Blow dryers and damage

[Stepo_NiNha]

Hi,

I'll soon change place and I'm going to live with DH, planning to have children, etc.

I'll have absolutely NO TIME to arrive at home to take a shower and wash my hair (I'll still have work to do at home), so I'm planning to have a shower and wash my hair early in the morning, which means, not leaving my hair air drying, especially in cold winters. I wash my hair every other day and I cannot stretch washes. Now it's really warm so it's not a problem but in some months I'll have to return to a very old friend that I haven't seen for ages: the blow dryer.

I just purchased a new blow dryer, it's a Philips hp8232 that has warm, lukewarm, thermo protect temperature and I guess it has a shot button for cold temperature. I've read in the box that it also has the cationic technology that is supposed to give extra shine, though i didn't check all the several options carefully (I just bought it 2 hours ago).

I know in LHC many of us just leave the hair alone air drying and that's it but many of the LHC members can stretch washes which is an awesome thing but it's not for me. I've checked several threads here about blow dryers but most of the users say that blow dryers won't affect your hair if they are used occasionally :/. I'll really need to use the blow dryer for some minutes (maybe 10 min in warm temperature? 20 min in a mild temperature? not sure yet) 3 or 4 times a week.

Any of you guys wash your hair every other day and use blow dryers this often as well?

Do you notice any difference regarding breakage or dryness in long term? I don't want to apply heat protectors because I have a bad experience with them, they all weigh my hair down so much that I need to shampoo my hair three times in the next day. That's a common problem to fineys like me :/.

Any response will be appreciated thanks

[Nique1202]

As long as you keep it cool enough that you can keep your hand in the air stream without hurting it, there won't be enough heat to cause the kind of dryness or heat damage you're worried about. The main source of damage then will be the added manipulation of combing or brushing to keep the hair in the air stream. Now, on some hair, that could add up pretty quickly, but it might not. You won't know until you try, because nobody else's hair is EXACTLY like yours so there's not always a good way to predict how anyone's hair will react to anything.

If you're really worried, you could try making your hair into a bun or braid while it's still damp after towel drying it, and see if that suits your daily routine and style. Yes, it will take longer to dry that way, but it won't be loose and visibly wet when you're going about your day. It'll probably just look like you've got a little gel or something in it, to anyone who doesn't already know. Even when the temperature outside drops below freezing, if you wear a thick hat that covers your whole bun, or if you tuck your braid up under your hat next to your head, the hair shouldn't freeze because the body heat inside the hat will keep it warmer.

[Mademoiselle]

I do notice less smooth and hydrated hair when I use the hair dryer even with cold air, my hair is thick and in my personal experience the hair dryer affects my hair =( but if you use cold air try to protect your tips with a protective serum if you like, to me is the only thing that helps when I have to use dryer, even so dry my hair.

[Horrorpops]

I think quite a few members use a blow-drier more than occasionally. Lapushka immediately comes to mind for me. From memory she has to wash her hair quite frequently (every day or every other day?) and uses a blow drier after the wash as required and it doesn't seem to have done her mane any harm - and she is a fellow 'Fine-y'. Hopefully she can chime in and give the full story though! :o This is just what I recall from previous threads regarding blow-drying.

Personally I suspect that if you follow Nique's suggestions, you should be ok to blow-dry for the required 10-20min without harm. :o

Temperature is key! Normally I find I can blow dry comfortably on the low or medium setting on my drier so I imagine the lukewarm setting for you will be quite on the money :) Fortunately where I currently live is generally pretty warm and dry so I haven't needed to blow-dry yet this winter but who knows :o

Hope this was helpful!

[JustPam]

I think blow drying is much like brushing, has the potential to be damaging if you don't do it properly. I wash 3x a week and will blow dry more often than not, sice I wash at night and can't sleep with damp hair. I find the best way is to use low heat, high speed, and small (pencil thickness) sections of hair, each section only takes a minute to dry, and I usually do 8. I detangle before drying but you do you, my hair is just more hellish if it dries tangly. As for dryness, as long as you don't overdo it you'll be fine, but if you're worried then a bit of light leave in oil every now and then should be enough to counter any dryness.

[vampyyri]

I'm in the same boat considering blow-drying... lapushka comes to mind immediately for me as well, as she blow dries when her hair is most of the way dry with a diffuser.

[lapushka]

You *can* absolutely use a blowdryer. If you use it properly.

The rules are, if you can hold your hand in the airstream (for a LONG time) without it burning - because some blowdryers heat up after a while - then it's perfectly fine to use on your hair.

