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ellezxo
August 18th, 2018, 02:21 PM
Hi there!

I'm new to the forum, but am committing to growing out my hair to about 24-26 inches. That's the dream! My question for you all with fine hair is - how do you air dry your hair without it looking super flat and the ends looking straggly?

I've been watching YouTube tutorials, reading tips on how to air dry, but my hair honestly does not look good with an air dry... I cut most of my very split ends off back in February after years of pastel colors and it was the shortest my hair has ever been - closer to my ears. Now, it's almost at my shoulders.

Any ideas? Thank you! :) x

Lady Stardust
August 18th, 2018, 02:32 PM
Hello and welcome to the forum!

I wonder if your hair is actually pin straight? Maybe the ends that you think are straggly are actually locks of waves trying to form.

If you haven’t done it yet, it’s worth giving hair typing a try. Wash and condition your hair, detangle it before the conditioner is washed out, and then rinse, carefully blot it with a towel and then don’t touch it until it’s dry. You might find some waves you didn’t know about!

Here’s the hair typing page:

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=116252

sophia_
August 18th, 2018, 02:53 PM
I have fine, pin-straight hair, I honestly don't care if mine looks scraggly. I do wash it in the evening and either braid it or cinnabun it at night, but I don't think you'd be able to do that at your length. You can try french-braiding your hair, that might work better, just make sure to tie it off with a non-damaging tie.

Aredhel
August 18th, 2018, 02:59 PM
I "windmill" it (headbanging in a circle motion) for about 30 seconds after I get out of the shower, it definitely dries less flat this way. :)

lapushka
August 18th, 2018, 03:27 PM
I have F hair as well. I just towel dry for 15-30 min., then airdry for 2-4H, and then all I need to do is diffuse for 5 min. to get it dry.

A blow dryer might help for those last bits to dry. Dry it upside down for volume. That's my best tip. But only blow dry when it's almost fully dry. And definitely only blow dry on cool/warm (not hot!)

You don't want to stress the hair by blow drying it from wet to dry for 30 min. or however long it takes you then.

If you are having issues at shoulder, imagine what longer lengths are going to do to volume, it is only going to get "flatter" with length.

ToxicBend
August 25th, 2018, 04:04 PM
I suggest trying everything everyone above me has suggested, if those don’t work try blow drying on a cool setting ! Best of luck

Kalamazoo
August 25th, 2018, 04:40 PM
I have fine, mildly wavy hair (1b to 2a? not sure precisely), WL.

After washing, I wring it by hand, wrap the towel around it, pat to remove excess moisture, remove the towel, and jump in the car to go wherever, with my head still damp. I turn on the AC with heat, & finger-comb while driving. When it feels mostly dry, I may or may not continue with a large-toothed ox horn comb. When it's totally dry, I use a fine-toothed comb (made of either wood or horn).

My hair's totally dry within 10 or 15 minutes of starting to drive.

Then I braid my hair or fix it however before I get out of the car.

Also helpful: Bend forward & comb hair out that way. When I flip up & my hair falls down, it looks really thick. It's actually on the thin side of average.

Another help: An elastic headband of braided artificial hair that looks like my color. Put it on, then push it forward to poof up the hairs over my forehead. The headbands are as little as 99 cents on eBay.

Another idea: Sometimes I put Thayer's witch hazel &/or aftershave (45th Parallel by Captain's Choice is cherry-scented.) on my scalp, invert, & finger-comb 'til dry. Both those products contain alcohol, which dries out the scalp hair a bit. Some people won't like putting alcohol on their hair, but they really add volume for me!

lapushka
August 25th, 2018, 05:04 PM
My hair's totally dry within 10 or 15 minutes of starting to drive.

Your hair is dry in 15 min.? You're kidding, right. :shocked:

It takes mine 8+H to dry fully if left to its own devices.

ravenheather
August 26th, 2018, 10:21 AM
I scrunch leave in and gel and let it be. My hair is dry in an hour with good waves.

Ylva
August 26th, 2018, 10:27 AM
I squeeze it dry with a microfiber towel. Then I separate the strands a bit (very gently pulling them apart) so it's not just one big clump of wet hair. Then I floof the roots a bit to get some air going in there, then leave it loose to dry on its own.

cathair
August 26th, 2018, 03:53 PM
I fingercomb mine while it's drying. But I cheat slightly. I dry it under the ceiling fan in the summer and a lower powered wall mounted fan heater in the winter. If I want it less flat, I turn my head upside down near the end of it drying. When it's 95% dry I give it one pass with a fine tooth comb on the top layer.

If I was going wavy, I'd let the ends fall into the palm of my hand and scrunch them upwards every now and again until it dries.

If you want bigger hair, you could try clipping the roots up with hair clips to make them stand up more. Then taking them out when it's dried.

