To blow dry or not to blow dry.

[lapushka]

There's lots of people that still airdry, even though when you use a blowdryer on cool/warm there is no issue with it.

Why do you still airdry then?

I toweldry for 30-45 min., airdry for 2-4H, but then I diffuse-dry for 5 min. to get at least my roots dry. I have SD (seborrheic dermatitis), they need to be dry within a certain amount of time.

There is this mantra for blowdrying that says: if you can hold your hand (or a more sensitive part of you) in the airstream for a long time (some dryers heat up) without it burning, then the temperature is OK for the hair as well.

And you'll be fine.

I have done this all along and from blowdrying I have had 0 damage, no white dots, no splits.

There was a time where I heat styled and then yes I had white dots (half my head), but from blowdrying, I have yet to come across one.

What do you prefer? What's your routine like? Does it include the blowdryer / diffuser, or does it not?

What say you?

[spidermom]

When I air-dry, it's because I want my hair's crazy texture in all its wurly glory. Or I'm being lazy. I blow-dry when I feel like it and want a smoother style.

[sugar&nutmeg]

I air-dry because I have time to do so, and no issues with SD.

Also because I have an older blowdryer which only has two settings. The volume of air is linked to the temperature. Cool and slow, hot and fast. I can't be bothered replacing it. I guess I am that lazy! Also, I don't like the noise of a blowdryer (sensory issues).

After washing (in shower) I wrap my hair in a microfiber towel (turbie) for about 10 minutes max, then use another towel to gently absorb/squeeze out more moisture, detangle, comb, and then let air dry.

It should be noted, I have lightweight, just-closing-in-on-BSL hair which will usually be more-or-less dry in, say, 5 hours (longer in humid weather). Air drying doesn't seem to bother my scalp. One of the (few) advantages of lower-end-of-II hair? If air-drying were problematic, I would upgrade my blowdryer and would certainly dry (at least) my scalp area on cool.

[nycelle]

Nope, I don't blowdry for the most part anymore unless I want to style it, and then I'll use heat.

Using the cool setting doesn't do anything and is completely pointless for me - might as well air dry. It also does cause damage to my hair - no different than being out in the wind.

Over the years I've tried diffusers, but they don't give me enough of a benefit to bother.

[divinedobbie]

I air dry usually, because I have the time to and it's easier to do nothing and let it dry than to have to dig out my blowdryer out of the bathroom drawer, sit there for 10 or 15 minutes while my arm gets sore from waving it around (can't do anything else while I'm tied to an outlet) and then have to re-wrap the cord.

[divinedobbie]

Nope, I don't blowdry for the most part anymore unless I want to style it, and then I'll use heat.

Using the cool setting doesn't do anything and is completely pointless for me - might as well air dry. It also does cause damage to my hair - no different than being out in the wind.

Over the years I've tried diffusers, but they don't give me enough of a benefit to bother.

I also agree with the bolded. Even on the lowest power setting, any kind of blowing around will cause hair to rub together and the potential for tangles and damage.

[school of fish]

I air-dry because my hair and my lifestyle allow it :) My hair dries really quickly from sopping wet - average dry time is about an hour, depending on season and relative humidity - and my work is evening/weekend work, so it's not like I'm running off to an office in the mornings and have to have my hair dry before leaving. If I do have a morning meeting for my kid's school or something like that then I'll blow my hair dry for expediency, but 99% of the time, with my current schedule, it's not necessary - it would just be one more thing to do ;)

My drying routine - I wash daily, which means I dry daily. I squeeze the water out after my morning shower, wrap it in a towel for a few minutes while I moisturize, then shake the excess water out hair-whip style (VERY gently!!!) Then I detangle it with my wide tooth comb, and comb it out lightly a couple more times as it's drying.

For me, allowing air to access the strands is what makes the difference for speedy drying - if I were to leave it wet and contained it would take literally days to dry, but with air circulating amongst the strands it dries in a flash. My hair's weird like that :p

[Aunty Miki]

I don't want the damage of blow drying, even with cool air. So I towel dry, clip it away from my face, let it hang dry and forget about it, no matter where I'm going. I do this on Sundays so it has all day to dry. I gently brush it out with a plastic paddle needle brush in the evening. I've gone into the office on a work day after washing it mid-week, and it looks fine while air drying. It just looks like I applied gel when I didn't. I don't get the aversion to wearing wet hair when going out. I can't be bothered blow drying it for 20 minutes.

[Larki]

I air dry usually, because I have the time to and it's easier to do nothing and let it dry than to have to dig out my blowdryer out of the bathroom drawer, sit there for 10 or 15 minutes while my arm gets sore from waving it around (can't do anything else while I'm tied to an outlet) and then have to re-wrap the cord.
This. I only bother blow drying if I took a shower too late at night and don'twant to go to bed with wet hair. I'm just too lazy. Blow drying on cool doesn't cause my hair to tangle at all, my hair doesn't tangle much at all period, but I just can't be bothered to spend 15 minutes drying it when I could ve doing other things while it dries itself. I work seven days a week and have precious little free time, I won't spend it blow drying my hair.

[unheardletters]

I never blow dry my hair has it is extremely prone to splits and white dots. I’ve tried everything to combat the problem and I haven’t found any solution, even after giving up everything that could be bad for it.
I diffused a couple times, but it was many years ago, for special occasions. I once let a hairstylist blowdry and flat iron my hair and I had to chop my hair to extremely short length because it was very damaged from just one time. I haven’t used any heat since then.

[Aredhel]

I don't blow dry anymore. I just don't feel the need to. My hair dries fairly quickly and I prefer the way it dries naturally. I used to blow dry everyday but I think I'm too lazy to now since I have my air drying routine down pat. :)

[2gaits]

I blow dry almost daily. I don't have time to air dry. I have turned down the heat and that makes a big difference.

[EdG]

It has been decades since I last used a blow dryer. I consider the blow dryer to be "broken by design" because its output is way too hot to be safe for hair.

A safe way to dry long hair is to use an electric fan-heater.

http://www.edgrochowski.com/articles1/heater1.jpg

I sit at least five feet away where the air is only moderately warm. The fan-heater can dry my hair in about 20 minutes. I use it in the winter.
Ed

[Lizzie.torp]

I've diffused before and got pretty cute results but my ends were dry and I worry that it was too warm and I would just be a frizzy mess on cold. I would try blowdrying on cold if I could find a YouTube tutorial on how to do it without ripping a brush through on hot.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I air dry because im cheap and lazy, the results are also better.

[Deborah]

I stopped blow drying after joining this group many years ago, and since then I have NO split ends, and my hair has much less static.