I diffuse weekly for about 5 min. after toweldrying for 30-45 min. and after airdrying for 2-4H, and my hair is just fine at classic length. And I have been using the blowdryer since chin length!

You can't use the hottest / hot setting, though because that will make an enemy out of a good tool!

ETA: I'm a weekly washer. Used to need to wash 2/3 times a week, but was able to stretch with gaining length and all. Maybe my hair got less oily - who knows (but I don't think so, it still gets oily within the week).

[triumphator!]

My hair is virtually indestructable, so I blow dried my hair twice a week on wash day, on my entire growth journey from shoulder to TBL. [Holds flashlight under chin and uses spooky voice] AND THEN I STRAIGHTENED IT WITH A FLAT IRON!! *thunder* *lightening* Muahahahahhaha!!

For real though, if you follow Nique and JustPam's advice and you should minimize breakage and wear-out. Protein treatments may be a big help too.

[Stepo_NiNha]

Thank you guys for all the tips! My hair is very delicate, hence all the questions I'm asking :bow:

Nique1202 and Horrorpops
I'll definitely try out the hand touching the blow dryer for some seconds and as long as I feel comfortable with the temperature in my hand without hurting it, then I'll keep with that setting; even if I have to spend some minutes more blow drying. I won't brush or comb my hair while blow drying it to avoid mechanical damage. Thanks!

Mademoiselle
I already have a split end serum that is awesome! I'll put it first before blow drying my hair, thanks for the tip!

JustPam
I'll also try the sections method though I feel I won't have enough time for it. But high speed will probably dry the hair faster which could be a good thing in order to compensate the low heat that takes ages to blow dry the hair, thank you, I didn't think about it :)

vampyyri
Yeah, and now I'm more sure that the blow dryer will be a friend to make life easier :D

lapushka
Thanks, Lapushka, I though about you when I wrote this thread but I also had the idea you were a weekly hair washer!
The rules are, if you can hold your hand in the airstream (for a LONG time) without it burning - because some blowdryers heat up after a while - then it's perfectly fine to use on your hair. I'll consider it the main rule, yeah. In my case, I can't stretch washes even with growth :( My hair loves shampoo in the scalp and conditioner in the lengths :)

triumphator!
Yeah, I'll keep the protein treatments! I alternate a moisturizing mask with a protein mask every week (I do deep conditioning treatments every week). I was thinking about giving up the protein treatment or use it less often because my ends were not responding so well right now but blow drying will probably require more protein treatments and I'll keep with them and check how my hair reacts to it.

Anyway, thank you, it was really helpful! :)

[turtlelover]

I get damage from a blowdryer, but it probably isn't enough to be significant unless I were growing to extreme lengths. I think it depends what your goals are. If you are aiming for super, super long, it might not be a good idea but I think for anything tailbone and above, most people could sometimes use a dryer on a lower setting and be OK, though I think it depends on your hair texture.

[Anje]

I don't use mine consistently, because I'm usually not motivated to spend a bunch of time standing around drying it. Braiding it damp and undoing it later usually appeals more, if I can't leave it loose, and my hair can be mostly dry in around an hour anyway. But if I blow-dry, I typically do it on warm (not cold and not hot), high speed, with the ionic thing on. If I do this after my hair has been in a towel for 5-10 minutes, I can blowdry for another 5-10 and have it pretty close to dry. Dry enough to put up, anyway. I usually stop before my hair is completely dry, because I don't want to overdo it. Based on reviews of the model I use, overdrying can be an issue with these ionic dryers, and who really wants to spend the additional time doing that anyway?

ETA: Here, this is the thing I bought. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000065DJY/) Works well enough for me, though the writing on it wiped right off with oiled hands. XD I got it because it had separate speed and heat settings, but I'm finding that it's really quick too.

[lapushka]

The only reason I still use my diffuser for 5 min. after airdrying & toweldrying for so long is it doesn't dry in the same day if I don't do that, and I can't do that to my roots (SD needs dry roots in a considerable amount of time).

[Stepo_NiNha]

I don't use mine consistently, because I'm usually not motivated to spend a bunch of time standing around drying it. Braiding it damp and undoing it later usually appeals more, if I can't leave it loose, and my hair can be mostly dry in around an hour anyway. But if I blow-dry, I typically do it on warm (not cold and not hot), high speed, with the ionic thing on. If I do this after my hair has been in a towel for 5-10 minutes, I can blowdry for another 5-10 and have it pretty close to dry. Dry enough to put up, anyway. I usually stop before my hair is completely dry, because I don't want to overdo it. Based on reviews of the model I use, overdrying can be an issue with these ionic dryers, and who really wants to spend the additional time doing that anyway?

