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View Full Version : Blow drying or diffusing or NO!



lapushka
November 4th, 2017, 07:35 AM
What do you do, and what is your routine like when it comes to drying your hair?

I do a bit of 3 things. I toweldry. I airdry. I diffuse. I do this weekly, on wash day.

I try to minimize my diffusing time by as much as possible, so I toweldry for 30 min. and I let my hair airdry for 2 to 4H. By then I only need to use the diffuser for about 5 min., which is ideal for me. I use the diffuser on warm/cool.

I like for my hair to be relatively dry within a reasonable time (so within half a day to a day). I also need to be careful not to leave it wet for too long (SD, aka seborrheic dermatitis).


The general motto when blowdrying is: as long as you can hold your hand (or a more sensitive part of you) in the airstream for a long time (some blowdryers heat up with use) without it burning, then the temperature is OK for your hair, and *safe*, perfectly safe.

So... what do you do on wash day?

ReptilianFeline
November 4th, 2017, 09:36 AM
I have just started using my blowdryer with diffuser and even if the hair gets a bit fly-away with the drying I like the fact that it isn't wet for two days.
The low setting feels safe. It's an old blowdryer but still working fine.
There are still some strands that are wet when I'm done, but at least my scalp isn't wet.

lapushka
November 4th, 2017, 09:52 AM
I have just started using my blowdryer with diffuser and even if the hair gets a bit fly-away with the drying I like the fact that it isn't wet for two days.
The low setting feels safe. It's an old blowdryer but still working fine.
There are still some strands that are wet when I'm done, but at least my scalp isn't wet.

I have that as well. My ends (because well, it's TBL) will still be slightly damp, but at least my roots are dry!

pandabarrier
November 4th, 2017, 09:56 AM
That’s a great theme for a thread!
On wash day (once a week) I toweldry for ~1 hour. I change the first microfiber turban that gets drenched within minutes, and put a second dry one. Because my ends are tapered I fold them and they fit in the turban.
Then when the hair is somewhat drier I headbang and let it air dry for 1 hour. I pat dry with a microfiber towel the spots that are still wet. Finger detangle when hair is drier.
Then I use a low heat hair dryer, held from arm’s length, to primarily dry the scalp. My hairline and hair on the nape is already dry, but the hair on the crown takes long time to dry and is still damp so I lift the hair roots and make sure I don’t leave wet spots on the scalp (my scalp gets angry if left wet). I finish with cold air mode.
I do scalp washes every other day, so I repeat the above, it just takes less time.

Chromis
November 4th, 2017, 09:57 AM
The only thing our blowdryer ever gets used for is occasionally defrosting the freezer. It came with the house. It lives in the pantry, not the washroom. Aside from damage, the tangling would be unbearable on my hairtype.

I put my hair up in a microfibre turbie towel for a bit and then let it down once it isn't dripping. If I need to go out while it is still wet I gently smooth the top and put it up with a glass stick, then I let it back down again to finish later. I do like to sit a bit closer to the heating vents in the winter, but not right on top of them.

TatsuOni
November 4th, 2017, 09:58 AM
I towel dry, then I leave my microfiber towel on for around 15 minutes. Then I either air dry it for six hours, while separating the strand every once in a while, or sit in front of the fan for a while and air dry the rest. I own a hair dryer and use it to dry clothes or other stuff maybe once a year. It's never getting close to my hair!

lithostoic
November 4th, 2017, 10:16 AM
I don't own a hairdryer. I always air dry.

*Wednesday*
November 4th, 2017, 10:18 AM
I wash twice weekly, towel dry and let the rest air dry both times. Since doing the not cut challenges, haven't touched the blow dryer in almost a year to avoid temptations.

wo
November 4th, 2017, 10:18 AM
I scrunch with a t-shirt which helps curls form plus gets a lot of the water out. Then air dry and it only takes 1.5 - 2 hours. I never knew hair could take hours and hours to air dry until reading around here. Now i wonder why mine is so fast. Whether it's chin length or now past bsl, it's been the same amount of time.

