Hair doesn't look good after air dry

[brown123]

I don't know if it is me or not. But when i air dry my hair it always looks puffy, not smooth at all. Does anyone have this problem. I don't know is it because of air drying or is it because when i rollerset i never use a fine tooth comb.

[Charentais]

Hmmm.

I suppose mine looks puffy in the sense that my curls show more since I'm not blowing them straight with the dryer.

Is that what you mean? Do you use any styling products with your air dry?

[missfortune9335]

grr. I tried to reply to this but something happened, so if I double post my apologies.

My hair gets a little poofy when I let it air dry too. I've only been doing this for a couple of weeks so I was a little suprised by that as well. What I've tried that seems to work pretty well is oiling. I put a little bit (a small amount, I put my hand over the bottle, tip it over and then back up and rub the oil between my hands) of jojoba oil in my hair while it is still damp concentrating mostly on the ends. Then when it is dry, I rub some oil onto my BBB and brush through my hair (avoiding the roots for the most part) that seems to work pretty well so far. Good luck!

[Copasetic]

This only happens to me if I don't use a good leave-in conditioner or a gel when I let it air dry.

[going gray]

Hi Brown124, This is a subject that is totally irritating to me. I CANNOT let my air dry, no way no how, it looks like a haystack when I leave it alone! I have followed every single suggestion & rule known to LHC & it still looks bad, really bad. So when my hair was 23" (a long story) I was forced to set my hair on jumbo mesh rollers while still wet & then air dry, & then carefully brush it out smooth. The other thing was to treat myself to a wash & blowdry at my salon.

Now I'm in worse shape growing it out from 16" again! (yet another story)

[Olivia23]

Mine looks awful to all frizzy and sticking out especially on hop of my head where I have tons of broken hairs because I toss and turn at night (using silk scarf on head at night now to prevent any more damage). I have to use coconut oil before my hair dries completly. I rub a little bit between my hand and rub it all over my hair. When it dries it has nice tame waves.

[GeoJ]

This happens to me, too. It is less noticeable if I use a very rich conditioner.

Usually I just put some oil in my hair and put it up in braids or a bun. It looks better the second day. I do also oil near my scalp, otherwise the wavy little new hairs will stick out all over the place. :)

[ZenBird07]

Yes, wash day is a hard hair day. With the oiling, I've done it both ways -wet/damp and dry. I've also added some to my conditioner which I will be sure never to do again. I have ringlets and curls and waves and fluff and fur and fuzz on wash day.:mad: The getting my hair clean part is the only part that makes it worth it. Monoi de Tahiti;) is my brand of choice for oiling. I don't think I'll ever go back to anything else. To be completely honest though when I tried strictly COing with Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut I got great results to. After wash day my hair is very soft, strong, silky and very nearly straight -comparatively... Good luck.:)

[Komodia]

I have 3a hair.. so... when i dry it with a hair dryer, it gets frizzy all over. BUT i discovered that if i use a diffuser, though my hair gets a bit more curly (and looks shorter), i don't get the frizzy effect.

http://www.theessentials.com/images/us/local/products/detail/H3510-900_dt.jpg



but when it dries naturally AND i don't move that much, it gets wavy/curly and smooth and i love it. luckily my hair is almost straight until huh.. my ear. so it doesn't get so difficult to control it.... but still i wish i had straight(er) hair.

[manderly]

If you have your hair typed at 2a, then it's not straight, nor will it look smooth and silky when it dries. That's just the way it is.

Have you tried using some leave ins, oils, or gels? Scrunching to get more curl? Twisting to get more wave?

Considering when I started out here, I typed myself as at 2a/2b, and I'm far curlier than that......we curlies suspect there are more out there who vastly underestimate their hairtype :)

[Roseate]

But when i air dry my hair it always looks puffy, not smooth at all. Does anyone have this problem. I don't know is it because of air drying or is it because when i rollerset i never use a fine tooth comb.

You mention rollersetting, do you mean that your hair is puffy when you rollerset, or puffy when you airdry without rollers? Or both?

My hair is huge on washday. HUGE. With enough moisturizing, it's not frizzy, but it is big. Some of us just have big hair!

