Desperately trying to get away from the blowdryer

[letterstodes]

Hi All!
I have so many questions so I`m trying to break them up by category. I want to really break away from the blow dryer.How do you dry without heat? The problem is that I get up super early for work and I could get up a bit earlier but I have so much hair that I`m sure it still wouldn`t dry in time. Does anyone have a recommend for those super microfiber towels? What other tips do you have for drying without heat? I welcome all suggestions! Thanks Everyone!

[Anywhere]

Well, the movie star shampoo completely eliminated wet drips from my hair, even fresh out of the shower. It still took time to dry but I swear it was faster than air drying.

But I personally plop or scrunch my hair with an old tshirt to get a lot of the excess moisture out. If I have to go out with wet hair I try to braid or bun it, and it will eventually dry on its own without me worrying about it much.

[Kallenie]

To be perfectly honest I usually shower in the Afternoon/Evening so that I don't have to worry about it in the morning.

[feb26]

I am an evening showerer. Spring/summer I just go out with damp, loose hair as I take transit and between the heated skytrain and the open bus windows (some idiot always wants a fresh breeze blowing right up to November, then I get a 2-3 month break), it doesn't take my hair long at all to dry. I went to work this winter once with freshly washed hair and it was mostly dry (80%) by the time I got to work (my commute time is just over 1hr). good luck! and let me know how the absorbent hair towels work out, I'm thinking of trying them..

[LaurelSpring]

In the summer I just go damp and its dry by the time I get where Im going and then I just put it up. Summer is easy!

It gets more tricky in the winter. Once it starts getting too cool to go out damp, I switch to shampooing at night. I do use the microfiber towels and turbans. I sit around with that on for awhile and then I take it down and its usually mostly dry before bed and then I just put it up on my head for bed. I put it all on top in a scrunchie and divide that into 4 or 5 sections and use sponge rollers on those and I wake up with really nice curls.

I seldom use the blowdryer now but if I do get caught in a pinch and have to be somewhere or Im just too freakin cold I will blowdry my scalp area(from arms length distance) on the low setting just enough to take the chill off and follow up with the cool setting on the rest only as necessary. I dont feel like doing this occasionally has resulted in much damage.

[heidihug]

Evening shower person here, too. Once you get to a certain length, depending upon your hair type, etc, it's utterly impractical to expect it to dry in an hour or two, even with the help of gentle blowdrying. As it is, it's still quite damp the morning after a wash. I find it's easier to put up that way, anyway.

You don't indicate how long your hair is, how thick it is, etc., so it's hard to give specific advice. But, if you normally wear your hair down during the day, I'd do what others have recommended so far, and use microfiber towels or t-shirt material to get as much moisture out as possible. Then, hand fluff and comb until it's just damp. Unless your hair is perfectly straight, it's look fine and no one will know but you that it's not completely dry.

[claireozzy]

Well my hair takes ages to air dry, about 4 hours or more, i have used a hair dryer for 30 years, and never thought id live without one, but 3 weeks in i cant tell you how wonderful my hair feels, its such a massive difference.

Have you tried washing in the evening, then popping into a bun for bed when its almost dry, that always looks lovely and sleek on my hair if i need to go out.

[bonnie1735]

I damp bun mine. Then I don't worry about it all day.

[letterstodes]

Thanks all for your lovely replies. Seems like there are a lot of evening washers here. I could try that but sometimes a shower and wash in the morning is just a must for me. I have fine hair but A LOT of it. Seriously. I have so much hair and it takes a while to dry. It is currently a couple of inches past BSL but it seems like the amount of hair I have is what holds up the drying process most days. I will try all suggestions. Thank you ALL so much for your replies. Will be getting some microfiber towels and trying some night time washing and seeing how my hair feels in the a.m (sometimes I find that my scalp feels greasy in the a.m after a night of damp hair sleeping) Grr. Thanks :)

[feb26]

You sound exactly like me!! I love am showers too, had a really really hard time breaking from them. Perhaps you could try popping in the shower in the am with a shower cap on & only wash hair in evenings? I don't know what your lifestyle is (kids, job hrs, etc) but hope you find a happy ending.

