Trying to give up the hair-dryer

[sevedra]

I need to stop using my hair-dryer because it is damaging. I tried a search for alternate drying methods but got back too many posts.

Any suggestions for drying my hair faster than 4 to 6 hours without using the hair-dryer?

Please...

[Milady_DeWinter]

You can totally use the hairdryer if it has a cold mode, it's not damaging at all. Even in warm mode (it doesn't feel too hot on the skin, just warm) it's totally ok. I couldn't let my hair air dry in winter...

[geenie]

Use a towel? Or wash it in the afternoon when your not going out after.

[lapushka]

I towel dry for 15-30 min. usually. Then I airdry for about 2-4H, and then all I have to do is diffuse for 5 min. because it has dried quite a bit (at least about 50%).

A blow dryer isn't damaging, if you use it properly. Use it on cool/warm (lowest setting). If your hand or another more sensitive part of you can stand the airstream of the blow dryer just fine and it doesn't "burn" then it's fine for the hair as well - no question!

Do you do other things like heat style, bleach, dye?

ETA: can I ask why there's a "big trim" twice in your stats?

[Ylva]

A good alternative to a blowdryer is a microfiber towel. I'm too lazy to blowdry my hair anyway, even though I own that device, even on a cooler setting, so I use a microfiber towel and airdry the rest. If you wear the towel as a turban or similar it will probably dry your hair quite fast.

[spidermom]

A hair dryer isn't damaging unless you use the hottest setting. I use my bonnet dryer and blow dryer on warm.

[Arciela]

Yeah if there is a cool setting its fine. For me if I did that my hair always poofs up and I don't have patience for a diffuser haha

It took me a long while to ditch the heat and it was hard...but it was so worth it. Now I just air dry from when I wake up and if I am lucky by the time I go to bed its dry :lol:

[Zesty]

I also use a hair dryer. Mine has a very cool cool setting and I will often use it after taking my hair out of my microfiber towel. Between the two dry time is not *so* bad, though I'm lazy and mostly air dry if I have time.

[Reservechic]

Have you been experiencing severe damage to your hair back to back because of your blow drying your hair? Because yes, one can possibly experience heat damage from a blow dryer, but there could also be other variables at play that can cause damage too.

Now, if you don't want to use heat to blow dry, you can always use the cool setting button on your blow dryer to blow dry your hair with. Or, you can always buy a Turbie Twist, or one of the knockoffs they sell and use that to dry your hair with, as a possible alternative.

Without being able to personally see your hair, or know how you care for your hair on a daily basis, it's kinda hard to know the current state of your hair, and how you card for it besides blow drying it, may be possibly damaging to your hair. Because, if you are seeing re-curring damage to your hair, where you possibly have to get cuts down to your hair quite often, then maybe possible further changes in your hair care regimen may need to be made.

Nevertheless, I do wish you all the best with having the healthiest hair that you can!

[Five of Five]

I agree with the sentiment here that low-key blow-drying isn't damaging.

What can be really damaging is excessively manipulating your hair when it is wet, particularly if you stretch it. If you're worried about this, you can finger-comb your hair while you blow-dry it and wash it.

[sevedra]

I don't even know what my stats are. I was active on this site several years ago and then wasn't for a long time. If you tell me where to find my stats, I'll look and see if I can explain.

[sevedra]

I see the stats you meant. Sorry. Those are measurements from my time active on the site a long while back. So, the "big trims" were times when I cut more than 2 inches from the length of my hair. Those measurements are from a really long time ago. I reactivated this account just today and haven't taken the time yet to bring it up to date.

[Milkchocolate]

Have you ever thought of just using a regular house fan? Like a portable one that you can set anywhere while you’re sitting or laying down

[lapushka]

That brings us to the remaining questions. Do you do anything else, like heat style, bleach, dye, perm perhaps?

[spitfire511]

Curious about the questions lapushka asked as well - I did similar as you have - was active a long time ago and came back and was shocked to see that we weren't calling it blow'frying anymore. :D

If you don't have chemical damage - maybe look at the whole routine - I had some damage coming from places I wouldn't have expected.

Good luck - and welcome back! :flower:

[Reyn127]

I agree with a lot of the others that blow drying isn’t necessarily bad, especially on just the cool or the warm setting, not hot. I avoided the hair dryer 100% when I first joined LHC, but like you my hair takes like 5 hours to dry on its own. At some point last winter I gave up and used the blow dryer, and it doesn’t seem like I have any damage from it.
One air drying method that REALLY works for me is when it’s a sunny day with a bit of a breeze, just going outside will usually dry my hair fully within 3 hours. The sun and a bit of swishing I think are the key.
Another thing I do often is just blow dry my scalp down to about my shoulders, and let time do the rest. My ends need more moisture angway. It looks a little messy as it’s finishing drying, but it’s kind of the best of both worlds for me.

[SwanFeathers]

This might seem like a weird answer, but when I tried sebum-mostly (occasional water to relieve pollen allergies) i found my hair went from taking 4+ hours to air dry, to only taking about an hour. I think the sebum kept my hair from being soaked, so maybe stretching washes might help?

[lapushka]

Curious about the questions lapushka asked as well - I did similar as you have - was active a long time ago and came back and was shocked to see that we weren't calling it blow'frying anymore. :D

If you don't have chemical damage - maybe look at the whole routine - I had some damage coming from places I wouldn't have expected.

Good luck - and welcome back! :flower:

Frying is something that happens on high temperatures, blow dryers can be set on cool/warm as well.

It all depends on how you use the tool.