How to dry hair before work!

[Gilly]

I am currently blow frying my hair (on low) everyday as I need to look professional in the office, I would love to be able to just wash and leave my hair to dry naturally so it get its curls and waves back but wet hair is not an option.
I do use a turban wrap which does help to dry it but it still takes ages!
My hair is still too short to put up, I can't wear headbands as they fight with my glasses and I really NEED a fringe as I have a HUGE forehead:rolleyes: and look really freaky and exposed if I have all my hair off my face.
Can anyone suggest something?
I have less than half an hour before leaving the house in the mornings, I get up at 4.30am so earlier is not an option, I cannot leave the house without washing my hair in the morning, it gets really scary, its so fine it just goes everywhere and I would have to plaster it in all sorts of gunk to get it under control (I won't do that) then it looks darker and even dirty:rolleyes: not good for the self confidence! Help!!

[Redheaded Raven]

I use a fan when I have to dry fast. I have fine hair as well and have to wash at least every other day so I understand. I have very long hair by any standards other than LHC and it still works for me.

I turn my head so that it gets volume at the top and use my fingers to fluff it. This seems to be a nice balance. I call it assisted air drying. Just be careful not to get hair in the fan or turn it up so much that you end up with tangles. HTH:D

[templeofvenus]

this thread is just like me too I have to wash my hair daily I always have, its fine and oily and I have to leave early and look professional. I try and hold the hairdryer away from the hair and that does minimise damage, also not raking the brush through it when drying it helps too. Roll on being long enough to braid then I may not have to blow dry as much!

[ChloeDharma]

I'd just keep blow drying it until it's long enough to pull back. If you keep the temperature low, aim the airflow down the hair shaft towards the ends and don't let the air whip your hair about as it dries then it shouldn't damage it too much.
4:30am is an evil time to have to get up though!

[Leena7]

I blow dry every day too, I know, bad, but I think that you could minimize damage by using a heat protector product, using the blow dryer on the cool/low setting and holding it a good distance from your head. I towel dry once I get out of the shower, let it air dry for at least 10 minutes and stop blow drying before my hair is completely bone dry. I will try to break this habit once my hair is long enough to do something suitable with.

[HairColoredHair]

Perhaps try washing it at night and sleeping in a sleep cap or something?

[pinchbeck]

To preserve you hair wouldn't it be best to get used to a new routine? Really, it's a mind set. Instead of washing in the morning reserve a time each day where you can wash your hair and allow it to air dry.

I am wondering if there is a way to train your scalp not to produce so much oil. Try diluting your shampoo and maybe, just maybe you'll get to the point where your hair has to be washed less often.

You may say, "My hair will look like ________(you fill in the blank) if I don't have it freshly washed before work". To remedy this you could always spray your hair with water in the morning and your hair will change from bed-head to princess-head! lol

Stop blow drying your hair!

[florenonite]

What about just spraying it with water in the morning to "freshen up" the curls, having washed it the night before?

[heidihug]

I wash in the evening. When I go to bed, I scoot down a bit from the headboard and drape my hair over the top of the pillow. Even if I toss and turn at night, it pretty much all stays up there. It is usually just damp, then, when I get up. The earlier I wash in the evening, the less damp it is when I get up. If I washed my hair in the morning, I would have to get up at 4:30, too, and I don't leave for work until 7! And, even if I blow-dried it (which I have not done in over eight years), it would still be damp when I left.

The longer the hair, generally, the longer it takes to dry, so, if you chose to grow it longer than it is now, the earlier you will have to get up in order to wash it and then have dry hair when you leave for work.

Good luck, I hope someone's advice will help.

[amaiaisabella]

Are you drying it with a brush or using your fingers? I blow dry sometimes in the morning with my fingers and I haven't seen any damage, but I saw a multitude of broken ends when I was tugging a brush through my wet hair. If you start to let it dry, then use medium/low heat, you should be fine. YOU have to be happy with your hair, it's on your head, not on anyone else's :flower:

[spidermom]

Heck with alternatives that take forever and leave me shivering in wet hair for hours; I'm blow-drying mine!

[Anje]

I find turbaning my hair only works until the towel gets wet, and that usually starts at the nape. Once it gets damp (first time in about 2 minutes), I remove the towel, rotate it 180 deg, and re-turban with the dry part at my nape. That pretty much makes my hair go from wet to damp in a short period. Swapping to a fresh towel at that point might make even more of a difference, but I don't think I'm ready to use 3 towels per wash.