MusicalSpoons
August 26th, 2018, 04:46 PM
I usually airdry overnight, with my hair draped up over my pillow. Before that, when I take my hair out of the towel I flip my head upside-down and shake it out to separate it. Then I put in a side parting (to counteract my natural parting, which used to always dry flat!) and, depending on how looking I have before going to bed, I might use a claw clip or two to clip the front parts *up* and out of the way. I don't have particularly fine hair, but these are all strategies I turned into habit when my hair used to dry completely flat before going silicone- and sulphate-free.

Cg
August 26th, 2018, 06:01 PM
I intersperse 15 minutes air drying while clipped up with 2 minutes of inverted blow drying, 3 cycles. Fine straight hair is just not going to have much volume no matter what you do, but this method does prevent it drying totally flat down.

My ends are not straggly because I keep them trimmed straight across, every 6 wks. However, fine hair is wispy and flyaway, and the longer mine gets, the more apt it is to tangle.

Your climate also may affect how your hair dries. Sometimes you just have to experiment with a lot of techniques before you find something.

spidermom
August 26th, 2018, 06:44 PM
A top of head bun should help with volume. If you wash in the evening, you could do this overnight. Make sure the ends of the bun get wrapped smoothly because if they get squashed, your ends will definitely turn out scraggly.

ellezxo
September 4th, 2018, 08:21 AM
Wanted to thank you! I think they were waves and I had 0 clue all my life I could possibly have any wave in my hair! I ended up working with the waves and adding a heavy duty leave-in conditioner as my locks dry. It totally changed my hair when it dries. :D Thanks!!!!!

ellezxo
September 4th, 2018, 08:22 AM
Trying this next!!! Do you do a loose bun or is it tighter? I'm really not great at hair, so details help me. Haha! Thank you!

Lady Stardust
September 4th, 2018, 08:36 AM
Wanted to thank you! I think they were waves and I had 0 clue all my life I could possibly have any wave in my hair! I ended up working with the waves and adding a heavy duty leave-in conditioner as my locks dry. It totally changed my hair when it dries. :D Thanks!!!!!

Hey I’m glad you and your hair are making friends again :)

Did you know you can click “Reply with Quote” on the bottom right hand side of the post you’re responding to? You can then type your response underneath the quoted post :)

Synester
September 4th, 2018, 11:04 PM
I have slightly wavy hair at the ends, very fine. I stopped using heat months back. So I air dry and it gets so puffy and frizzy and awful. and i chopped 3 whole inches off my ends and i still get velcro like ends. they never go away. i would love some drying fine hair insight lol.

leayellena
September 5th, 2018, 12:58 AM
keep your towel/t-shirt turban for longer time.

Jo Ann
September 5th, 2018, 05:14 AM
I've been sitting in front of a box fan (OK...about six to eight feet away) on low...yes, it blows my hair all over the place and I do get a few tangles, but it's dry in about ten minutes.

Kalamazoo
March 14th, 2019, 04:37 AM
Your hair is dry in 15 min.? You're kidding, right. :shocked:

It takes mine 8+H to dry fully if left to its own devices.

Nope. No kidding. 10-15 minutes. Of course, I do have fine hair, & it's not very thick. But anywho, my procedure:

1. Wash hair.
2. My leave-in conditioner is George's Always Active Aloe 100% Aloe Vera Fractionally Distilled Liquid from Aloe Vera Leaves, which is the consistency of water. (This might not work so well with a more viscous conditioner.)
3. Gently wring hair.
4. Wrap hair with fluffy bath towel.
5. Gently blot, but don't rub at all.
6. Remove towel.
7. Allow hair to air-dry while dressing.
8. Jump in car.
9. Turn on air-conditioning full-blast, with heat turned all the way up.
10. Start driving to wherever.
11. Gently finger-comb while driving, keeping eyes on the road.
12. FOCUS ON DRIVING!
13. As the heater warms up, turn down the heat 'til eventually it's just the AC. Keep the temperature comfortable for your skin, & the amount of heat will be very gentle on the hair.
14. My hair's always dry by the time I get to wherever I'm going!
15. After arriving, sit in the car for a minute to bun the hair.
16. Voilá!
17. My longest hairs are hip-length now, but what with all my taper & the fine hairs not showing up very well in photos, I think it looks mid-back-length to most people.

cestlavie
March 14th, 2019, 06:07 AM
First, after a shower,I just squish some water out with my hands first and then follow up with a towel to blot.
I finger comb my hair carefully before I apply my leave in sprays, after application I comb my hair with a very wide tooth comb, then I put a tiny size amount of cream with a drop of oil in my hands and mix them together and apply it in my lengths. I follow up with a final comb session to distribute the product and flip my hair back and forth once to avoid my roots sticking to my head. I never comb my roots when it's wet though. I let it air dry and sometimes I finger comb in between to avoid clumbs while drying. When my hair is 80% dry I brush it with my TEK wooden brush from the tips upwards. It never looks dry/frizzy this way.

