Hairdryer is the best thing for me?

[Flossiebell]

Hi All

I wondered if anyone else has the same issue as me? I've discovered that my scalp likes my hairdryer. It doesn't like moisture at all. I've avoided heat for 10 years and all through that time I've had constant issues with my scalp. I've tried everything, as my hair is thinning now. Docs are at a loss, have prescribed fungal infection shampoo that has made no difference. I think it's moisture related as I've had less hairloss/burning/itching etc when I stopped using moisturising shampoo. So it seems my head doesn't like moisture at all: oils, conditioners, rain, etc. Bizarre! So because the difference with my scalp is immediate, I'm sticking with my hairdryer. I'm a bit worried about not being able to air dry my hair though. Can I still grow my hair to classic length and have it healthy? It's almost at bsl now. Has anyone else come across this? Or am I just an oddball?

[Nique1202]

If you use a dryer at a low enough temperature that it's comfortable to your hand in the air stream, the heat won't harm your hair either. This shouldn't affect drying time too much and hair dryers with low temperature settings are pretty cheap these days if the one you already have doesn't do it.

If your scalp is unhappy when it's wet for long periods of time, then it's going to produce lower-quality hair, and then you'd have a problem anyway. Use the hair dryer, and see how it goes. If you do run into problems before you're happy with your length, then you can figure out what the problem is at that point.

[PixieP]

My husband is the same, he gets eczema if his scalp is wet too long. Use the dryer on the cold setting, it's what I do, I notice a huge difference from quitting using a warm setting and using the cold setting, my hair is much happier. And you don't need to blowdry the length; I often blow.dry the roots and let the lengths airdry. My hair gets so little volume if I only airdry.

[meteor]

Hmm, could this be seborrheic dermatitis by any chance? :hmm:
Have you tried consistently any anti-fungal shampoos/treatments (e.g. Nizoral 2% or anything with ketoconazole or selenium sulfide or other actives like that...)? If this stuff provides relief, then I'd stick with that rather than use hairdryer on high heat very close to scalp, just to avoid burning the skin or even drying it out too much. On cool setting it's fine, of course. :)

If the problem is that your scalp produces lots of oil, many clarifying shampoos and products for oily scalp contain salicylic acid, and that can be pretty good for naturally oily scalps, as well. And if you are into more natural stuff, some natural drying ingredients are clay, charcoal, henna - they are often used as ingredients in shampoos for oily scalp as well.

And I think you are absolutely right to avoid any moisturizing shampoos, oils, conditioners on scalp :agree: - especially if they are clearly aggravating the situation. I'd stick with very cleansing, clarifying formulas and formulas for oily hair instead.

Here is a pretty good post on products that may be relevant :): http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2015/03/medicated-shampoos-and-conditioners-for.html

[HairPlease]

Great post, meteor. :)

Regarding hair health and dryers... I've seen many people on here who use hair dryers. They're not as bad as direct heat such as flat irons, crimpers, curling wands, and so on. Just beware of the mechanical damage of aggressively using a brush with the dryer or holding the dryer close to the hair on high heat, which can be damaging. Use your dryer's "cool" button (if it has one, I think most do) to your advantage and make sure to avoid burning your scalp and hair.

[lapushka]

Just like Nique already stated, if you can hold your hand in the airstream for a long period of time and it doesn't burn, then it's OK to use on your hair & scalp.

I would also agree with meteor. You have to be consistent with anti-fungals. No using it once and giving up; no you have to use it until it all goes away, and do use as instructed (leaving on for 5 min.).

Also, some people can't use oils or conditioner on their scalp as it makes them shed bucketloads! Do *not* use these things on your scalp if you have SD (seborrheic dermatitis) - the thing you need the anti-fungals for. It only worsens the condition!

[Anje]

My scalp feels "off" if I put my damp hair in a bun or similar and keep it moist for an extended period. I can totally see how someone whose scalp is more sensitive than mine would have issues, especially with slower-drying hair.

Easiest thing is to get a hair dryer with separate adjustments for velocity and temperature, where the heat can be turned off entirely. (This doesn't need to be expensive. This is the one I use. (https://amzn.com/B000065DJY)) Blow dry on the cooler settings, nothing that would make your hand uncomfortable if you stuck it in the airstream for an extended period.

I don't blowdry often, but I have it in my arsenal for when it's needed. I tend to concentrate on drying the roots, as the ends dry themselves pretty quickly without encouragement. If you do that, surely it won't affect your length too much. That said, I know Lapushka blow-dries with a diffuser after her weekly wash, and has pretty classic-length hair.

[lapushka]

I don't blowdry often, but I have it in my arsenal for when it's needed. I tend to concentrate on drying the roots, as the ends dry themselves pretty quickly without encouragement. If you do that, surely it won't affect your length too much. That said, I know Lapushka blow-dries with a diffuser after her weekly wash, and has pretty classic-length hair.

Yep, I weekly diffuse after a towel-dry for 30-45 min., then an airdry for 2-4H and then the diffuser only has to go through for 4/5 min. but I *need* the warmth of the blow dryer on the root area. I can feel it shouldn't go longer than those few hours of airdrying time. Thanks for the compliment Anje. :flower:

[LongCurlyTress]

Yes to hairdrying your hair! I hold my head upside down, with my hair in front of my face.... if that makes sense... and shoot the hairdyer warmish/hot air at my scalp area since I hate a wet scalp and my head gets headcoldy, especially in the winter... Sometimes I use my diffuser and just let the prongs sit on my scalp while I dry that area of my scalp. However, I try to not dry the length as much and just wrap that part into a bun when my scalp has dried... I get an itchy scalp if I don't dry my scalp... especially in the winter... but I don't get itchy scalp if/when I dry my scalp this way. It's not a skin problem... After, I use a dime sized amount of evoo on the length and tips only before damp bunning... This does help with the frizzies, however I still get my curly girl halo of shorter hairs... not much you can do about that except use a BBB brush on the scalp hairs to calm them down after you bun your length. ;)

[Kajzh]

I can't stand damp hair, so I almost always blow dry mine.

Do you know the porosity of your hair?

[animetor7]

I don't blowdry, but I have very fine, tangle and damage-prone hair, so I have to minimize damage as much as possible. Many people are successful using a blow dryer regularly. I would just check for damage regularly and make sure you are moisturizing your lengths enough because even without heat blow dryers can sap moisture due to them increasing the rate of dehydration of water on/in the hair. This can cause damage over time if you aren't moisturizing your ends enough to counteract it. Good luck!! :)

[Flossiebell]

Wow, thanks for the responses everyone. To answer your questions:
1. No I don't have SD.
2. I've used the anti fungal shampoo for weeks and it made no difference.
3. I don't have an oily scalp.

I do have separate settings on my hair dryer so I can use my diffuser to just try and get to my scalp and let the length air dry. I'm so glad it's not just me and I'm glad it's not going to be really bad for my hair, I'd be so gutted and I've been worrying a lot about it 🙂