Robi-Bird
November 4th, 2017, 10:33 AM
My hair goes up into a towel, or tshirts, stays that way for a half hour to so and then it goes into a loose bun or into a braid. Since I wash at night, it has to go up. And I am not getting up early enough to wash in the morning.

reilly0167
November 4th, 2017, 11:29 AM
I plop for good while, then i diffuse on warm. I like the umph the diffuser gives my curls. In summer, i like using the fan.

Joyful Mystery
November 4th, 2017, 12:53 PM
I use a microfiber towel or a t-shirt and then I air dry.

Jo Ann
November 4th, 2017, 01:02 PM
I wrap my hair in a towel for a few minutes, LOC, then let it air dry.

There is a blowdryer here in the Happy Hacienda...somewhere...I think... :confused:

katydid317
November 4th, 2017, 01:10 PM
I squeeze as much water out of my length as possible and then towel turban for a few minutes. I wash my hair almost every day so some days I do blow dry a little, not until it's completely dry, just enough to speed up drying if I need to get to work and don't have hours to wait for my hair to dry. I try to wash at night mostly so I don't have to resort to blowdrying.

ReptilianFeline
November 4th, 2017, 01:38 PM
To be honest, I usually just put my hair in a towel turban and then let it down to air dry, but now that I'm trying to wash my hair with indian herbs and chickpea flour, and winter is comming, I thought I'd try the blowdryer again. I pretty much plop with the diffuser and push it against my scalp. I hope my health issues can be resolved soon so my hair can get back to its proper fullness and then we'll see what I do. I don't like to wear my hair down at wor, because it might get caught in one of the mashines, but the lenght is fine for it not to fall into my face anymore, so keeping it loose to dry is fine... just not when you need to go to bed and then get up to a freezing morning commute.

Deborah
November 4th, 2017, 02:23 PM
Turbie towel then air dry. I NEVER use any heat or moving air.

lapushka
November 4th, 2017, 02:33 PM
Very interesting to read all the responses so far; keep 'em coming!

I never thought hair could be dry so fast, wo.

My mom's hair takes a few hours tops if left alone but she has i/ii hair and is a 1b/c in texture, but with curlers in, it takes her an evening if she washes around 2-4 in the afternoon.

Reyn127
November 4th, 2017, 03:13 PM
Usually when I wash my hair, I just squeeze as much water out with a regular towel, and then let it air dry. I often squeeze more water out of the ends too, and my hair takes about 5 hours to dry normally. I've blowdried it a few times in the past, and it was mostly fine but makes my hair a bit frizzy.

I think I might give a t-shirt a try, as a few people have mentioned that and it's something I already have.

2gaits
November 4th, 2017, 03:14 PM
Currently I am washing every other day and blow drying. I have to be at work early so air drying isn't an option. I do leave it wrapped in a towel drying for about 30 minutes before the blow dryer. On weekends I try to let it air dry more or maybe just blow dry the roots. Just had it colored and my stylist barely dusted the ends. She said it is in good shape as I am growing it out.

melesine
November 4th, 2017, 03:22 PM
I used to just air dry but got sick of the 8+ hour drying time and having the schedule washing my hair for when I had time to let it air dry in winter. So I diffuse or blow dry now. I use a microfiber towel to wrap my hair before drying. I only use no heat or the lowest heat setting.

marvel-lover
November 4th, 2017, 03:31 PM
I'll towel dry for around 30 minutes with a nice microfiber hair towel. Then I'll detangle gently, putting leave-in conditioner and a silicone in my hair. I'll air dry it for about 4 hours or so, or as long as I can. Some days, depending on the weather, I'll take a walk to allow the wind to gently dry my hair. If I have somewhere to be, or if it's bed time, I'll use a hair dryer on cool and finish drying my hair that way. I don't like sleeping with wet hair.

rmani
November 4th, 2017, 03:53 PM
I wash 2-3 times a week. Right after washing it goes up in a t-shirt until I am done my out of shower stuff (moisturize skin, dressed, etc...). Then I apply my hair oils which stop the active dripping. I bobby pin the sides out of the way so I can go about my stuff (usually I was right before house cleaning so I am not tempted to touch my wet hair or fret in front of the mirror over it).

