids or bun-makers, flexi-rods, foam rollers or any other roller-sets on slightly damp hair and let it dry fully in that shape. Check out beautyklove's heat-free styling channel for more ideas: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4626FAE04F57ED14 :)

[sarahthegemini]

Tbh, once my hair was in a healthy state, I liked the way it looks au natural :shrug: I suppose it depends how you want your hair to look, you could always blow dry or braid etc. I dunno, I've never disliked my natural texture...

[lapushka]

Yay!! I am happy to hear that. As much as I would LOVE to give up the blowdryer altogether, I just don't think I can at this point (with my length and layers as they are now). I will follow your advice and try the sectioning, comb, paddle brush, and using the heat protection spray as well. Any recommendations for a heat protection spray I should buy? I believe I have used one by Treseme in the past, but perhaps there is a better one out there?

I have been diffusing on warm since I was about APL (regular blow drying before that length) and I am currently suffering a *tiiiny* amount of breakage of the last 3/4 inches or so. I lose about 4 to 5 hairs to that a week (less so now with the rinse-out oil method). My hair is classic now. It also might have something to do with how my hair got diffused (leaving the lengths in the warmth for too long). Nowadays the focus is more on the scalp and less the ends. So you win some, you lose some... You have to know what the consequences are, I think. And blow drying needs to happen a specific way not to incur damage.

[AutobotsAttack]

You could use a nice quality leave in, and then try damp bunning, and then when you take your bun down you can have nice smooth bun waves.

[spidermom]

Thing is, when you damp bun, your hair is wet that much longer and being twisted and stretched as well. Not good in the long run, although I'm sure some hair types can handle it. Not mine. I figured out that twisting was damaging my hair years ago, so now I try to stick to braiding and buns that don't require twisting.

I am not a connoisseur of heat protection sprays, I must admit. The one I have currently is Dove brand. I like the scent and it seems to work well enough.

[MsPharaohMoan]

Yea, if it's after a bad hair cut I would recommend trying to ignore it as much as possible. Braid it, put it up and out of the way, and focus on life. Worked for me!

[Llama]

Blow drying isn't that bad for your hair. It's not going to boil your hair, even on the warm setting.
When I was first growing out my hair and trying to stop using heat I had to wear it up. It was too hard for me to wear it down and air dried because it just looked so...crappy/frizzy. But after a few months of wearing it up constantly and not using any heat it started looking a lot healthier and I could wear it down even with just air drying it. Just takes time for your hair to stop needing the hot tools in order to look nice.

[longishhair]

Yay!! I am happy to hear that. As much as I would LOVE to give up the blowdryer altogether, I just don't think I can at this point (with my length and layers as they are now). I will follow your advice and try the sectioning, comb, paddle brush, and using the heat protection spray as well. Any recommendations for a heat protection spray I should buy? I believe I have used one by Treseme in the past, but perhaps there is a better one out there?

Perhaps if it is the layers which make your hair look the way you don't want it to look, how would you feel if you'd cut the layers off and then grow your hair out all in one length? Of course that'd make your hair shorter in the interim, but if the layers bug you too much, perhaps it might be a way to go?

[spotsb4myiz]

My hair in a dripping wet state has the lovely waves. Once it dries, they are gone. If I blow dry it is beautifully straight. I never take the time or the effort and almost always go to bed with wet hair. I guess I'm past really caring how it looks unless I'm going to an event, and even then, I'll bun.
I guess my question is what do you want that your hip length hair isn't doing?

[Horrorpops]

Have you tried different methods for heatless curls and waves? I normally do these twists and things on damp hair before bed and once I wake up - bam! Curls :D

Just like a curling iron it does take some technique to make it all look nice but the learning curve was not too steep for me.

Here is a pic of my hair after doing one such method:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=19424&d=1444957839 ETA: as compared to my normal hair texture when brushed which is in my signature.

The curls stay in for about a day without any hairspray etc on my hair, but would last longer with hairspray or a mousse.

Ive found heatless styling and finding cute braids etc really helpful when I am not loving my hair.

[Dickiebow]

Yay!! I am happy to hear that. As much as I would LOVE to give up the blowdryer altogether, I just don't think I can at this point (with my length and layers as they are now). I will follow your advice and try the sectioning, comb, paddle brush, and using the heat protection spray as well. Any recommendations for a heat protection spray I should buy? I believe I have used one by Treseme in the past, but perhaps there is a better one out there?

I've use Treseme heat protection spray in the past and thought it was quite good. But if you're not using a hot hairdryer and just cool or warm air you probably won't need it. But as spidermom said it can aid shine.

[yahirwaO.o]

Blow drying is totally fine when use on warm set, if it doesnt burn your hand skin then its an ok heat set. That and sleeping in a bun or braid when almost dry, usually gives very lovely hair. Others advices on heatless curls are great, just make sure you find your own right method that allows you to sleep in a comfortable manner.

[dogzdinner]

If you work out how to have nice looking natural hair then please let me know! Ive had mine in a disc bun all night, just let it down and shook my head and Im instantly set for Halloween!(in other words my frizzy hair looks like its made out of cobwebs!:rolleyes:). Braids just leave it less cobwebby and more frizzy.
Maybe its a fine hair thing...or a scruffy bag lady thing!!LOL

[browneyedsusan]

I put it up different every day.
For me, part of the joy of having long hair is to have a creative outlet and twist it up!

I wasn't great at putting it up at first--out of practice from wearing a pixie for a really long time! But, I when I decided to grow, it was necessary to get through the first year of "bad hair" time. I would try a style a few times, and see if it would go. If it didn't, I'd just do something easy, like twist my bangs, and try again the next day. After 2 or 3 days of trying --and probably failing--, I tried to figure out what the trouble was. Did I need more length? More practice? Were my hands awkward and I needed to try a new handhold? (I'm also stubborn as a mule, so that helps!) Now, I can usually drill through and figure out what the problem is, and some styles just don't work for my hair. That's okay! There are plenty that do and look great!

FWIW: I wear my hair down sometimes too. It's pretty straight, but that's okay. :)

Just guessing from your avatar, but these are some of my favorite youtubers for your length:

https://www.youtube.com/user/K8bryan
https://www.youtube.com/user/KoontzFan2
https://www.youtube.com/user/oakoscar100
https://www.youtube.com/user/twistmepretty

[Dickiebow]

oceanlove I've found a nice video on wrapping wet hair to achieve smooth straight hair without heat. I've wrapped my hair before but not quite like this. This looks much easier and effective compared to what I have done in the past. I'm going to try it after my next wash. But minus the advertised products! :magic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CpG0LaYCMg