[Lostsoule77]

I tend to shower at night which helps. I only wash once or twice a week though. I always do a wash on the weekend so it doesn't matter how long it takes to dry. When I wash during the week as well I shower with enough time for my hair to be just damp before I go to bed. Then I braid it and wake up with nice waves. My hair will still be slightly damp, but it will dry through the day and still look nice.

[Anywhere]

Also, I'm not sure if other people mentioned this (I briefly skimmed the other replys) but isn't bloydrying on a cool setting OK for hair? I imagine it would be similar to say, the breeze outside.. but I'm not sure.

[Avital88]

You sound exactly like me!! I love am showers too, had a really really hard time breaking from them. Perhaps you could try popping in the shower in the am with a shower cap on & only wash hair in evenings? I don't know what your lifestyle is (kids, job hrs, etc) but hope you find a happy ending.


Exactly i second that!That you dont wash your hair in the morning doesnt mean you cant shower, i always put it up have a quick shower and make sure my hair isnt getting wet, it works perfectly as im a evening showerer too but im not leaving the house in the morning without a shower, i feel not fresh then..

[ddiana1979]

I wash my hair (CWC, actually) in the evening immediately after getting home from work. That way it's dry or very nearly dry when I go to bed. Of course, I don't currently have any children who need dinner right away, so after-work washing might be difficult for people with family members.

As far as blow drying on the cool shot setting, I do that for my bangs, but when I try to do it on my length I get some tangles. Just like I would if I were outside during a windy day without my hair up.

[letterstodes]

Thanks again everyone. I DO still take showers in the a.m even if I do not wash (lol) but I like to wash my hair in the a.m because it feels fresh. My hair tends to get greasy when slept on for whatever reason. Will try out a few methods such as washing at night, blow drying on the cool setting (northern nevada winter mornings are COLD, though, so I`m not sure how that`ll go). My hair is bipolar because sometimes sleeping in damp braids gives way to nice morning hair, and sometimes it is just frizzy or greasy. Will work it out. Thanks!

[Capybara]

I have a really cute shower cap that I use when I shower so my hair doesn't get wet on days that I don't wash it :) Maybe you could try something like this, and use a dry shampoo/baby powder if you have greasy roots? Then you wouldn't need to have wet hair as often.

I've found that, the less I used the blow dryer, the shorter the time it was for my hair to dry. This may have just been me imagining that my hair took ages to dry, and realizing that it really didn't, I don't know. When I quit the blowdryer (it's tough! It gets cold in the winter where I live, so I thought it was a necessity during the winter season!), I found that drying my hair didn't take nearly as much time as I had expected.

I'm not sure what your hairtype is, but I'm a straightie, so to dry my hair I do this:


Gently pat dry with a towel
Roll up in a small towel/t-shirt/absorbant cloth, etc. for about 20 minutes while I get dressed, make my bed, tidy my room, etc.
Take the towel down. If necessary, switch towels if they get soaked.
When you're ready, take the towel out fully, and detangle. I fingercomb at first.
Leave hair to air dry while I get the little one up.
When it's as close to me leaving as I can stand, I comb carefully with a wide toothed comb. I used to use a shower comb, but have switched to an afro pick type comb because the shower comb broke and I couldn't find a replacement with teeth spaced wide apart enough. Hopefully my hair will be dry enough to comb at this point - I hate combing wet!I guess it does take a little bit of time. Hopefully my routine will help you though :)

ETA: Sorry, I didn't see your last post before I wrote this. Sounds like a plan :)

[Macaroni]

To be perfectly honest I usually shower in the Afternoon/Evening so that I don't have to worry about it in the morning.

This is also what I do.