[lapushka]

I stopped blow drying after joining this group many years ago, and since then I have NO split ends, and my hair has much less static.

Hmm. I haven't had static in years. :hmm: I do moisturize well, though! But I still diffuse my hair. Granted, only for about 5 min., but still...

[bparnell75]

I blow dry when I have to wash and then go. I do the top of my hair make a pompadour front and bun the rest of it while still wet. If I am not in a hurry I air dry as I think it is healthier.

[MusicalSpoons]

I airdry overnight. When I get out of the shower, I wrap my hair in a towel and it stays there for 30mins-1hr. Then I let it down for the remainder of the time until I get into bed (anywhere from 30mins-1hr+ ) and drape my hair over the pillow, off the end of my bed. That way my scalp is happy and my hair has some volume.

In the past I very occasionally used a hairdryer if I washed in the day and had to go out, but the tangles were a nightmare and even back then I didn't have the strength to hold the dryer for long enough to actually dry my hair, only to dry it from wet to damp - and that was on hot. It just was not worth the hassle! Now just the thought of having to hold anything up for more than a minute makes my arms complain :lol: I could never hold a blowdryer long enough to have any impact, especially on cool. Plus the thought of all the tangles makes me shudder.

[Caraid♫]

I often blow dry but on a warm setting that doesn't hurt if I hold it near skin
If I let it air dry, the underside is damp for hours (my hair is not even that thick) and I can't stand it!
Straighteners and curling irons were the death of my hair back in the day, but warm blow-drying has never appeared to make a difference so I try not to worry about it too much. My hair feels shinier and just a tiny bit more styled when I blow dry it. Otherwise it dries in an unpredictable pattern (I have not-straight-but-not-wavy 1c hair)

[Cg]

I blow the scalp warm then cool after every weekly wash for [ultra-marginal, ultra-brief] volume; the ends I let air dry.

Sometimes instead I let a hot summer wind blow it all dry. Probably not great for hair, but feels delicious.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I normally wrap my wet hair in a T-shirt fabric towel and leave that on for up to an hour, then blow dry on warm or cold air at low speed and holding the nozzle about 10" away from my hair. I have never owned a diffuser (and am not quite sure what they do, TBH).

I used to always air dry my hair but in recent months have lost the patience required to sit around with wet hair for many hours (just had a winter in France), so now prefer to use the hair dryer and get the drying all over and done with. I have not seen any damage from it.

I just use the dryer on the first two feet of hair, as the ends dry themselves pretty quickly.

[Corvana]

I got a blow dryer and diffuser attachment and idk when I'll ever not use it LOL. I can't use the warm or hot settings because they're basically "hot" and "core of the Earth", but the cool setting still cuts my dry time in frickin half.

[lucid]

I air dry because my hair dries fast, and air drying requires the least amount of work. I only blowdry if it's cold outside and I have to go out before my hair has dried, or if my hair hasn't dried and I'm going to a party or anything like that :p

[lapushka]

I air dry because my hair dries fast, and air drying requires the least amount of work. I only blowdry if it's cold outside and I have to go out before my hair has dried, or if my hair hasn't dried and I'm going to a party or anything like that :p

Gosh, I wish! My hair airdries for 2-4H typically and if I left it alone, 8+H wouldn't cut it. I have to go in after that time (2-4H) and dry it, it only takes 5 min. then because most of the wetness and dampness is out by that time, and the dryer goes through smoothly then.

[AmaryllisRed]

Huh. I had never heard that a cool dryer isn't damaging. But I HATE wind, so blowing cool air at my head doesn't sound fun. I used to LOVE using a hot dryer on my hair. It made it so sleek and shiny. I miss that, but I don't want the heat damage, so I go without. And my dryer may or may not be on the fritz.
I'm a SAHM anyway so I don't usually need my hair to be dry by any specific time.

[gustavonut]

I airdry in the summertime when it is warm or when I know I can stay home. Other than that, I blow dry because I cannot handle wet hair in the cold. At home it’s no problem, but ick, going out with wet hair when it isn’t warm is just a bad idea for me.

[Wendyp]

Well tbh I haven’t blow dried for years and I still have damage from other maltreatment. I’m still terrified to blow dry on a regular basis. My hair texture is different when I blow dry and is much straighter.

[Glitch]

There was a time where I heat styled and then yes I had white dots (half my head), but from blowdrying, I have yet to come across one.

I'm really interested to know a bit more (my hair takes forever to air dry), but in the past, this worried me:

"Blow drying causes a "flash drying" effect that not only removes the surface moisture but also removes water that is bound to the hair, which is called water of hydration. The effect of this flash drying is that the cuticles become dry, rigid and brittle. When the hair flexes, the pressure causes the cuticles to crack."

That seems to imply that it'll happen regardless of blowdrying with hot or cold air -what are your thoughts on this? Thanks :)

[Ligeia Noire]

I do not like hair tools, I have never bought or owned one, I have never needed one and I always air dried my hair and see no need for it. Even living in a place were weather can get pretty extreme I still air dry. I love to just see my natural texture spring to life without any aids but again I have absolutely nothing against whomever uses hair tools, specially blow dryers as they are the least damaging if used in the lower heat settings, thing is I know most people do not use the lower heat option. I work in a place were among other stuff it also sells hair tools and most people are just looking for the most powerful one, with the most wattage and higher potency. I am just a very old fashioned countryside girl that saw my mom, wash her floor length outside and always air dried it. So, my routine is to wash my hair Sunday afternoon and towel dry a bit and then let it air dry loose until the next day where it is still a bit damp, if I wash my hair and need to go somewhere I simply put it up on a loose bun, it keeps the moisture in which is a plus in this very dry climate, the only con is the heaviness, but that is why I wash on Sundays so I can dry it loose.

[lucid]

Gosh, I wish! My hair airdries for 2-4H typically and if I left it alone, 8+H wouldn't cut it. I have to go in after that time (2-4H) and dry it, it only takes 5 min. then because most of the wetness and dampness is out by that time, and the dryer goes through smoothly then.

I would probably blowdry regurlarly as well if my hair took that long to dry, there are some advantages to having thinner hair :p

My scalp can get irritated if my hair is wet/damp for too long, so I also blowdry if my scalp is itchy. It's not that often, but I'm eczema prone, so it happens...

[*Wednesday*]

I stopped blow drying and using he tools over a year ago. I mentioned this in another thread that I used the blow dryer in the summer last year. Only because I washed my hair and I had to go out. I read a post from Lapushka a while back about using it on a low setting. So when I do have to use one I will only use a very low setting.