ETA: Here, this is the thing I bought. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000065DJY/) Works well enough for me, though the writing on it wiped right off with oiled hands. XD I got it because it had separate speed and heat settings, but I'm finding that it's really quick too.

Sounds like a good stuff. Mine also has the ionic thing and I just tried it now in high speed and lowest temperature. I put it around 10 seconds on my wrist first to feel whether it would start hurting or not and it didnt hurt. I felt it was safe enough for my hair but maybe less moisturized, though Ill probably keep moisturizing often.

[JustPam]

Doing it in sections doesn't take long at all and makes a much more even job. When I don't section then the top gets too dry and frizzy while I'm trying to get through to the middle and under layers, also get more tangles trying to dry it all in a oner.

[Ana H.]

You may find this article encouraging/helpful: http://www.curlynikki.com/2013/07/come-again-natural-hair-damage-from-air.html?m=1

I've seen other beauty websites using the Korean study as an excuse claim that blow drying is healthier than air drying across the board. But this article seems more trustworthy and balanced.

Ultimately, I decided to get a ceramic ionic (blah blah blah) dryer with multiple heat settings including "cool" which blows room temperature air.

(I didn't read the entire thread so excuse me if this is redundant.)

[Ana H.]

Also, hair is more fragile when wet so it makes sense to me that having it down while you air dry could potentially cause more mechanical damage as well. Depending on what you're doing to pass the time. Everyone is different.

[Stepo_NiNha]

Also, hair is more fragile when wet so it makes sense to me that having it down while you air dry could potentially cause more mechanical damage as well. Depending on what you're doing to pass the time. Everyone is different.

This can be true since wet hair is more fragile than dry hair, meaning that I might be exposing my hair to damage during 5 hours and sometimes its not dry enough to put inside the sleep cap. And the sleep cap is a must for me because I protect my hair for more 8 hours per day.

So yeah, I made my decision and I decided to say yes to blow dryers at a cold/mild temperature :)

[Ana H.]

Yeah, definitely if it take 5 hours to dry! Your hair must be so thick and amazing! Mine takes about 2 but I also decided to go with a cool temperature blow dryer. :)

[Decoy24601]

I personally find blow drying to be much more damaging to my hair than just letting it air-dry. Unless my hair has a lot of product buildup, I don't mind letting it dry for 3-5 hours. Even sitting in front of a fan seems to dry it out a bit. I don't detangle my hair when it's wet, so I don't see why air drying it would really cause any more damage. Yes, it's more fragile when wet, but if I have it draped across my torso while I sit in front of the computer playing video games, it's not going to get damaged. I don't wash my hair with water everyday anymore, so exposing it to too much moisture really isn't much of an issue for me. I also oil my hair before I wash it, which prevents it from swelling too much.

My current routine is letting it sit in front of a fan for maybe 30 minutes to partially dry and then just letting it air dry. I don't go to bed with my hair fully wet, because then it will still be wet when I wake up. Sometimes I go to bed with it slightly damp. I personally don't have any issues with this routine and the only reason that I'm considering buying a blow dryer is for circumstances where I need to dry my hair fast, but still use the cool setting.

[vampyyri]

I don't use mine consistently, because I'm usually not motivated to spend a bunch of time standing around drying it. Braiding it damp and undoing it later usually appeals more, if I can't leave it loose, and my hair can be mostly dry in around an hour anyway. But if I blow-dry, I typically do it on warm (not cold and not hot), high speed, with the ionic thing on. If I do this after my hair has been in a towel for 5-10 minutes, I can blowdry for another 5-10 and have it pretty close to dry. Dry enough to put up, anyway. I usually stop before my hair is completely dry, because I don't want to overdo it. Based on reviews of the model I use, overdrying can be an issue with these ionic dryers, and who really wants to spend the additional time doing that anyway?

ETA: Here, this is the thing I bought. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000065DJY/) Works well enough for me, though the writing on it wiped right off with oiled hands. XD I got it because it had separate speed and heat settings, but I'm finding that it's really quick too.

I'm looking at this guy (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0027SU9JU/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER), which is basically the same dryer with a "turbo" button. I'm very close to caving and getting it, because it takes a good 4 hours for my hair to dry completely.

[Ana H.]