After that, what you do is your choice. Some folks use fans, some headbang (tangles?), but a no-heat hairdryer would have the same effect, and you'll probably do OK with low heat, too.

To echo the others, is there any chance washing at night is an option? You could spritz your hair a bit to wake up the waves and curls. Later, it'll be bunnable and slept-in curls won't be such an issue.

[TheEndlessOcean]

I wash my hair at night. It's usually dry or almost dry by the time I go to bed, then what I do is put it in a loose ponytail at the top of my head and put that over the top of my pillow. Then when I wake up my hair is dry and my curls are intact :)

[CurlyGirlCa]

I have curly/wavy hair and wash at night. I take a shower in the morning so it does get a little damp even though it's pinned up - if it's a little wet - I just do a lite blow fry and then let it finish air drying.

[Nenwing]

I am glad you asked this, because when my hair is longer I always have struggled with this. I would think drying it on real low heat, or the cool, and being real gentle with it while doing so would be okay. After all its the heat that does the damage correct? I remember doing the "headbang" method (it can make one very dizzy!) plus the light blow dry helped a lot. I too have fine hair (a lot of it, but fine) and my hair looks pretty bad if I don't wash it every day (greasy and flat).

[vdhendrix]

i take a shower right before i walk out the house, so i go to work with wet hair everyday lol

[Gilly]

Believe me, I have tried the washing at night thing so many times!:rolleyes: It looks even MORE psycho when I do that:scared:

I guess I will have to keep blow drying it on low but will try using just fingers and I may try and get a diffuser for my hairdryer.
I will be glad when it gets longer as I then can grapple it into submission in the mornings and put it up.
I hate the in-between stage of growing:nono:

[Kris Dove]

Your hair sounds like mine! I blow dry too- not just because of appearance but I really cannot stand feeling cold, so unless the sun is splitting the skies I never airdry. Use a leave in conditioner or heat protector to minimise damage, and blast the dryer at the roots rather than all over your hair.

Once it has grown long enough to ponytail, you could just pull it back and only blowdry the bangs and it should look okay though.

[lovelylaura]

I'm in the same situation as you my friend. I actually spent last winter washing every morning then blasting the car heat with the vents directed all on my hair. It works, after my 35 minute commute my hair is pretty much dry. But its hard to get up so early and shower every morning, so now I am trying to transition to not washing every day. I have had good luck thus far, and my hair has more volume than ever, even more so than from volumizing shampoos and all. My scalp is also producing less oil than ever as well because I'm not overstimulating it by washing it every day. Also, I would still continue to have many "bad" hair days when I washed daily because I felt like my hair was flat and limp. Now, maybe I tie my hair back or use a headband, or even continue to wear down when I don't wash daily, and no, maybe it doesn't look ideal every day, but it didn't really look ideal every day before when I washed daily anyways. And now when I shampoo every few days or once a week, my hair looks amazing and is full of volume for a few days after I wash it. I do not have dry hair and my hair is relatively oily, so I understand your situation with washing less frequently or at night. I also work in a professional environment in a lab, but maybe I feel less pressure because I don't interact with the public.
I have also noticed that sleeping with your hair on top of your pillow makes for more volume and less bedhead in the morning. The loose ponytail on the top of the head sounds like a great idea.
I'm trying to transition into experimenting more with technique, hairstyles, and natural solutions to my hair problems than just going out and buying a new shampoo and continuing to shampoo/condition daily. I'm having more success now than I have ever had before with new products or blow dryers or whatnot. I was so afraid to go out with my hair looking "greasy" (in my mind) but then when I did it, no one even noticed. I think we are all too critical of ourselves. I hope something works for you, and I sympathize with getting up early and having to look nice in the morning. It is tiring and can be frustrating.

[LadyLongLocks]

I would wash it the night before and let it air dry. Rushing in the morning with the hair dryer sounds stressful and could be damaging.

[kittensoupnrice]

I just wash it in the morning, and pin it up with some waterproof clips or a waterproof hair stick.

I end up looking more professional this way, since my hair is up, and the water keeps my layers from poofing out all over the bun. :D