[Beckstar]

I don't blow dry because it messes with my curl pattern, I don't want to spend that much time on my hair, and I only wash when I have the time to let it dry. This applies when my hair is long as well.

[Platzhalter]

Why should I actively do something when not doing anything works fine as well? Yes, it takes a little more time but I have the luxury to plan my days in accordance to that. Not to mention that for me, it's also unnecessarily used energy. And the time that can't be used for other activities - while just letting it air-dry allows me to do practically anything that's done not outside the house. For me, there's hardly any reason to blow-dry and quite a few against doing so.

[Crystawni]

My fine hair gravitates towards, and gets chewed by handheld hairdryers, and doesn't get spat out. If there are any seams or cracks (switches and attachments like diffusers or nozzles, I'm looking at you), or mesh or holes (the airflow area of the motor--gah!), my hair is there having a party. And yeah, the webbed nest of snagged hair is no fun to extract (manipulation city, too), and always resulted in broken, stretched or stripped sections of hair. And when that wasn't happening, it became a tangled, knotted mess with the air blasting it into tornadic whirls unless I used a brush with each section while drying (and yeppers, there'd be heaps of snaggeration danger there, too), which again equaled too much manipulation for me. And the other no is, hairdryers work like toasters, and really, it's toasty enough where I live without the added heat even on the lowest setting or cool blast one. Air drying means I let my hair get its unique wave on with little to no effort (and no electricity cost), and the cool hair keeps me cooler for a little while at least. :p I also tended to re-wet my hair after blowdrying as it was too flat and mmmmf for my liking. I guess I prefer my hair's natural personality. :lol:

[lapushka]

I'm really interested to know a bit more (my hair takes forever to air dry), but in the past, this worried me:

"Blow drying causes a "flash drying" effect that not only removes the surface moisture but also removes water that is bound to the hair, which is called water of hydration. The effect of this flash drying is that the cuticles become dry, rigid and brittle. When the hair flexes, the pressure causes the cuticles to crack."

That seems to imply that it'll happen regardless of blowdrying with hot or cold air -what are your thoughts on this? Thanks :)

Nothing is said though about the temperature. Temperature is key here. And some blowdryers can get *really* hot. I think that is what they are talking about here, in those cases.

Have you ever read the effects of leaving the hair wet for too long? I can't recall her name on the forum, but... oh gosh it's at the tip of my tongue and I'm so embarrassed I can't recall... she had articles on this.

[lucid]

Is it hygral fatigue you're thinking about? I don't know anything about it, but it popped into my mind :p

[lapushka]

Is it hygral fatigue you're thinking about? I don't know anything about it, but it popped into my mind :p

Yep, there was one member who actually said that drying the hair in a certain amount of time with a dryer is more beneficial than letting it dry fully on its own, I think that goes esp. for thicker textures that take a long long time to dry, though. But I can't think of the member's name. :( :o And she was on here so much (gone for a while it seems now).

[CopperButterfly]

I will blow dry my hair sometimes in the winter because I'm a daily washer, and my hair is thick. I will usually let it air dry some and then use the blow dryer to get it the rest of the way quickly. I can't stand going out in the cold with wet hair. If I'm not going anywhere I'll usually just let it air dry, because I'm lazy.

[hayheadsbird]

I don't bother, even pre tlch I didn't use it often. My hair dries reasonably quickly if left down, 3 hours or so to fully dry, it takes no effort on my part or electricity, and the only hair dryer I have is a 20-year-old travel hair drier. I don't see the point in going out and buying one that could do the job better than the one I have for emergencies if I don't use it anyway.

[Frankenstein]

Since I wash at night I sometimes do blow dry so that I don’t have to go to bed with wet hair. I always do it on cool, though. I haven’t noticed any damage but I prefer not to do it just because it’s a bit of a hassle.

[Dendra]

I airdry because I like it, and also because I don't need to blowdry. My hair dries in 3.5 hours so I wash it in the evening and it's all good.

[Groovy Granny]

I only warm/cool blow dry my scalp because what little is remaining of my medium dark blonde hair in the back takes longer to dry and I can't stand a damp scalp. :shrug:

My silver/white hair, from my ends to my ears, face framing, and crown is so wispy...many times it is almost dry just coming out of a turban after 15 min :lol:

Occasionally...when it is super hot/humid, I will let my entire head air dry; partly for heat comfort ...and also to decrease frizz when I have my high humidity curl explosions ;)

[chomsky]

Aside from not actually owning a blowdryer, I do prefer air drying.

Blowdrying gives me very voluminous (frizzy) hair and diffusing takes too long for my liking. It's really only good for stretching my hair to take the curl out.

Air drying allows my to set my hairline and flatten the halo that it creates when left to its own devices. My hairline hairs are pretty straight but they enjoy sticking out everywhere, so tying a silk scarf as a hair band for a bit really helps.

Air drying is also free. Anything to save a bit on the electric! LOL!

If I ever do own a blowdryer though, I would use it to stretch every now and then. Keep things fresh.

[lapushka]

My mom also goes without the blowdryer.

She washes, puts it in a towel for a few minutes, immediately takes it out, and it will have started to dry already. It dries super fast for her (she has i hair).

She roller sets it and lets it airdry. I gave her the curl enhancing smoothie + gel to "set" the hair and give it some hold before she roller set it last time, and it came out super pretty!

[Sofialu]

It has been decades since I last used a blow dryer. I consider the blow dryer to be "broken by design" because its output is way too hot to be safe for hair.

A safe way to dry long hair is to use an electric fan-heater.

http://www.edgrochowski.com/articles1/heater1.jpg

I sit at least five feet away where the air is only moderately warm. The fan-heater can dry my hair in about 20 minutes. I use it in the winter.
Ed

I like this idea Ed. I use my hair dryer + straighteners every time I wash my hair as I dislike my waves (on me) and much prefer my hair when straight. I have a lot of damage, therefore if anybody has any tips on how to achieve straighter hair without heat then I am all ears!!

[nycelle]

I like this idea Ed. I use my hair dryer + straighteners every time I wash my hair as I dislike my waves (on me) and much prefer my hair when straight. I have a lot of damage, therefore if anybody has any tips on how to achieve straighter hair without heat then I am all ears!!

Same. Would love to know if there's a method to achieve straight without heat.

[Caraid♫]

Same. Would love to know if there's a method to achieve straight without heat.

have you heard of hair wrapping? You wrap your hair smoothly around your head securing it with bobby pins when it's damp and let it set that way. It works pretty well! (I guess it depends on your hair type to begin with) I find the wrapping part a little tricky so I only tried it a handful of times, but I'm sure it's something you could get the hang of pretty quickly if you wanted to!