Same as Chromis - the tangling is unbearable with either diffusing or blowdrying. With air drying my hair absorbs more moisture and resists frizz better. No leave-ins really make a difference.

lapushka
November 4th, 2017, 03:59 PM
I used to just air dry but got sick of the 8+ hour drying time and having the schedule washing my hair for when I had time to let it air dry in winter. So I diffuse or blow dry now. I use a microfiber towel to wrap my hair before drying. I only use no heat or the lowest heat setting.

8+H here for me too! It's a little *too* much for me. Also on warm/cool for me, cooler in the summertime, warmer in the winter.


I'll towel dry for around 30 minutes with a nice microfiber hair towel. Then I'll detangle gently, putting leave-in conditioner and a silicone in my hair. I'll air dry it for about 4 hours or so, or as long as I can. Some days, depending on the weather, I'll take a walk to allow the wind to gently dry my hair. If I have somewhere to be, or if it's bed time, I'll use a hair dryer on cool and finish drying my hair that way. I don't like sleeping with wet hair.

I do my LOC/LCO method after it comes out of the towel (30min.) and I run the WT comb through once before styling, and then I let it airdry for its regular time (2-4H), then 5 min. of diffusing. My hair is not completely dry by that time, just the ends are a little dampish, but the roots at least are dry.

Kiiruna
November 4th, 2017, 06:37 PM
I towel dry it for a few minutes and then leave it to air dry. It takes 2-4 hours, not quite sure. Blow drying makes my hair frizzy.

Five of Five
November 5th, 2017, 01:15 AM
I squeeze it, then blot it with a towel. Then I wait 1 - 4 hours (depending on how much time I have) and blow dry the rest.

Oddly enough, my ends seem to dry really quickly, but my scalp down to around BSL takes many hours to dry.

leayellena
November 5th, 2017, 01:33 AM
NO!
I gave up blow drying (aka blow frying) altogether for 5 years and a half and still counting (last blow drying: winter 2013) and I came from 6 cm pony circ. back when I was just venting on lhc without an account, to 8,5 cm measured this week!
dI don't use diffuser because it would require:
a) buying a blow dryer
b) and a diffuser
c) have curly hair! grr!
d) 15 mins. of workout for damn curls?! what am I - slave for my hair?
e) heat styling that I gave up altogether in order to have healthy super long hair :P

Cg
November 5th, 2017, 11:15 AM
I wrap inverted first in Turbie Twist #1 for a minute, followed by TT#2 for another minute, then a microfiber towel for 5 minutes. Longer than that will mash my already flat hair irrevocably. I clip it all on top so the ends will start drying, then gradually divide sections to hang, starting at the nape. Between each successive sectioning I blow the scalp warm then cool for a minute or so. By the time it's all loose, much of the scalp is just damp.

All that clipping and slow release is to attain what little volume I'm ever going to have. Other 1as will understand.

lapushka
November 5th, 2017, 12:31 PM
I wrap inverted first in Turbie Twist #1 for a minute, followed by TT#2 for another minute, then a microfiber towel for 5 minutes. Longer than that will mash my already flat hair irrevocably. I clip it all on top so the ends will start drying, then gradually divide sections to hang, starting at the nape. Between each successive sectioning I blow the scalp warm then cool for a minute or so. By the time it's all loose, much of the scalp is just damp.

All that clipping and slow release is to attain what little volume I'm ever going to have. Other 1as will understand.

It sounds a little complicated, yes, but if it's worth it to get a nice bit of volume at TBL (hard to do), and then for a 1a, then WOW!

Stray_mind
November 5th, 2017, 01:32 PM
I dry it off with a towel and air dry for about 2-3 hours. If i don't have that much time, i blow dry on low heat setting.

