I HAVE to blow dry my hair ok !

[jhill923]

Anyone here blow dry their hair out everytime they wash ?? I wash/cond. every other day, and I cant let my hair air dry or its a hidieous frizzy pouffy mess. I have to use my hair dryer to calm it down. My hair is virgin so its just my natural state.

I feel like its always gonna be damaged because of this, oh how i wish I was an air dryed beauty !
Sometimes if i twist it up it is smoother when i take it down but thats hit and miss. I have hair that is very impressionable, i mean if I put it in a pony tail i then hair a pony tail bump when i take it out.
Anyways this is a rant, but i just wondered if there was anyone else who has to blow dry ?

[dawnss]

Have you tried using jojoba oil, your hair could be frizzy because you do not have enough natural oils in it.

[ravenreed]

My hair actually gets more frizzy with blow drying so I gave it up long before coming to LHC. I use my dryer about twice a year for a dance event, when I am styling my hair. If your dryer has a warm and a cool setting and you keep the thing moving so you aren't heating any one patch of hair too much, I don't think it would be too bad.

[pepperminttea]

Do you use any leave-ins? I never blow-dry, but air-drying with leave-in compared to no leave-in... my hair is just a mass of dry, matted tangles without some help. :p

[Anywhere]

I think life's too short to worry about the damaging effects of blowing air onto your hair. I hate the noise of the blow dryer, and my curl pattern messes itself up and i look like a bush, so I don't blow dry.

[CarpeDM]

My hair gets frizzier when I blow dry, so I just let it dry naturally.

[Kathie]

My hair also becomes frizzy if I use a blow dryer. I second the use of leave ins to tame dry hair. But if you must blow dry don’t stress out to much about it, just keep it on a low setting. I was thinking- if you keep the temperature similar to the heat of your shower water I don’t think it would be doing any more damage than a warm shower!

[RecklessCharlie]

Hate to break it to you but the more you blowdry with heat, the frizzier your hair will get. Though blowing it dry masks the problem for a while its actually making it worse in the long run.
As others have suggested, try a small amount of oil on your hair, that usually tames the frizzies :)

[HairFaerie]

I wash & blow dry my hair every day in the winter. I live in a cold climate so air drying in the winter is just not an option for me.

I do use oils and sometimes leave-in conditioners. I condition my hair every day after I wash it also. I use low heat and low air settings on the blow dryer. It takes a bit longer but I figure it's better than blasting it on high...

I just recently had a big hair cut but when my hair was longer, the blow dry damage was minimal compared to what it would be like air drying on cold days! I will contend with the damage if it comes in the form of small periodic trims.

After my last cut, I will continue to grow it out again but this time around, I am going to try to not be so obsessive over every little thing that I do with my hair but instead, enjoy it and feel comfortable with it when I look in the mirror, even if that means washing and blow drying every day and getting trims once in a while.

So, you are not alone! :)

[ilovejimmy]

yes i too blow dry my hair i do it on cool and move it around.. i recently demolished my hair w bleach so now if i dont blowdry on COOL it comes out looking very frizzy and terrbile the cool button is a life saver or should i say hair saver? !

[spidermom]

I don't blow-dry every time because it takes an hour, but my hair is frizzy with or without blow-drying, although I have products that lay it down.

It shouldn't hurt your hair too much if you don't pull and stretch it while blow-drying, also do not use the hot function. I go with warm near my scalp, cool nearer the ends.

[Malibu Barbie]

I blow dry all the time, I don't always have the time to air dry. I never use the hot setting, warm or cool only.

[Artsy]

I blowdry every time I wash in Winter and it's fine. I never use the hot setting and never on very high speed. It usually takes 15 mins. I usually get a lot of uncontrollable frizz if I air dry and brush my hair. In Summer I usually put it up into a very wet bun and get very nice curls, and the longer it grows, the better the curls. My hair likes damp bunning, but I don't see any evidence of damage from blowdrying, unlike other styling tools.

[Mesmerise]

My hair frizzes when I blowdry and then again, it frizzes when I don't LOL. I used to blowdry the front to get it to sit right, but don't bother now... however I always used to use the coolest setting.

I don't think it's THAT bad for your hair if the dryer is held a distance away from your hair, and you don't do it on the hot setting. I mean, there are worse things you can do to your hair ;).

[luthien_belewen]

I blowdry my hair frequently. I usually just blowdry the roots very quickly to get some lift. I never like the way my hair looks when it's left to its own devices--it's very flat and disheveled looking. A quick blowdry gives my hair a shine and lift that I just can't get with air drying! I'll give it a break every few days though when I don't care what my hair does!