I personally find blow drying to be much more damaging to my hair than just letting it air-dry. Unless my hair has a lot of product buildup, I don't mind letting it dry for 3-5 hours. Even sitting in front of a fan seems to dry it out a bit. I don't detangle my hair when it's wet, so I don't see why air drying it would really cause any more damage. Yes, it's more fragile when wet, but if I have it draped across my torso while I sit in front of the computer playing video games, it's not going to get damaged. I don't wash my hair with water everyday anymore, so exposing it to too much moisture really isn't much of an issue for me. I also oil my hair before I wash it, which prevents it from swelling too much.

My current routine is letting it sit in front of a fan for maybe 30 minutes to partially dry and then just letting it air dry. I don't go to bed with my hair fully wet, because then it will still be wet when I wake up. Sometimes I go to bed with it slightly damp. I personally don't have any issues with this routine and the only reason that I'm considering buying a blow dryer is for circumstances where I need to dry my hair fast, but still use the cool setting.

I think the reason people say that is because of a Korean study which showed that high temp blow drying was more damaging to the cuticle (obviously!) but surprisingly air drying was more damaging to the Cell Membrane Complex “the sandwich-y layer of proteins, lipids, and covalently bonded fatty acids that is the “glue” that binds cuticles together.” (http://www.curlynikki.com/2013/07/come-again-natural-hair-damage-from-air.html?m=1). I believe the conclusion of the study was that low temperature drying at the proper distance was the least damaging option. The mechanical damage due to more fragile hair was just speculation on my part.

In any case, if air drying works great for your hair, I don’t see any reason to change it. Which it obviously does judging by your amazing hair photo!!! Wow! :bowtome:

[Decoy24601]

I think the reason people say that is because of a Korean study which showed that high temp blow drying was more damaging to the cuticle (obviously!) but surprisingly air drying was more damaging to the Cell Membrane Complex “the sandwich-y layer of proteins, lipids, and covalently bonded fatty acids that is the “glue” that binds cuticles together.” (http://www.curlynikki.com/2013/07/come-again-natural-hair-damage-from-air.html?m=1). I believe the conclusion of the study was that low temperature drying at the proper distance was the least damaging option. The mechanical damage due to more fragile hair was just speculation on my part.

In any case, if air drying works great for your hair, I don’t see any reason to change it. Which it obviously does judging by your amazing hair photo!!! Wow! :bowtome:

Aw, thank you ;). And I do notice if my hair ends up taking way too long to dry, the strands seem to get "gummy", meaning I can stretch the strands and they don't have enough elasticity to return to their normal length. It's why I don't like going to bed with my hair wet. It's a weird balance of trying not to dry out my hair too much and trying to keep it from what I call getting water-logged. Some days I don't get it right and my hair ends up feeling weird (either rough/dry or gummy).

I could imagine how keeping hair wet for too long could end up potentially causing damage to the inner part of the hair. I think oiling your hair regularly would probably help prevent this too, much like how it protects hair from swelling too much when washing it, but I don't know :shrug:. Hair is so fickle.

P.S: I saw that picture you posted in another thread of getting your hair trimmed from TBL (I think that was you?). You have some gorgeous, healthy looking hair! I envy your waves too. My hair isn't naturally vary wavy. For a while when I was a kid it was probably 1c, but now it varies from 1a/1b.

[Ana H.]

I was having that same stretchy hair problem. Anje told me I probably needed a protein treatment and that really helped. That's great that oiling before shampoo helps the hair not to swell as much. I didn’t know that. I’ll have to try it.

Yes, that was me. Thank you. :oI do wish my hair was thicker though. Do you trim your own hemline? It looks great!

[Decoy24601]

I was having that same stretchy hair problem. Anje told me I probably needed a protein treatment and that really helped. That's great that oiling before shampoo helps the hair not to swell as much. I didn’t know that. I’ll have to try it.

Yes, that was me. Thank you. :oI do wish my hair was thicker though. Do you trim your own hemline? It looks great!

Yeah, I've been doing (gelatin) protein treatments once a week. I plan on continuing doing it so often until it starts making my hair feel a little stiff. Speaking of which, I think I'm do for another one soon.

You're welcome. I just started trimming it myself actually. So far I've only done one trim myself and it was only about an inch trim. I'm hoping to grow out my layers and get a fully blunt hemline and once I grow my hair to classic I'm going to try it cut it back to a U shape, but without the layers. It wasn't as hard as I thought, but my first attempt was fairly uneven so I did have to redo it, which is why it ended up being a full inch instead of the 1/4-1/2 of an inch I was planning. My hemline was already uneven because of my layers, so I figured I couldn't make it look much worse :p. I do it out of being too lazy to go down and get it cut, and I'm paranoid about stylists cutting too much off, but if you have a stylist that you trust to only cut what you want to be cut, then I wouldn't worry about that.

