Headbanging to dry

[Lucy McLucyFace]

Bit of a silly question. Not sure if anyone has posted about this before (sorry, I'm new around here :doh:) but is it ok to throw your head back and forth like headbanging to dry it? I've been doing it for as long as I can remember to separate chunks of soaked hair which allows it to dry faster. My hair takes hours upon hours to air dry even during summer!

I imagine ladies out there with very long hair can't do this or they'd dislocate their neck with all that weight. But otherwise is it safe to do this or does it damage the hair when it gets thrown against your back?

[squirrrel]

So... the problem with this question is that there is no one size fits all hair care. We all have different things to consider. I have fine hair, prone to splits and breakage, and the first thing I think of when you mention head banging to dry hair is tangles. I do my best to limit these, and so, for me, this is not something I would consider doing myself.

Many of the people here are trying to grow their hair very long. The longer, and therefore older the hair is, the more damage it accumulates, so I cannot imagine them being keen to dry their hair in this fashion. I also don’t think that anyone would bring this up as a method for people to try. Hair is at its most fragile when wet and many here go out of their way to avoid friction of any kind.

It seems that you are looking at another ten inches of growth, and have thick, coarse hair. While my hair does take several hours to air dry, my experience will be very different to yours. I actually wonder how practical you will find the technique as you grow longer. As you have thicker, coarser hair you are likely to have more issues with weight than I do (although I am not that much longer than you are right now). I think that for people with thinner, finer hair, are more likely to have issues with their hair hitting against things other than their back.

I think I would suggest that you consider other methods of separating your hair, but if this is the right way for you, keep an eye on the condition of your hair. Is it splitting, or breaking, or even developing kinks? Is it tangling up more when you dry it like this?

[Lucy McLucyFace]

I actually don't notice any tangles when doing this unlike say when I go outside with my hair down and there's the slightest bit of wind. I carefully detangle my hair after applying conditioner and while rinsing it out so that helps too. My concern is more so with splitting than with tangling.
I don't have much of a comparison to go by unfortunately because I have always done this :shrug: but if you think this may cause breakage I guess I'll have to find another way

[squirrrel]

It is possible that others with similar challenges will have ideas to make drying easier for you. The word ‘may’ is the big one of course. With the length of hair you want to grow, and the type of hair you have, it might not be a problem. But you will only find out by experimenting.

[MusicalSpoons]

I used to flip my head forward and shake it, not quite to the point of headbanging because ouch, but fairly vigorously. I wasn't far enough into a good routine to be able to tell if it caused any more tangles, but honestly the main reason I stopped doing it was because my hair got too long :shrug: I used to stand at the top of the stairs, hold on tightly to the posts either side, so there was more space than just on a level floor, but beyond classic it occasionally swept the step so that's when I stopped - the only way I could make sure it didn't touch the ground meant that shaking it was much less effective so there wasn't any point trying to continue.

In terms of hair health, I don't know. If your hair separates easily when it's wet and you do it gently enough (so the hair isn't slapping itself) it might be okay? I know for some people their hair is fragile and wouldn't tolerate it, but then others have hair that can put up with heat or chemical damage, so we're all different and it does depend on where your hair falls on that continuum of fragility/hardiness. Not tangling sounds like a positive sign to me, anyway :)

Edit: okay, I reread your OP. Actual headbanging would concern me! The hair whipping itself, presumably - perhaps not the best idea. But a gentler method of shaking it out should be fine (in my method described above, it was vigorous enough to make me feel dizzy, but there's still room for being even gentler than that).

[Ylva]

If it works for you and you don't get any troublesome tangles, go ahead I suppose. Keep an eye on how your hair reacts, though.

I headbang with dry hair and sometimes sweep the floor. I get a couple of tangles, maybe. It can't get too serious, hey.

[Lucy McLucyFace]

The more I read replies the more I realize this is a crazy thing to do. I had been thinking over about getting a silk cap or pillowcase to prevent breakage and yet here I am casually flipping my hair into my back like a maniac :lol:

[shelomit]

I have heard several people refer to "fanning" their hair by separating it into sections and waving them through the air with their hands. . . perhaps a similar effect, but more suitable for those with longer hair or tenderer necks!

[Kat]

I assume it depends on how much your hair tends to tangle. I finger-comb to accomplish pretty much the same thing (or rather, I finger-comb to detangle and it accomplishes the same thing as a side effect).

[Servana]

Hahaha. I do something similar to this, although I wouldn't call it headbanging.

Sometimes when my hair is wet I bend over and swish it around to get some airflow. Like a bunch of clockwise circles and then a bunch of anticlockwise circles, followed by swishing back and forth and then coming up and flipping my hair back onto my back. I don't think it's a problem! How many headbangs do you do? Lol

[Lucy McLucyFace]

How many headbangs do you do? Lol

Usually only 3 motions, it gets the job done

[Lucy McLucyFace]

I have a very vivid memory of once in ~7th grade having done this in the girls bathroom after washing my hair after PE class (the cleaning lady pressured us to wash it in the locker room but didn't allow us time to dry it). What I had failed to notice was that a group of girls had just walked in so when I looked up after bashing my hair back and forth I saw them looking at me horrified cause I had sprinkled water all over them

[BraidedBunch]

I just throw on a Napalm Death or Nails record and go to town. Works every time. :rockerdud

No seriously though, moving and shaking my hair around makes it dry a ton faster. Sometimes I just shake it with my fingers for the same effect.

[knobbly]

My hair is heavy and I would not do this to my cervical spine, ouch. If you want to aerate your hair, I suggest combing it as it dries.

[Wendyclaire]

Just use a hair dryer for heavens sake. Done my share of headbangiing at rock concerts but you’re either going to hurt your neck or give yourself a stroke. This is a joke, right?

[Laurab]

I've totally done this before! Not recently though.
I can't imagine it really does that much harm. Maybe some slight mechanical damage, but that also comes from brushing it and wearing it in a ponytail. Which, some people avoid those too, but it's all about preference and what bothers us.

[BraidedBunch]

Just use a hair dryer for heavens sake. Done my share of headbangiing at rock concerts but you’re either going to hurt your neck or give yourself a stroke. This is a joke, right?

Idk why this made me laugh out loud.
I think it's because I know exactly what you're talking about. I thought it would be a fun joke for super heavy bands to pass out fake neck braces at the end of their shows. :rockerdud:

Anyways, yes, it does help one's hair dry. Yup.

[Jane99]

I remember my older sister doing something like your headbanging back when we were kids. We Called it “wild Wanda”. To this day, she has long red hairs all over her bathroom walls and she is in her mid 40’s. Stay Hardcore, OP!