If I want smoother hair I wear it in a bun as it dries, that pulls the waves out some and makes it softer. It does take upwards of 12 hours to dry like that, but it keeps it out of my way while it's wet, so I don't mind. I take the bun down every couple hours, comb, and put it up twisted the other way.

[Backliteyes]

Yes, this happens to me. Especially if I don't use a leave-in conditioner. Straight hair more often dries smooth on it's own, but wavy hair usually needs some help via product(s).

[Bellona]

I'm another gal with huge hair. Air drying sometimes gives me nice, big, full bouncy waves, but sometimes gives me a frizzy mess with tons of cowlicks, waves underneath and straighter, frizzy portions on top. A little product goes a long way :)

[Sissy]

yes, my hair gets very annoying looking when I air dry. However, I am recently learning there are certain things I can apply to it to help this issue. First off certain conditioners seem to kill my wave and frizzies. Thick conditioners with protein, such as several in the Aubrey Organics line (smoothing camellia, islands naturals, honeysuckle rose). Also, GVP Biolage Conditioning balm helps my hair to be straight (purchased at Sally Beauty Supply). A new cheap conditioner that works well is Herbal Essence Dangerously Straight Pin Straight conditioner.

In addition to using the right conditioners I also use certain leave-ins to get a smoother result. My favorites are Giovanni Direct Leave in and Vita Pro Fusion. I also like Biosilk Silk Therapy and GVP Sebastion Potion 9 (also at Sally Beauty Supply).

I also made a variation of Kimberlily's coconut hair oil by mixing 1/2 cup melted coconut oil, 1/8 cup jojoba oil, and about 25 drops of rose hip seed oil. I then took a small amount of the liquid on my fingers and ran it through the length and ends of my hair. My hair has dried quite smooth and soft tonight from doing this! I think this is a keeper!

Hope this helps.

[Dawna]

This problem is the story of my life.
I have way too may short hairs that are broken from wearing a snorkel mask in the salt water and from combing and brushing by starting at the top first (I know, my bad).
These shorties fly everywhere, and still, I refuse to blow dry my hair.
Some days I consider cutting bangs to help alleviate the problem.
At least I'm trying to make the habit of starting to brush from the bottom first.
But now that I've read everyone's oiling comments, I think I'll try oiling my hair.
Olive oil would work okay, wouldn't it?

[Roseate]

But now that I've read everyone's oiling comments, I think I'll try oiling my hair.
Olive oil would work okay, wouldn't it?

Olive oil works great in deep treatments for me, but doesn't seem to absorb well as a leave in. Coconut is a big favorite around here; the one I love is camellia oil. No harm in trying the olive though, since I bet you have it in your kitchen already!

[Sissy]

This problem is the story of my life.
I have way too may short hairs that are broken from wearing a snorkel mask in the salt water and from combing and brushing by starting at the top first (I know, my bad).
These shorties fly everywhere, and still, I refuse to blow dry my hair.
Some days I consider cutting bangs to help alleviate the problem.
At least I'm trying to make the habit of starting to brush from the bottom first.
But now that I've read everyone's oiling comments, I think I'll try oiling my hair.
Olive oil would work okay, wouldn't it?

Olive Oil is heavy and may leave a bit of a smell if you use it as a leave in. The only other concern I would have about it is that it might lighten hair color.

What I tried last night and seemed to work well is Kimberlily's recipe slightly adapted. I used 1/2 cup coconut oil melted, 1/8 cup jojoba oil, and 25 drops of rose hip seed oil. I found it to smell OK and it worked well to smooth too.

If you would prefer to buy an already prepared oil I own a really nice one that Nightshade makes on Etsy. It is called Triple Moon Hair & Scalp Anointing Oil.

[Tess2319]

I have way too may short hairs that are broken from wearing a snorkel mask in the salt water and from combing and brushing by starting at the top first (I know, my bad).

Ooh ooh I can help with this! I scuba and have the same problem with snarlies from the mask. I used to use a lycra skull cap when hair was short enough to get all under the cap. Now I wear a doo-rag with hair in a braid and that works pretty well.