I use a microfiber towel for an hour or so, let it air dry a little longer and, for body, turn my head upside down and give it 5 minutes with a blowdryer set on low cool.

[Arya]

Can you style your hair up when it's damp? You don't need to leave the house with 100% dry hair, do you? I find very damp hair the easiest to style.

[megpeg]

When I had stuff to do early in the mornings, I would wash my hair the night before and allow it time to dry before bed. If it ended up looking funny the next morning, I would just spritz it a little to liven it up a bit.

Blow dry the roots only on a cooler setting. Sometimes drying just the roots can seem to make a difference in overall dry time.

Allow extra time in the morning for hair to air-dry. I don't know how early you have to be up, but maybe give it a little extra time.

Thats all I have to offer.

[Starr]

Like heidihug said, after a certain length, it's impractical to blow-dry often anyways. For me that was about tailbone. Now I just shower in the evening and let it air dry for a while before damp braiding it for bed or if it has to be blow-dried then I do it with a diffuser on a cool setting.

[Oz]

could it work to wash your hair before bed instead? plat it or rap it in a scarf at night if that helps.

[JuneBride]

I CO wash my hair in the evening (after dinner) and then I let it air dry until bed. If I wash too late then I lightly blow dry it because I can't sleep with wet/damp hair. I rarely ever wash in the a.m....and if I absolutely have to for some reason...then I, unfortuantely, HAVE to blowdry it :(

[sparkle'n'bling]

My hair (and my mom's hair - I am her "personal hairstylist" lol) has improved drastically since I started using the hair-dryer on the cool setting. Not just the lowest heat setting, but the cool setting.
Or you could try the method described here (http://howtobeawesomeforfree.blogspot.com/2010/08/secret-to-healthy-beautiful-hair.html). Go down till you get to the paragraph on drying. It works - I tried it on mom's hair last time she washed it. I haven't yet tried it on myself, but definitely will next time I wash.
ETA: The movie star shampoo results in very fast-drying hair.

[IcarusBride]

Some options:
1. Shower before bed, instead of in the morning.

2. Wear a shower cap so your hair won't get wet, if you need a morning shower to wake up (I know it really helps me wake up in the morning!).

3. Shower less often. I can usually go 2 or 3 days between showers in the winter months if I'm not doing anything strenuous causing me to sweat.

4. Keep your hair up in a towel for some minutes after the shower, it makes it dry faster. My hair dries pretty quickly if I keep it up in a towel around 15 minutes and air dry around 15 minutes.

5. If you have to leave your house with wet hair, wrap a thick scarf over your hair, head-covering style, and it will keep your body head in and keep your hair from freezing.

[torrilin]

Also, I'm not sure if other people mentioned this (I briefly skimmed the other replys) but isn't bloydrying on a cool setting OK for hair? I imagine it would be similar to say, the breeze outside.. but I'm not sure.

Depends.

For my hair, no. My hair is fine textured, and very fragile. Any blow dryer usage is bad for my hair, and it makes my routine take a lot longer. Damp bunning or braiding works fine tho, even if my hair freezes. And it takes a *lot* to get my hair to freeze... if I'm dressed properly for the weather, it has to be around 0F/-18C for my hair to freeze. At that temp, my hair will take about 10-15 minutes to freeze, and I have to be standing still outside for it to happen. Sane people do not stand still outside when it's 0F!

I know Luxepiggy uses a blow dryer on a "cool shot" setting to enhance shine, but her hair is rather different from mine even tho our types are similar on paper :).

[letterstodes]

Thank you SO much to everyone who had some input here. I truly appreciate it. Am going to try out the washing at night routine during the week and airdrying in the a.m on weekends. My goal is to stop using the blowdryer all together. Thank you all :)

[arc691]

http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy68/terryandjody/Smilies/summer_30.gif
You could try sitting in front of an electric fan! I wash my hair at night, and sleep with a fan pointed in my direction. My hair is usually always dry by morning!