Haven
March 14th, 2019, 08:08 AM
Putting a little oil on my hair while it's still damp reduces frizz for me.

Edit: I assumed "fried/crazy" meant the same thing it does to me but upon further reading it does not :p

lapushka
March 14th, 2019, 08:22 AM
Nope. No kidding. 10-15 minutes. Of course, I do have fine hair, & it's not very thick. But anywho, my procedure:

1. Wash hair.
2. My leave-in conditioner is George's Always Active Aloe 100% Aloe Vera Fractionally Distilled Liquid from Aloe Vera Leaves, which is the consistency of water. (This might not work so well with a more viscous conditioner.)
3. Gently wring hair.
4. Wrap hair with fluffy bath towel.
5. Gently blot, but don't rub at all.
6. Remove towel.
7. Allow hair to air-dry while dressing.
8. Jump in car.
9. Turn on air-conditioning full-blast, with heat turned all the way up.
10. Start driving to wherever.
11. Gently finger-comb while driving, keeping eyes on the road.
12. FOCUS ON DRIVING!
13. As the heater warms up, turn down the heat 'til eventually it's just the AC. Keep the temperature comfortable for your skin, & the amount of heat will be very gentle on the hair.
14. My hair's always dry by the time I get to wherever I'm going!
15. After arriving, sit in the car for a minute to bun the hair.
16. Voilá!
17. My longest hairs are hip-length now, but what with all my taper & the fine hairs not showing up very well in photos, I think it looks mid-back-length to most people.

My mom has fine i hair, and she puts products in it after washing, then she roller sets it. It takes an entire evening & night to get it dry. That is probably why I don't get it. :lol:

Dung Beetle
March 14th, 2019, 08:41 AM
Whenever I airdry my hair, I wind up looking like a crazy old lady who just crawled out from under the bed. Actually, that's how it looks when I blow-dry too. I'm trying to get away from heat styling but...

Jessica Jones
March 14th, 2019, 11:18 AM
Hi and welcome! I am also new in the forum. I use two old t shirts after a gentle sqeeze on towel. Then I usually prefer to be on my pillow with another towel beneath them. The cotton t shirt can help but it doesnt speed greatly the time you have to wait until the hair are completely dry.

Kalamazoo
March 14th, 2019, 12:06 PM
My mom has fine i hair, and she puts products in it after washing, then she roller sets it. It takes an entire evening & night to get it dry. That is probably why I don't get it. :lol:

My mom was into setting her hair with pincurls before bed. Her hair was about 3" long & definitely needed to be combed just right to not have her scalp showing through.

Anyway, one night at my place, she had forgotten to bring her setting gel, so I gave her some George's Aloe Vera. It worked every bit as well at setting her curls as her regular setting gel, but her curls wound up feeling soft to the touch instead of the usual hard & crunchy.

Groovy Granny
March 14th, 2019, 02:20 PM
My hair goes into a terrycloth turban for about 15 minutes, then I do the LOC = on damp hair I apply a few drops of oil on the ends, followed by a dime size amount of conditioner.
Sometimes I do a warm/cool blow dry of my scalp for a few minutes @80% dry ; a diffuser is used in the Summer when I am curlier.
My ends are 50% air dried coming out of the turban and dries completely within 30 minutes when out of it.
I apply some serum on the ends and scrunch....it is frizz free and wurly.

lapushka
March 14th, 2019, 05:59 PM
My mom was into setting her hair with pincurls before bed. Her hair was about 3" long & definitely needed to be combed just right to not have her scalp showing through.

Anyway, one night at my place, she had forgotten to bring her setting gel, so I gave her some George's Aloe Vera. It worked every bit as well at setting her curls as her regular setting gel, but her curls wound up feeling soft to the touch instead of the usual hard & crunchy.

Mom uses the curl enhancing smoothie by Shea Moisture + gel (from Lidl) for setting her hair. It's between shoulder & APL right now. She was BSL+ in her 40s but she is 73 now and keeps it at a more manageable length for her as she's also coloring & cutting it herself! :)

Kalamazoo
March 14th, 2019, 07:48 PM
Mom uses the curl enhancing smoothie by Shea Moisture + gel (from Lidl) for setting her hair. It's between shoulder & APL right now. She was BSL+ in her 40s but she is 73 now and keeps it at a more manageable length for her as she's also coloring & cutting it herself! :)

She's doing it herself! That's so awesome!

lapushka
March 15th, 2019, 07:28 AM
She's doing it herself! That's so awesome!

Yes she's been doing her own hair since she was about mid 40s. Before that we both went to the same hair dresser. But then the hair dresser closed shop, I stopped going and cutting "into" my own hair (LOL) age 15 and so she did it all herself from then on. She dyed it red (very pretty) for a long time. Then when she went totally gray she went a mid-tone blonde.