[lapushka]

have you heard of hair wrapping? You wrap your hair smoothly around your head securing it with bobby pins when it's damp and let it set that way. It works pretty well! (I guess it depends on your hair type to begin with) I find the wrapping part a little tricky so I only tried it a handful of times, but I'm sure it's something you could get the hang of pretty quickly if you wanted to!

Yes, think of your head as one gigantic "roller", and you kind of "roll" it on there, so it can straighten out.

[sugar&nutmeg]

I have a question. Something I've wondered for a long time.

What is the advantage of keeping wet hair in a towel for a longish time?

As I picture it, after the towel gets damp/wet (absorbing water from the hair), wouldn't leaving the hair wrapped slow down drying, as compared with letting the hair loose in the air? Unless there are lots of different towels involved, and the wet ones get traded out regularly for dry ones.

What am I not 'seeing' about this long-time-in-a-towel method?

[AmaryllisRed]

I have a question. Something I've wondered for a long time.

What is the advantage of keeping wet hair in a towel for a longish time?

As I picture it, after the towel gets damp/wet (absorbing water from the hair), wouldn't leaving the hair wrapped slow down drying, as compared with letting the hair loose in the air? Unless there are lots of different towels involved, and the wet ones get traded out regularly for dry ones.

What am I not 'seeing' about this long-time-in-a-towel method?

Yes! I've wondered this for years, too.

[Sofialu]

have you heard of hair wrapping? You wrap your hair smoothly around your head securing it with bobby pins when it's damp and let it set that way. It works pretty well! (I guess it depends on your hair type to begin with) I find the wrapping part a little tricky so I only tried it a handful of times, but I'm sure it's something you could get the hang of pretty quickly if you wanted to!

I've just looked this up and it looks to give good results so I'll be trying this when I next wash my hair, thank you :)

[MusicalSpoons]

I have a question. Something I've wondered for a long time.

What is the advantage of keeping wet hair in a towel for a longish time?

As I picture it, after the towel gets damp/wet (absorbing water from the hair), wouldn't leaving the hair wrapped slow down drying, as compared with letting the hair loose in the air? Unless there are lots of different towels involved, and the wet ones get traded out regularly for dry ones.

What am I not 'seeing' about this long-time-in-a-towel method?

I don't know how it works exactly, but for me it really does help. When I take my hair out of the towel, it's on the wet side of damp. I take it out and shake my head upside down to separate the damp ponytail-sausage :lol: I wonder whether the towel wicks away moisture and holds it away from the hair long enough to not re-soak the hair in that timeframe? I don't know :shrug: but I used to not see the point of towels and let my hair drip in the time between washing and bed, and it was a nightmare. I went to bed with wet hair, after it having dripped on the floor and made puddles!

(Plus one huge benefit is that it keeps the hair out of the way, instead of soaking my back!)

[lapushka]

I keep my hair in a towel about 30-45 min. because that's how long it takes for the wetness to get out of my hair. If I leave it in for 10 min. it will still be soaking wet. I've found that after about 30 min. it is dry enough that it's not dripping anymore when I squeeze it or brush it.

[pandabarrier]

There's lots of people that still airdry, even though when you use a blowdryer on cool/warm there is no issue with it.

Why do you still airdry then?

I toweldry for 30-45 min., airdry for 2-4H, but then I diffuse-dry for 5 min. to get at least my roots dry. I have SD (seborrheic dermatitis), they need to be dry within a certain amount of time.

There is this mantra for blowdrying that says: if you can hold your hand (or a more sensitive part of you) in the airstream for a long time (some dryers heat up) without it burning, then the temperature is OK for the hair as well.

And you'll be fine.

I have done this all along and from blowdrying I have had 0 damage, no white dots, no splits.

There was a time where I heat styled and then yes I had white dots (half my head), but from blowdrying, I have yet to come across one.

What do you prefer? What's your routine like? Does it include the blowdryer / diffuser, or does it not?

What say you?

I try to wash only on the weekends to have time to airdry. Then I do scalp washes in the weekdays.

I think my hair holds a lot of water? The struggle is real. I squeeze water out of my hair after the wash as much as possible, I stack 2 microfiber turbans (because my hair doesn’t fit in one) for 10-15 min. The turbans get very wet, I change to a dry microfiber towel for ~10 min, then I let my hair airdry for 3-4 hours, and I headbang and lift small sections of my hair to let more air circulate between the strands. That’s in the winter, it’s cold inside my home. In the summer it can dry in 1 hour!

Mid-way thru the airdrying, I also do a half-up to speed the drying. The ends and mid-shaft dry first of course, but the underside and scalp stay a bit damp. Sometimes I just skipped the hair dryer, but my scalp got itchy, probably because it stayed wet for too long. Or I just slept with damp underside with hair loose over the pillow, but when I woke up it was still damp! I did notice that my hair snaps more easily if left wet longer. So I use a low-heat hair dryer to dry the scalp and underside. The radiator at work (that nobody knows how to make it less hot) is much hotter than my hair dryer.

Reading the posts, I envy you guys that only airdry, that’s really not possible for me.

[sugar&nutmeg]

MusicalSpoons, what an interesting idea! I may have to do some experimenting. I did wonder whether 'out of the way' and 'not dripping on my back' might factor in!

Mine is still wet but no longer drippy after about 5-10 minutes in a turbie, and then an extra squeeze with another microfibre towel. So...as usual, different hair is different.☺️

lapushka I think you probably have twice to three-times the hair I do (just circumference, not even considering your beautiful length), so I'm not surprised. Let me see if I understand, you use one towel for 30-45 minutes? Is it a regular terry towel, or some other material? For science!

[lapushka]

lapushka I think you probably have twice to three-times the hair I do (just circumference, not even considering your beautiful length), so I'm not surprised. Let me see if I understand, you use one towel for 30-45 minutes? Is it a regular terry towel, or some other material? For science!

It is a microfiber bathtowel, folded in half and sewn shut at one end, so it makes for a giant microfiber turbie. I have 2 of those! My mom sewed them shut for me.

[Hexen]

I have not blow dried my hair in probably twenty years at least. I dont even own one. And yes, I know that when utilized in the right way that damage can be eliminated. But I like the waves though that form when air dried. And during the HOT days (potentially 100+) of our summers, ive come to somewhat enjoy the cooling effect that damp hair can impart for a time. But when im outdoors with wet hair in those kinds of environmental temps it dries fairly hastily just from being outside. Not to mention the very common wind. So in some cases mama nature might be blow drying my hair anyway. But as it takes a number of hours to dry indoors, I have to be careful not to fall asleep while its still wet or even damp though. Also ive got to time washes with certain social events sometimes. It's all become fairly routine though. I used to like braid waves, but realized they looked just a bit too unnatural when I began frequently seeing my real air dried waves. But as far as blow drying goes, ive found that with a bit of time allowed, I can achieve results that I very much like while completely eliminating both what otherwise might be a daily "chore", and the tool needed to do it. And this has worked well for me for a long long time now.