Cg
November 5th, 2017, 04:50 PM
It sounds a little complicated, yes, but if it's worth it to get a nice bit of volume at TBL (hard to do), and then for a 1a, then WOW!

More time-consuming than complicated, and my alleged volume lasts only for the first day. Still, it's worth the effort because that one day I can delude myself into believing it looks nice to others as well as to me. Please, no rebuttals.

lucid
November 5th, 2017, 06:42 PM
I wrap inverted first in Turbie Twist #1 for a minute, followed by TT#2 for another minute, then a microfiber towel for 5 minutes. Longer than that will mash my already flat hair irrevocably. I clip it all on top so the ends will start drying, then gradually divide sections to hang, starting at the nape. Between each successive sectioning I blow the scalp warm then cool for a minute or so. By the time it's all loose, much of the scalp is just damp.

All that clipping and slow release is to attain what little volume I'm ever going to have. Other 1as will understand.

I will give this method a try!

I usually towel dry for 10-30 minutes, turban style, and than just let it air dry all hanging down. It doesn't take long for it to fully dry. My lengths dries very fast, and the back of the head/nape takes the longest.

I have started blow drying lately when i have time, on cold or medium heat, focusing on my scalp/close to the scalp. My scalp likes it, and is much less irritated.

lapushka
November 6th, 2017, 04:44 AM
Heck I clip my hair up with claw clips to get some volume into it, and to get it out of my way (I admit as much). It works well. I first tried duckbill clips, but my hair would get caught in those (I have the tiny ones). So the claw clips worked out. I put one on each side of my head and clip the length up with a bigger one, that's how I airdry for 2 to 4H.

ReptilianFeline
November 6th, 2017, 05:01 AM
I worry about putting my hair in a bun and then find that the hair is still damp in the bun after a full day's work. My hair looks its best when it has air dryed with a bit of gentle manipulation close to the scalp. The hair is more frizzy and flyaway after the blow dryer, but for now... I'll do it like that for a while, see what happens. Damp bun hair seems like a bad thing. I don't want to detangle until it's dry.

Salwety
November 6th, 2017, 05:44 AM
I air dry all the time. I use a t-shirt to soak in most of the water. Even if I don't have the time to air dry after washing my hair, I will put it in a bun till I return home and then air dry it.

NightSister
November 6th, 2017, 10:21 AM
Microfiber towel-dry for a few minutes, LOC, and clip my lip-length+ bangs back into the length so they don't dry awkwardly. I let it air dry. When mostly dry to touch, I finger de-tangle and braid to tame frizzies and form some nice waves.

Synester
November 6th, 2017, 12:59 PM
I wash every 2-3 days. wrap my hair in a soft old tshirt and let it soak up enough water, then let it down and detangle it and let it dry majority of the way then blow dry it to look smooth and sleek how i like it. I have super fine i/ii hair 1c/2a hair with straight bangs and 2 cowlicks , if i dont style my bangs damp they will NOT agree with me and split apart and look terrible. And i love my bangs so much so i heat abuse them alittle bit more than the rest of my hair..but they grow out so fast and i trim them constantly so the damage is never that bad

I would love to say NO to heat, but it just helps make my hair slightly more manageable. Try and be gentle and not use too high of a heat and you should be okay.

Dark40
November 6th, 2017, 04:40 PM
I wash my hair 3 times a week or everyday, and I always let my hair air-dry up to 6 yours. Or, let my hair air-dry up to 100% dry. Then, I blow-dry it straight to get all of my curls out for only 5 minutes, and that's it.

Dark40
November 6th, 2017, 04:41 PM
I wash every 2-3 days. wrap my hair in a soft old tshirt and let it soak up enough water, then let it down and detangle it and let it dry majority of the way then blow dry it to look smooth and sleek how i like it. I have super fine i/ii hair 1c/2a hair with straight bangs and 2 cowlicks , if i dont style my bangs damp they will NOT agree with me and split apart and look terrible. And i love my bangs so much so i heat abuse them alittle bit more than the rest of my hair..but they grow out so fast and i trim them constantly so the damage is never that bad

I would love to say NO to heat, but it just helps make my hair slightly more manageable. Try and be gentle and not use too high of a heat and you should be okay.