[RocketDog]

I blowdry my hair when I need to get a sleeker updo, but I usually dry just the canopy and leave the underlayers damp. I use a wide-toothed comb to help smooth things down while I'm using the drier, never a brush. I'd do my whole head, but since I never wear my hair down it would be pretty pointless.

[Laurenji]

Do you wear your hair up or down more? I used to think that I HAD to blow-dry my hair too, but when I started wearing it up every day again, I realized I didn't. I get the "impressionable hair" thing too--the second I put it in a bun or a braid, it goes all wavy. But the thing is, if you're just going to braid it or put it up again, it doesn't matter if it's got weird waves in it. So maybe try learning some updos. Not saying you have to wear it up all the time, but maybe experiment with keeping it up for a couple days or a week every now and then.

Also, I've noticed that putting it up in the morning takes WAY less time than blow-drying it.

[nucleardelusion]

I just have nightmares about when I was little and I would always manage to have some strands of hair eaten by the side of the blow dryer monster. Ouch!

I have to second(third, fourth) leave ins though! When my hair was originally past waist length, I remember many more frizzies than I have this time around. Yay! :)

[ericthegreat]

Blow drying occasionally, say less than once a week and using only the cool or warm setting usually shouldn't damage your hair, provided you also use a good moisturizing conditioner every time you wash. However, if you are blow drying every single time you wash, and if you are going on high heat, that is a recipe for damage. Repeated blowdrying again and again will eventually take its toll, and it will make your hair drier and drier, thus making your hair even frizzier over time. I agree with everyone else here, you should try leave-ins. In your case, a hair creme, a coney serum, or if you want to go natural some oils would tame down those frizzies. Coconut oil and almond oil are great as leave-ins.

[Arctic_Mama]

Blow drying makes my winter hair issues worse, and yes, it is damaging. If it isn't the heat it is the mechanical damage from whipping around. Some hair can take it better than others, but it does cause more issues than it solves for most of us.

If you're willing to accept some damage, blow dry away! It is your hair, and if your goal isn't longer than bsl or waist you can likely heat style without too many issues if you are gentle. But the longer it is, the more fragile the end become, and damage is cumulative.

[HintOfMint]

Do you use any leave-ins? I never blow-dry, but air-drying with leave-in compared to no leave-in... my hair is just a mass of dry, matted tangles without some help. :p

I second this. My hairdresser told me that when you airdry your hair without some sort of product, it's like when you let your skin dry after a shower without lotion. The evaporation leaves your skin/hair drier than it was before. I guess when hair airdries without something on it, the cuticles lift up and hello frizz how are you?

Also, blowdrying, as others have said, can be a vicious cycle. After blowdrying for so long, when I let it airdry, you can bet your booty my hair looked terrible.

[Roseate]

I third or fourth leave-ins or oil, and damp bunning! I never thought I could give up blowdrying. My hair used to be a crazy bush without it.

Now my hair looks so nice airdried that I really can't be bothered to blowdry. I get it done at the salon a couple times a year when I trim.

[rena]

I cannot really airdry it successfully either, but instead of blowdrying, I just put in a little conditoner onto my hair, comb it down, do not touch, and once it dries, no frizz. I only squeaze the water out of my hair, and I do not towel dry or blot.

[Fufu]

Personally, I think it's okay to blow dry if you use heat protectant spray on your hair before blow drying especially if the heat is quite strong.

[luxepiggy]

I hate the way my hair looks when it air-dries, so I blow-dry mine every time I wash too! Then it comes out all sleek and shiny (^(oo)^)

[juliaxena]

I blowdry every time and frankly I don't see what the big deal is? Really, I can't imagine where all the dreaded damage would come from by normal blowdrying.

[Sooze]

My hair doesn't air dry so good - looks awful. It's better for me if I blow dry my hair on a cool setting using a diffuser until it's just damp, then I clip it up and leave it for about half an hour. I then finger comb the curly-wurlies and it looks passable. I always used to airdry as a kid when I had waist length hair, and I often braided it. I loved the effect I got with the braid waves, but alas my layers and thinning hair don't make that a viable option these days. Hormonal hair sucks.

[Avital88]

Hate to break it to you but the more you blowdry with heat, the frizzier your hair will get. Though blowing it dry masks the problem for a while its actually making it worse in the long run.
As others have suggested, try a small amount of oil on your hair, that usually tames the frizzies :)

I think this is true! I used to have the same

[julliams]

I'm sorry if someone has already suggested this, but read a copy of Curly Girl. It literally changed the way I viewed my hair. I blowdried and later ironed my hair for most of my late teens and 20's. I thought I had frizzy hair that needed heat to train it.