[ontheway]

I used to always and exclusively blow dry my hair, because I would blow it out straight.

I no longer blowdry it, only airdry. On the rare occasion that I have to step out of the house very quickly after showering, I do have to blowdry, but I rarely do it for more than 5 mins and it's usually after 20 mins or so of air drying at least. I like my hair's natural texture now, so there's really no need to blowdry unless I'm in a hurry. My current work set-up makes it easy for me to airdry though. It takes my hair *several* hours to fully dry, BTW... like 5-6 hours lol. And this is with my current thinner and shorter hair. I imagine with all of my hair, it'd take me close to 7-8 hours to airdry, so I'd probably need to blowdry more often.

I "think" I had or have SD and I haven't had issues with air drying. I tend to dry my roots with a towel right after stepping out of the shower, and it works for me.

[Glitch]

Nothing is said though about the temperature. Temperature is key here. And some blowdryers can get *really* hot. I think that is what they are talking about here, in those cases.

Have you ever read the effects of leaving the hair wet for too long? I can't recall her name on the forum, but... oh gosh it's at the tip of my tongue and I'm so embarrassed I can't recall... she had articles on this.

Although temperature wasn't mentioned, it sounded like any type of rapid air hitting the hair would cause flash drying :confused: I don't know too much about it, but you have really nice and long hair and so it mustn't be doing anything bad.

I'll look into it, thanks!

[lapushka]

Although temperature wasn't mentioned, it sounded like any type of rapid air hitting the hair would cause flash drying :confused: I don't know too much about it, but you have really nice and long hair and so it mustn't be doing anything bad.

I'll look into it, thanks!

It doesn't do anything bad on *me*, but that's my personal experience. Others may notice different things; we all have to see and experience this for ourselves. :flower:

A cool to warm setting (nothing hot, nothing burning) will most likely be fine, though.

[lithostoic]

Too much work. Hurts my back. Thinking about getting a hairdryer with a diffuser for special occasions when I want waves.

[Glitch]

It doesn't do anything bad on *me*, but that's my personal experience. Others may notice different things; we all have to see and experience this for ourselves. :flower:

A cool to warm setting (nothing hot, nothing burning) will most likely be fine, though.

That's true. For me, my wet hair dries extremely fast with a blowdryer on the warm or cool low setting (in 5-10 minutes) but many hours if just left alone. No idea why. This is the longest hair I've had so I don't want to risk damage, but it would be so much easier if I could indeed just blowdry it! Maybe I'll just blowdry until I potentially see some damage.

[Dark40]

I do both air-drying and blow-drying. I air-dry so that I'll had less time blow-drying.

[Stray_mind]

I prefer air drying, simply because my natural wave pattern stays intact, while blow drying my hair makes it straighten out and fall flatly.
I do blow dry on low heat setting if i need my hair to dry faster, if i have to go outside soon after washing.

I think it's ok to blow dry your hair on low heat setting. It's just that i hate the texture it gives my hair.

[florenonite]

When I lived in Scotland I used to blow-dry because my hair took about 36 hours to dry otherwise (seriously, I'd wash it one morning and the hair by my nape would still be damp the following evening). Now that I'm in Canada and I wash in the evening after karate, I don't bother; I just stick a towel over my pillow and loosely braid my hair and it'll be perfect for damp-bunning by morning.

[lakhesis]

I only blow dry it in emergency cases - and also only on cool settings. That way my hair can be dry within 10 minutes. But air drying isn't such a tragedy for me, it only takes around 2 hours :)
Or forever if I go to bed with wet hair... that never worked for me.

[unheardletters]

When I lived in Scotland I used to blow-dry because my hair took about 18 hours to dry otherwise (seriously, I'd wash it one morning and the hair by my nape would still be damp the following evening). Now that I'm in Canada and I wash in the evening after karate, I don't bother; I just stick a towel over my pillow and loosely braid my hair and it'll be perfect for damp-bunning by morning.

My hair takes 18+ hours to dry also. I now wash my hair in the evening, and my hair isn’t fully dry until at least the afternoon.

[Mandyk]

It is a microfiber bathtowel, folded in half and sewn shut at one end, so it makes for a giant microfiber turbie. I have 2 of those! My mom sewed them shut for me.

Ooh, this is intriguing. Do you roll the length of your hair in the twist of the towel? I just recently started using a turbie twist and I have been plopping it and then twisting the towel length empty with all my hair length secured plopped on top of my head. I thought that was how you were supposed to use it. But when I was a kid I would flip my head upside down, lay the edge of the towel at the nape of my neck and swaddle my hair in the length of the towel and twist. I figured that that method was more damaging, which is why I plop instead. But if it isn't damaging, I bet it will help absorb more water quicker.

[Mandyk]

I recently bought my first hair dryer, but I think I might buy a bigger diffuser because I feel like the one that came with it is too small for how long, thick, and coarse my hair is. I usually air dry, but my hair will take 12+ hours to dry, especially since I usually shower at night. I only wash my hair 2-3 times a week, but I hate waiting for my hair to dry. I'm glad to see that as long as I diffuse on the cool setting, it's not damaging. I plan to start trying to shower a bit earlier in the evening on hair washing day so I can let it air dry for a couple hours and then spend like 30 minutes blow drying it.

[nycelle]

Is it hygral fatigue you're thinking about? I don't know anything about it, but it popped into my mind :p


Yep, there was one member who actually said that drying the hair in a certain amount of time with a dryer is more beneficial than letting it dry fully on its own, I think that goes esp. for thicker textures that take a long long time to dry, though. But I can't think of the member's name. :( :o And she was on here so much (gone for a while it seems now).

Hygral fatigue is a hair theory on what happens to natural hair (4a,4b,4c) when it's over moisturized. At least that's what all the info. I found referred to. It's about using too many products that moisturize hair, and using those products for longer than the recommended time.
I didn't see anything about letting your hair dry naturally causing it. But I've no doubt that someone, somewhere on the internet, took that theory, and applied it to leaving your hair wet as well, even though that's not at all what it's about.

Not being argumentative, just repeating what all the articles that discuss it refer to - too much moisture using products, not water.