Since I use heat on a regular basis I make sure that I always use a heat protectant.

Kae612
November 6th, 2017, 04:55 PM
Interesting, I find that blow drying really irritates my scalp! I have flakes, and if I blow dry they're back the next day... That said I've done it when it's cold in the winter or I absolutely needed to wash my hair before something and I couldn't do it (or didn't feel up to it) the night before. My hair feels a little crunchy if I do, too. Even with a medium or low setting. Maybe it's the drier idk I just grabbed an "ionic" one off Amazon that had a low and medium setting, some just had on/off and I wanted that lower temp.

Garnetgem
November 6th, 2017, 05:14 PM
I haven't used my hair dryer for 21 years come next month...i wrap in a towel then when it gets wet i swap to a second thinner towel then finally a turbie towel..after all that its still mildly damp so i let it air dry..

i will hang onto my hair dryer though just in case! oh and i do own a diffuser but its still sealed in its original box since over 20 years never used it..

mira-chan
November 6th, 2017, 05:41 PM
I towel try with a microfiber towel for about 15 min then air dry the rest of the way. I wash once a week.

I used a hair dryer a couple of times about a month ago due to some scalp anger at product changes. Haven't used one before or since.

Synester
November 6th, 2017, 06:17 PM
ive yet to find a "favorite" heat protectant that doesnt weigh my hair down or make it oily. still searching lol. but yes heat protectant is important.

Rushli
November 6th, 2017, 09:49 PM
I squeeze it out and then plop in a t shirt. Sometime before I head to be (30 min to 2 hours later) I plop with a new and dry t shirt. Previously I just left it in a bun and it completely dried within a couples days. This summer I started air drying it the next day.

I use to use a bowl diffuser to get my hair to wavy. I loved using it to help give my roots volume too. Then I burned chunks off and was scared of it. (it was my moms and all user error) I have thought off and on about getting a new one as my blow dryer is 10+ years old and not very strong. I really want to find one that I can flip a switch, not push a button, for cool air mode. It is just really low on my priority list.

alimc
November 7th, 2017, 05:22 AM
I tend to use a dryer in winter when our temperatures drop close to, then below zero. Its just too cold to have wet hair!
I towel dry for about 10 minutes (longer if im not rushing to work) then dry on a gentle heat till its about 90% dry so it can go under a hat.

lapushka
November 7th, 2017, 06:31 AM
I just found 2 heat protectant sprays in my cupboard, one from Kruidvat (local store) and one from L'Oréal. I think I might save them for when I need to use my straightener or curling iron (you *never* know when that might come in handy). I'd rather not waist them on blow drying / diffusing, as I always do that on warm / cool and have never had damage from it.

BookishRay
November 7th, 2017, 04:17 PM
I generally wrap my hair in a t-shirt or towel (usually the old ones that the nap has worn off of) anywhere from 5-30 minutes depending on what I'm doing and how much time I have. Then I let it air dry because I'm too lazy to blow dry. I will blow dry my scalp if I have to wash in the mornings in the winter and my hair usually looks better when I blow dry it.

I must admit to being slightly jealous of ladies and gents with "quick dry" hair. My hair take half a day to dry if it is loose. If it is bunned or braided, it's not likely to dry until I take it down.

Stub
November 7th, 2017, 05:02 PM
I work in the kitchen at a restaurant, nights. There is NO WAY I am going to bed with greasy, smelly hair from work (even though I wear a ball cap and bun my braid while at work, it still gets smelly) so, I wash at night in the shower, towel-turban for 10-15 minutes, head bang for a few seconds, then go to bed with wet hair. It's a bit harder in winter since I keep my house at 60F (brrr!) but it's dry by morning. I am lucky to have 'quick dry' hair. If i can mange to shower an hour before bedtime it will be almost completely dry before bed.