What I actually had was wavy hair which you can't treat like straight hair. What you may be doing is asking your wavy hair to behave straight which is why you are experiencing frizz. I learned to like my hair in it's natural state and learn how it moves and what methods allow it to look best.

If you want to skip the book and try something different, try washing your hair as normal, use loads of conditioner and let it sit in your hair for a few minutes. Squeeze the water out using a towel (microfibre if possible) or an old t-shirt. Put some clear gel in your palms and rub it so that it spreads over the palms. Scrunch it into your hair as evenly as possible. Leave it to dry and DON'T touch your hair. Try to keep your hands out of it (this is what creates the frizz). See how you go and see if you don't have some cool waves there waiting to come out and show themselves.

[julliams]

I cannot really airdry it successfully either, but instead of blowdrying, I just put in a little conditoner onto my hair, comb it down, do not touch, and once it dries, no frizz. I only squeaze the water out of my hair, and I do not towel dry or blot.

This is what I do too only I use a leave-in conditioner. I call this method air-drying.

[Scarlet_Heart]

When I absolutely MUST blow-dry (e.g. I'm running late and have wet hair), I use the cool setting on my blow-dryer. If you don't have a setting like that, try picking up a blow dryer with that option. I got mine for pretty reasonable at Target.

[rubberducky86]

I wash and dry everday. I have been doing the baking soda and vinegar thing and it really helps with keeping my hair smooth after blow drying. My hair doesn't get frizzy if air dried, in fact the texture is better, but it gets random stringy waves that I don't like. If anything my hair used to be worse without blowdrying because it would get so tangley and I finally cut it due to that reason. So now that I have discovered ways to condition and decided that I love my hair enough to put up with the efforts involved in having it long, I am trying to grow it out again. And I will probably continue blow drying. I think some people just have to, especially if you have to have it dry in a certain amount of time. For me, I'd rather risk a little damage than just hate my hair anyway, cause then it doesn't matter, right? BTW, try using a blow dryer with cool and warm settings rather than just high heat. It does less damage and is more pleasant feeling. Also, I like to use the diffuser if I'm really wanting my hair smooth. It helps to dry the roots fast. My hair is straight, and the diffuser does okay for me, and I think it's supposed to make curls better but I'm not sure.

[venus_in_furs]

Have you tried wrapping? I have curly, really frizzy hair and wrapping does wonders to me. My method is quite similar to this one: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=68100

[SlightlySoprano]

Have you ever thought that maybe that frizzyness you're experiencing is actually curl pattern? I would suggest using a little bit of oil or leave in conditioner, scrunching it gently and see what happens!

[turtlelover]

My hair does just fine w/ a blowdryer as long as I use medium heat. I grew well past waist w/ no damage in the past, and am not about to give up my blowdryer now. I totally understand where you are coming from!

[wvgemini]

Sometimes I blowdry, sometimes I don't. It just depends on my mood and what I want my hair to look like that day. I'll probably go home after work and wash and dry it because DF and I are going out tonight and I wan't a sleeker look. With that said, I will also probably oil when I get home and not blowdry tomorrow. My hair seems to take some heat styling pretty well, so I just have fun with it.

[PiroskaCicu]

Have you tried CO (conditioner only) washing? My hair used to be very poofy/frizzy until I tried CO washing! I don't use a blow dryer, and using CO has made my hair very soft and no frizzies!

[Curly_jas]

Lately i have stopped defusing my curly hair with the blow dryer, but that's more down to not having time in the morning lol. I do use it sometimes, but i think i started to worry about the heat...my curls seem to lose a lot of their curl pattern too i think when i defuse and just goes quite frizzy, maybe thats due to the way I'm doing it though/settings etc.

[Kymmee]

I wash and blowdry every day, too. If I don't wash, my hair is dirty/greasy looking by midday. If I don't blow dry, it is frizzy and shapeless no matter what I do...it won't be completely straight, but has no real "wave" either. Plus, unless I want to get up a lot earlier than I already do (6:30 am) I don't have time to dry any other way before I go to work. So you aren't alone...and honestly, in spite of my thinning issue now, my hairstylists have always told me I have great, healthy hair, so I don't appear to have damaged it. I DO move the dryer constantly and I never hold it long on one section.

[Firefox7275]

Anyone here blow dry their hair out everytime they wash ?? I wash/cond. every other day, and I cant let my hair air dry or its a hidieous frizzy pouffy mess. I have to use my hair dryer to calm it down. My hair is virgin so its just my natural state.