[yahirwaO.o]

Air Dry team here!

Mine is dry in about an hour regardless of the length. What I mean is if its Shoulder or BSL or Waist there is very little variation in time since my hair is on the finer side and my scalp is what takes the most, my overall strands dry pretty quickly in less than 30 minutes.

I like the super blow out look however my hair has huge tendency of having static or frizz and blow drying it makes me it look insanely big at this length (massive triangle head LOL).

Cold setting is nice but it takes ages and bores quite a bit. I also try to keep electricity at the lowest and it helps tremendously.

Still an unusual habit with blow dryer is to hit my sheets and bed before I jump and sleep, it works wonder when winter hits my city!!!!!

[lapushka]

Ooh, this is intriguing. Do you roll the length of your hair in the twist of the towel? I just recently started using a turbie twist and I have been plopping it and then twisting the towel length empty with all my hair length secured plopped on top of my head. I thought that was how you were supposed to use it. But when I was a kid I would flip my head upside down, lay the edge of the towel at the nape of my neck and swaddle my hair in the length of the towel and twist. I figured that that method was more damaging, which is why I plop instead. But if it isn't damaging, I bet it will help absorb more water quicker.

Yep. I roll my hair into it, then flip it over my head and secure it with a claw at my neck (clip it onto the towel). It works really well, but it is a very thin towel - perfect for this. It is a sport microfiber bathtowel, they are perfect for this DIY!

I don't find the way I secure my hair in it damaging, no.

[lapushka]

Hygral fatigue is a hair theory on what happens to natural hair (4a,4b,4c) when it's over moisturized. At least that's what all the info. I found referred to. It's about using too many products that moisturize hair, and using those products for longer than the recommended time.
I didn't see anything about letting your hair dry naturally causing it. But I've no doubt that someone, somewhere on the internet, took that theory, and applied it to leaving your hair wet as well, even though that's not at all what it's about.

Not being argumentative, just repeating what all the articles that discuss it refer to - too much moisture using products, not water.

There was a member here who had articles on this, and evidence and not just for 4 type hair. But it looks as though she's not around ATM, and I can't recall her name for the life of me. :(

[Carolyn]

I like to air dry because it's so easy and I'm so lazy. The only time I use a blow dryer or any other heat appliance is when I wear my hair down and that is never since my hair is just past waist. It's too long to wear down. I don't see the point in blow drying if it's going up in a bun. If I have to be somewhere early and I must wash my hair that day I get up in time to do it. Shower, wrap hair in baby bath towel turbie for maybe 10 minutes, take it down and use my wide tooth comb. It can air dry while I do my make up and get dressed which takes 30-45 minutes. It's damp but not soaking wet. I can bun it and go even in the winter. If I think I'll be cold I put a slouchy stocking cap on over my bun or I put the car heater on hot blast and my hair is dry in the 15 minutes it takes me to get to down. Park the car, bun and go. Easy! I don't see the point in using a blow dryer and getting my hair nice and straight and just putting it in a bun. When my hair was shorter I would just go with it wet and it would be dry soon enough. I have no issues with wet hair in public. It's better than the filthy dirty hair I see so often.

[Mandyk]

Yep. I roll my hair into it, then flip it over my head and secure it with a claw at my neck (clip it onto the towel). It works really well, but it is a very thin towel - perfect for this. It is a sport microfiber bathtowel, they are perfect for this DIY!

I don't find the way I secure my hair in it damaging, no.

I need to try it like that! I'll need to try to DIY my own too, since I pretty sure the one I have isn't long enough. I don't have a sewing machine anymore, so I'll need to hand sew it, but that's not a big deal. I'll try adding a little elastic loop like the turbie twist has to make securing easier.

I'm already making plans. I could do the long way for about 20 minutes to dry my hair from soaked to damp, and then plop in the turbie twist to encourage my weak waves and dry a bit more for about 20 more minutes. And then air dry for about 60-90 minutes and then blow dry on cold until dry.

[lapushka]

I need to try it like that! I'll need to try to DIY my own too, since I pretty sure the one I have isn't long enough. I don't have a sewing machine anymore, so I'll need to hand sew it, but that's not a big deal. I'll try adding a little elastic loop like the turbie twist has to make securing easier.

I'm already making plans. I could do the long way for about 20 minutes to dry my hair from soaked to damp, and then plop in the turbie twist to encourage my weak waves and dry a bit more for about 20 more minutes. And then air dry for about 60-90 minutes and then blow dry on cold until dry.

My mom did these by hand as well! It doesn't take long. She was finished in about half an hour, for 2 towels.

[Crystawni]

There was a member here who had articles on this, and evidence and not just for 4 type hair. But it looks as though she's not around ATM, and I can't recall her name for the life of me. :(

ktani? Blog post on hygral fatigue here (http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/hygral-fatigue-hair-care-issue.html).

[Ligeia Noire]

About the hygral fatigue, after reading some articles someone once posted on the fb group about blow drying being better than air drying, I realized the issue was not only with over moisturizing your hair, applying water or water based products to it a lot like the curly method recommends but also the fact of simply air drying. I was shocked and specially because my hair does take a lot to air dry if I do not go outside in the sun.

Here it is a direct quote from the article I am linking

"Generally, the hair is damaged more from use of dryers on a warm to hot setting than it would have in air drying; however, the experiment revealed that the hair’s protective buffer, which is the cuticle tends to suffer more damage from air drying than it would if dried with a hand held dryer blowing cool air from 6″ away onto the hair.

HOW COME?

When the hair becomes wet, it expands to allow the hair to accommodate the moisture. While each strand swells to accommodate the water, the delicate protein bonds which hold the cuticle together are weakened for however long it takes to dry the hair.

In essence, the length of the drying time actually puts a strain on the protective buffer – the cuticle- and compromises its ability to do the job of protecting the cortex from damage."

https://blackhairinformation.com/hair-care-2/styling/study-shows-blow-drying-healthier-air-drying-concerned/

The people in this research were washing their hair every day and they do not mention if they apply condition or any serums to protect the length, therefore, do read the article, even though it is directed to people with 3 or curlier hair, given my experience, their conclusions are valid for any hair types as I can see that for myself and I am only a 2 b. Washing hair every single day causes damage IF you manage your hair while wet, what they say is that the cuticle expands and therefore during that period of time the strand will be more fragile, therefore be careful what you do (I do comb while wet) but again I do not think it is as much as using the blow dryer no matter what setting. There is always damage, even if you comb your hair, so we always have to take these studies with a grain of salt they might just want to sell you hair dryers :p

[nycelle]

About the hygral fatigue, after reading some articles someone once posted on the fb group about blow drying being better than air drying, I realized the issue was not only with over moisturizing your hair, applying water or water based products to it a lot like the curly method recommends but also the fact of simply air drying. I was shocked and specially because my hair does take a lot to air dry if I do not go outside in the sun.