[Sheltie_Momma]

I use a bit of coney leave in (suave anti-frizz) and bun my hair until it dries, when it comes down it isn't frizzy but has nice waves and body. Of course the short newbie hairs and the ever- curly bits behind my ears still do their own thing, but it isn't the massive poof ball it would have been before. I never thought I'd be able to leave off using the hair dryer - seriously, but this method truly works for me (don't look at my profile picture, that was taken before I really learned anything yet!)

[LadyLongLocks]

If I am going to take photos or wear my hair down I blow dry it for sure. It just comes out better. My hair is pretty stick straight, but air drying leaves a few kinks, especially in the under layers. I'm trying to cut back on blow drying. If I am not rushed for time, and I am going to just bun it anyway, I air dry.

[Beldaran]

I also use oil to tame down my hair after wash day. I find that too much shampoo and not enough conditioner makes it worse.

I've also used a few recipes in a spritzer bottle, usually some sort of water/conditioner/oil/aloe blend and that seems to help as well.

[rogue_psyche]

Neither does mine. Plus I get more breakage then when it is damp because my hair loses any and all slip and the knots aren't just knots now, they're super-set knots that either must be cut or ripped out. When I joined LHC I had forgotten that airdrying before touching my hair was BAD, and then was horrified to find twice as much hair on the brush during my post-shower detangle.

Since our textures are different, I have no advice as to what to do, besides going back to whatever worked. But this is one of the few LHC advices I ignore.

[JessTheMess]

Wash day = a hot frizzy mess for me too. What I have learned to do is CO wash, light coconut oil on ends and length, damp bun... At night, I let it all down and by then the frizz is usually gone, depending on the weather:rolleyes: My hair looks the best 3 days after washing.

[Cherry_Sprinkle]

My hair doesn't look fantastic if I simply air dry without products of some kind, I can wear it that way if I am in a pinch but it gets frizzy. I am just too curly and wavy to do that. I have learned that if I use olive or coconut oil and aloe I can get my curls to hold without frizzing, If I am wearing my hair up, I usually just apply oils or Nightshade's leave in treatment (her version of the Shea Butter leave in) and bun. I don't try to get straight hair anymore without flat ironing (and I can't even remember the last time I did that!) my hair. It's just the way it is. :)

[JamieLeigh]

I don't use rollers, so I really can't say on that point. :confused: But I know that when I was still using shampoo a few times a week, my hair would do an all-over frizz when I let it air dry. Now that I'm CO, I just get nice, soft waves when I air dry. :)

[Toadstool]

My hair doesn't look fantastic if I simply air dry without products of some kind, I can wear it that way if I am in a pinch but it gets frizzy. I am just too curly and wavy to do that. I have learned that if I use olive or coconut oil and aloe I can get my curls to hold without frizzing, If I am wearing my hair up, I usually just apply oils or Nightshade's leave in treatment (her version of the Shea Butter leave in) and bun. I don't try to get straight hair anymore without flat ironing (and I can't even remember the last time I did that!) my hair. It's just the way it is. :)

Do you put the aloe on`when it's still wet?

[thankyousir74]

Wash days for me are terrible. It is only until the day after or the second day that my hair gets back to normal instead of it being the giant poofball that claims residence over my head right after washing.

[Elenna]

Wavy hair is a bear!

I put my hair into a ponytail or bun to dry. I cheat though, I blow dry my bangs!!!! Also CWC works for taming the wuries.

[Anje]

I hate to say it, but there is a factor of getting used to what your hair looks like with less styling. It's not that it necessarily looks bad, just that it's different from what you're used to seeing on yourself. Other folks go through the same thing with wearing buns -- it's not that they look bad in them, but they're not used to the look and are uncomfortable with it.

That said, I also have particularly fly-away hair on wash day, and it tends to be a bit fluffier then. A little oil helps weigh it back to normal, and CO washing gives less of this than shampooing. My latest trick, though, is to end the shower with a cold water rinse, which seems to get the fluff and frizz under control surprisingly well for the effort. Not sure how motivated to do it I'll be in winter, though.