I feel like its always gonna be damaged because of this, oh how i wish I was an air dryed beauty !
Sometimes if i twist it up it is smoother when i take it down but thats hit and miss. I have hair that is very impressionable, i mean if I put it in a pony tail i then hair a pony tail bump when i take it out.
Anyways this is a rant, but i just wondered if there was anyone else who has to blow dry ?

I have wet pony tailed for years for the same reason you blow dry; I had to stop because my hair got so damaged. :( I get a fluffy poofy nightmare if I just wash, condition and leave - for the first time ever I am trying to identify and treat the root cause and not the symptoms. So far I have worked out it's some combination of not realising my hair is curly, unsuitable products (sulphates/ cones) and handling my hair wrong (brushing and fiddling when wet). I spent part of the weekend looking at before and afters of the 'curly girl' method on another forum ... some of the before photographs looked oh so familiar. :o Many of the afters are air-dried beauties so there is hope for you and I!

As a newbie myself I'd say it's well worth reading the 'New Start Here' section on LHC, completing your profile including your hair classifiers, then reading about all the possible methods for cleansing your hair differently, combatting frizz and generally getting more moisture back into your hair. This place has a ridiculous amount of information so try to keep an open mind - wanting to lose the hairdryer is a great goal. :)

[spidermom]

Blow drying makes my winter hair issues worse, and yes, it is damaging. If it isn't the heat it is the mechanical damage from whipping around.

Whipping around?

I don't have a wind tunnel setting on my blow-dryer. Even on high, I wouldn't say my ends "whip around".

But OP, you really don't HAVE to do anything. You can choose.

[Athena's Owl]

You might have curly hair you're "controlling" with heat. But Caring for curly hair *as* curly hair takes an entirely different haircare skill set as well as a certain amount of patience and tolerance for "imperfection" so it may not be useful to find out if you have curly hair, particularly if you don't like curly hair.

If you're going to blow dry I recommend that you pass by the sulfate free methods popular here and embrace silicones. They're *not* bad ingredients in themselves - a lot of people form this notion because a lot of people here avoid silicones in their hair products, but the truth is that it's not that simple. I avoid silicones in my hair products because my hair care is about wearing curly hair, and using very gentle washing techniques that don't include strong surfactants, and you can't get silicone off your hair without them.

[missoj]

I almost exactly the same problem as you. I blow dry my hair but I do give it a break from blow drying from time to time and air dry for a few weeks when I don't have any thing important on. But I'm a student so yeah, my hair doesn't always have to look great.

[fairystar32]

I blowdry too.. I stopped for the last yr and my hair has been awful to manage, so started drying again and my hair is much better ;)

[Latte Lady]

The hair at the back of my neck never seems to dry so I have a drying ritual I do. I blow dry on high for 30 secs or so at the back of me neck and then turn to med and get the rest of my hair and the base of my neck for a min or two. I then air dry the rest of it. I also do the reverse and air dry my hair for an hour or so and then with a low setting get the back of my neck for a min or two. My hair may still be a tad damp but it's enough to braid and not wake up in the morning with still wet hair.
My hair never gets frizzy but likes to lay flat sometimes. Blow drying at the roots gives me more lift.

[Sweetie]

I have to blow dry from September to May every year, since I'd definetely get sick otherwise - obviously never using hot air, only warm or cold... but my hair looks the same... I'm sure if you have to use blow drying all the time you won't get that damage, just use cold air and keep it at distance!
:)

[Lamb]

A few suggestions:

1. Review your wash method. Perhaps tweaking your routine might help avoid frizz without any need to blowdry.

2. Use a leave-in! Even a bit of your regular conditioner mixed with distilled water in a spray bottle might help a whole lot.

3. Wavy/curly hair starts looking weird at certain points as it grows, because the wave/curl pattern changes with every inch gained. There is nothing for it but patience I'm afraid (and I do realize this is by far the hardest part! :rolleyes:)

4. I don't think blowdrying on a low setting, and not every day, is harmful. The question is, what do you do while you blowdry? Do you use a round brush? Rollers? Sharp combs? Do you set your blowdrier on "high"?
Low setting, gentle handling should not do that much damage. Also, make sure your hair is 50% dry when you start blowdrying. Blowdrying your hair when it's still dripping wet is much much more harmful!

[CurlAhead]

You can try to put your hair in a low pony tail and then put some rubber bands along the pony tails... Do you get what I mean? :D *sorry for being a terrible explainer*