Here it is a direct quote from the article I am linking

"Generally, the hair is damaged more from use of dryers on a warm to hot setting than it would have in air drying; however, the experiment revealed that the hair’s protective buffer, which is the cuticle tends to suffer more damage from air drying than it would if dried with a hand held dryer blowing cool air from 6″ away onto the hair.

HOW COME?

When the hair becomes wet, it expands to allow the hair to accommodate the moisture. While each strand swells to accommodate the water, the delicate protein bonds which hold the cuticle together are weakened for however long it takes to dry the hair.

In essence, the length of the drying time actually puts a strain on the protective buffer – the cuticle- and compromises its ability to do the job of protecting the cortex from damage."

https://blackhairinformation.com/hair-care-2/styling/study-shows-blow-drying-healthier-air-drying-concerned/

The people in this research were washing their hair every day and they do not mention if they apply condition or any serums to protect the length, therefore, do read the article, even though it is directed to people with 3 or curlier hair, given my experience, their conclusions are valid for any hair types as I can see that for myself and I am only a 2 b. Washing hair every single day causes damage IF you manage your hair while wet, what they say is that the cuticle expands and therefore during that period of time the strand will be more fragile, therefore be careful what you do (I do comb while wet) but again I do not think it is as much as using the blow dryer no matter what setting. There is always damage, even if you comb your hair, so we always have to take these studies with a grain of salt they might just want to sell you hair dryers :p

Interesting read, thanks for the link. I also checked out the source they referenced here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3229938/

I have two issues with this:
The first is sample size.
The article you linked mentioned 5 samples were used - the study itself left that out which I find very odd.
If the article correctly stated the five, that can hardly give you a definitive conclusion.
They also didn't mention the kind of hair they used other than virgin.

My second issue is, the amount of time the samples were blow dried for. Duration absolutely makes a difference in damage. I think we can all agree on that.
According to the study, the following method was used:

"The tresses were divided into the following five test groups:
(a) no treatment,
(b) drying without using a hair dryer (room temperature, 20℃),
(c) drying with a hair dryer for 60 seconds at a distance of 15 cm (47℃),
(d) drying with a hair dryer for 30 seconds at a distance of 10 cm
(61℃), (e) drying with a hair dryer for 15 seconds at a distance of 5 cm (95℃)"

The conclusion was drying for 60 seconds at a distance of 15 cm (6") from the hair, caused less damage than air drying. I believe it, have no reason not to.

The problem with this is, most of us don't dry on cool for only 60 seconds.
Had they done a more realistic study, showing results after about 15 minutes on cool then I would give it more merit in terms of real world practice. But I'm not so sure the outcome would have been the same.
As it stands, and due to the methodology that was used, I wouldn't base my hair drying practices on the results of one minute study. Unless of course, I only blow dried for one minute.

To each their own though. If you guys don't see damage that's great.
I know when I've tried it in the past on my dry hair (dry as in texture, not water retention), it made it even drier and my ends felt crappy.

But wow.. If I can find a blow drying method that will style my hair and not cause damage, oh man, I'd be all over it.

[lapushka]

ktani? Blog post on hygral fatigue here (http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/hygral-fatigue-hair-care-issue.html).

No, not ktani.

[MusicalSpoons]

Interesting read, thanks for the link. I also checked out the source they referenced here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3229938/

I have two issues with this:
The first is sample size.
The article you linked mentioned 5 samples were used - the study itself left that out which I find very odd.
If the article correctly stated the five, that can hardly give you a definitive conclusion.
They also didn't mention the kind of hair they used other than virgin.

My second issue is, the amount of time the samples were blow dried for. Duration absolutely makes a difference in damage. I think we can all agree on that.
According to the study, the following method was used:

"The tresses were divided into the following five test groups:
(a) no treatment,
(b) drying without using a hair dryer (room temperature, 20℃),
(c) drying with a hair dryer for 60 seconds at a distance of 15 cm (47℃),
(d) drying with a hair dryer for 30 seconds at a distance of 10 cm
(61℃), (e) drying with a hair dryer for 15 seconds at a distance of 5 cm (95℃)"

The conclusion was drying for 60 seconds at a distance of 15 cm (6") from the hair, caused less damage than air drying. I believe it, have no reason not to.

The problem with this is, most of us don't dry on cool for only 60 seconds.
Had they done a more realistic study, showing results after about 15 minutes on cool then I would give it more merit in terms of real world practice. But I'm not so sure the outcome would have been the same.
As it stands, and due to the methodology that was used, I wouldn't base my hair drying practices on the results of one minute study. Unless of course, I only blow dried for one minute.

To each their own though. If you guys don't see damage that's great.
I know when I've tried it in the past on my dry hair (dry as in texture, not water retention), it made it even drier and my ends felt crappy.

But wow.. If I can find a blow drying method that will style my hair and not cause damage, oh man, I'd be all over it.

If I'm reading that correctly, each 'group' was in fact one sample?* The scientist in me is laughing itself silly! Surely the only way it could be at all valid is if they reproduced the results with further testing on different samples. So perhaps not an entirely meaningless study, as it provided interesting preliminary results and could conceivably prompt further research, but certainly not enough to make sweeping statements about drying methods and present them as unwavering fact (as people and media are wont to do when it fits their agenda :rolleyes: )

*I may have misunderstood as I don't have the brainpower to read the sources right now, but still.

[Ligeia Noire]

Yup I agree with you guys the study seems a bit odd. Therefore not reliable results. Even though they might be on to something. Anyway, I say if what you are doing works for you just keep doing it. I think if you have any sort of scalp conditions like Sd leaving water in your scalp for too long might just not be a good idea. Specially for those with longer drying times due to thickness. Look how that works for Lapushka! Whereas some others with dry scalps like me the longer the moisture lingers the better. Air drying aids in that. A blow dryer would only make it worse.

[nycelle]

If I'm reading that correctly, each 'group' was in fact one sample?* The scientist in me is laughing itself silly! Surely the only way it could be at all valid is if they reproduced the results with further testing on different samples. So perhaps not an entirely meaningless study, as it provided interesting preliminary results and could conceivably prompt further research, but certainly not enough to make sweeping statements about drying methods and present them as unwavering fact (as people and media are wont to do when it fits their agenda :rolleyes: )

*I may have misunderstood as I don't have the brainpower to read the sources right now, but still.