[Stepo_NiNha]

Yeah, I've been doing (gelatin) protein treatments once a week. I plan on continuing doing it so often until it starts making my hair feel a little stiff. Speaking of which, I think I'm do for another one soon.

You're welcome. I just started trimming it myself actually. So far I've only done one trim myself and it was only about an inch trim. I'm hoping to grow out my layers and get a fully blunt hemline and once I grow my hair to classic I'm going to try it cut it back to a U shape, but without the layers. It wasn't as hard as I thought, but my first attempt was fairly uneven so I did have to redo it, which is why it ended up being a full inch instead of the 1/4-1/2 of an inch I was planning. My hemline was already uneven because of my layers, so I figured I couldn't make it look much worse :p. I do it out of being too lazy to go down and get it cut, and I'm paranoid about stylists cutting too much off, but if you have a stylist that you trust to only cut what you want to be cut, then I wouldn't worry about that.

You have amazing hair!

[Decoy24601]

Thank you Stepo_NiNha :D.

[Stepo_NiNha]

Yeah, definitely if it take 5 hours to dry! Your hair must be so thick and amazing! Mine takes about 2 but I also decided to go with a cool temperature blow dryer. :)

My hair is not thick at all :) I mean, it has an average thickness according to ponytail measure (8 cm; 3.3'') and it's very fine. Being so fine, my hair looks like i/ii when it's limp or pily. The reason it takes so long to air dry it's because it has low porosity I think :) I have buildup very easily, mainly in winter!

[Upside Down]

I don't really have time to go through the whole thread, but in your situation, I would try SCALP ONLY WASHING.

I do this now all the time and only wet my lenght once a month (or less). Just put your hair in a high and loose ponytail (think - everything between scalp and the hairtie will be washed), and then braid it and put it in a regular simple plastic bag. I use two just for precaution. Then tie the bag off around the hairtie, empty the air from it, and fold it into a "bun" like you are making a roll from pastry. Tie that off with a second hairtie and then wash the scalp - with an applicator bottle and diluted shampoo.

This dries so much faster, does not disrupt the hairstyle of the lenght and even if you use the blowdryer it is on the scalp hair and hot the ends that are already more delicate.

oh and there are other methods out there, this is just mine that I find works really well! Meteor has some nice posts about scalp only washing with many useful links!

[Stepo_NiNha]

I don't really have time to go through the whole thread, but in your situation, I would try SCALP ONLY WASHING.

I do this now all the time and only wet my lenght once a month (or less). Just put your hair in a high and loose ponytail (think - everything between scalp and the hairtie will be washed), and then braid it and put it in a regular simple plastic bag. I use two just for precaution. Then tie the bag off around the hairtie, empty the air from it, and fold it into a "bun" like you are making a roll from pastry. Tie that off with a second hairtie and then wash the scalp - with an applicator bottle and diluted shampoo.

This dries so much faster, does not disrupt the hairstyle of the lenght and even if you use the blowdryer it is on the scalp hair and hot the ends that are already more delicate.

oh and there are other methods out there, this is just mine that I find works really well! Meteor has some nice posts about scalp only washing with many useful links!


Thanks for the tip :)

I already do the scalp only washes during those weeks when my scalp is oilier and I need to shampoo the top of my head...argghmm...everyday. During the other weeks when my scalp is not so oily, I can keep washing my hair every other day. However, I can't do scalp only washes every other day, I really need to shampoo the whole length within 48 hours because my hair easily gets a gummy look in the lengths (I use coney serums in the last third of my hair) and my hair gets crunchy with oils (i.e coconut oil which is the worst for my hair),so I can't replace the coney serum for a natural oil :( - these are those kind of things that work wonders for so many people but don't work any good on my hair :shrug:

[Upside Down]

I use a coney serum on my lenght too.

Maybe try different products?

Another question, do you wear your hair down or up? Perhaps you could consider updos or braids if the washing is about making the lenght look presentable?

Because apart from being damaging, it sounds like so much work to wash and shampoo the whole lenght every other day...

[Stepo_NiNha]

I use a coney serum on my lenght too.

Maybe try different products?

Another question, do you wear your hair down or up? Perhaps you could consider updos or braids if the washing is about making the lenght look presentable?

Because apart from being damaging, it sounds like so much work to wash and shampoo the whole lenght every other day...

It gives some work but I like to wash my hair so I really dont mind. I wear my hair braided, alternating fishscale braids and french/dutch braids because I drive a lot and buns are kinda messy when Im driving. I love the products im already using, ita juat my hair that is really difficult to deal with :)