That's how I read it as well.
But - full disclosure..I read it while drinking my 1st cup of coffee at 5 am this morning. So yeah, I may be 100% wrong too.

Also, I didn't read the entire study. But from what I did read (the gist), I didn't see the sample size mentioned anywhere. I thought that was very odd. So I'm going by what the article that Ligeia Noire linked. I believe it said 5 samples were used.
Also, they reproduced the results on the same samples for 30 days. I believe I read they were doing it once a day.

Still, 60 seconds of blow drying isn't a real comparison to how most of us use a dryer.

[nycelle]

Yup I agree with you guys the study seems a bit odd. Therefore not reliable results. Even though they might be on to something. Anyway, I say if what you are doing works for you just keep doing it. I think if you have any sort of scalp conditions like Sd leaving water in your scalp for too long might just not be a good idea. Specially for those with longer drying times due to thickness. Look how that works for Lapushka! Whereas some others with dry scalps like me the longer the moisture lingers the better. Air drying aids in that. A blow dryer would only make it worse.

yeah, that's the thing- so different for everyone.

i'm gonna keep the no blow drying for the next year and see how it goes. if my regrowth isn't healthier.. well.. then i give up! :)

[Goatcraft]

I love blow-drying my hair, but I only do it maybe three times a month. I try to restrict it to special occasions.
For me, blow-drying DOES dry my hair out. So I choose to limit the use.

[Kae612]

I dont doubt that, if expertly done on cool, blow drying might be less damaging. The problem is that I don’t know what I’m doing, and when I’ve tried to blow dry some sections become too dry and others are still dripping! I don’t know how that happens. So I only do it when it’s winter and I have to go somewhere I can’t leave my hair down to dry (eg a friends house for a movie, id just wet bun and take it down when I get there). It also seems to aggravate my scalp, and makes it flake & itch to use the drier.

So I’m mostly an air dry person. Or a sleep on it wet person.

[lapushka]

I dont doubt that, if expertly done on cool, blow drying might be less damaging. The problem is that I don’t know what I’m doing, and when I’ve tried to blow dry some sections become too dry and others are still dripping! I don’t know how that happens. So I only do it when it’s winter and I have to go somewhere I can’t leave my hair down to dry (eg a friends house for a movie, id just wet bun and take it down when I get there). It also seems to aggravate my scalp, and makes it flake & itch to use the drier.

So I’m mostly an air dry person. Or a sleep on it wet person.

Dripping? Don't you get most of the wetness out by squeegeeing the hair, and then with a towel first?

That is mainly why I toweldry for so long, then airdry for that amount of time *before* I diffuse. It helps shorten the blowdrying time so much! And my washday is a Sunday, so everything's closed around here anyhow.

[Kae612]

Dripping? Don't you get most of the wetness out by squeegeeing the hair, and then with a towel first?

That is mainly why I toweldry for so long, then airdry for that amount of time *before* I diffuse. It helps shorten the blowdrying time so much! And my washday is a Sunday, so everything's closed around here anyhow.

True, it's not like truly running with water. But pieces will be still wet enough to make my shirt wet if I leave it down post-blow-dry. I guess I just mean "still wet" lol. But those pieces, I could probably continue to squeeze out some water, it's several strands, maybe a 1/4'' thick piece where the middle isn't dry. I meant to emphasize that I'm absolutely hurting my hair and not getting a fully-dry head of hair when I try to blow it dry. Even when I try to use a vented brush it just kinda tangles into things and it's a very messy, confusing experience! To be fair, I'd never owned a blow drier until last year so the number of times I've tried is still probably under 20.

[pandabarrier]

I did a scalp wash Thursday morning before work. I did a loose cinnabun with the damp almost dry hair thinking, oh why not, it works for some people. But when I took the bun down in the end of the day after 12 hours the underside and parts of my scalp were still faintly damp. Soon enough my scalp had its revenge for being kept damp for so long. It was so itchy on the following day.
Fortunately my scalp normalized after a full wash with dandruff shampoo, and proper drying.
So long story short, I’m not skipping hair dryer to dry my scalp anymore. I hold the hair dryer in low heat mode 15 to 18” away from my hair, I don’t see damage, I have yet to see any white dots on my hair.

[lapushka]

I did a scalp wash Thursday morning before work. I did a loose cinnabun with the damp almost dry hair thinking, oh why not, it works for some people. But when I took the bun down in the end of the day after 12 hours the underside and parts of my scalp were still faintly damp. Soon enough my scalp had its revenge for being kept damp for so long. It was so itchy on the following day.
Fortunately my scalp normalized after a full wash with dandruff shampoo, and proper drying.
So long story short, I’m not skipping hair dryer to dry my scalp anymore. I hold the hair dryer in low heat mode 15 to 18” away from my hair, I don’t see damage, I have yet to see any white dots on my hair.

If you have scalp issues, a bit of air drying won't kill you, but keeping the wetness "cooped up" underneath a bun will have its revenge. And it did. I airdry for 2-4H max. but then I get out my diffuser. It only takes me 5 min. then due to the period I airdried (after about half an hour of towel drying).

[LadyLongLocks]

I blow dry. I put it up in a t-shirt for 10 min, comb out, put back in another t-shirt for 10 more and then squeeze out as much water as possible. I divide my hair in half and dry half at a time on warm and stop after 3-5 minutes and let the hair air dry in between and come back to the dryer. I repeat this a few times. I cant stand having wet hair at floor length. I honestly believe the blow dryer is a safe tool if used correctly.

[lottiealice]

I air dry because I don't have a blowdryer, I did have one a couple of years ago but it hurt my shoulders/wrists too much (I have JHS and fibro) when I was reaching back a lot. I also got a lot of tangles.

[lapushka]

I air dry because I don't have a blowdryer, I did have one a couple of years ago but it hurt my shoulders/wrists too much (I have JHS and fibro) when I was reaching back a lot. I also got a lot of tangles.

Maybe try blow drying it with your hair flipped over. Would that help?

[lapushka]

I blow dry. I put it up in a t-shirt for 10 min, comb out, put back in another t-shirt for 10 more and then squeeze out as much water as possible. I divide my hair in half and dry half at a time on warm and stop after 3-5 minutes and let the hair air dry in between and come back to the dryer. I repeat this a few times. I cant stand having wet hair at floor length. I honestly believe the blow dryer is a safe tool if used correctly.

I am fairly sure of that. :) Hot tools granted, I will demonize those, but I refuse to do so with the blow dryer, when that is a tool you can use on cool/warm and get amazing results. I'll take that 5 min. of diffusing over a wet head for 8+H anytime.