Air dryed hair help

[pop]

Hello everyone!!!!! My hair finally starts to love me because of your forum!!! I stop all the bad things like blow drying my hair, dying it, I prefer more natural products and I oiled them a lot. The last time I leave my hair air drying unfortunattely I catch a cold..:( I go to the doctor and she says that its not good to leave my hair dry and especially to sleep like that :( It sucks because now Im afraid to leave them dry again...and start to using air dryer :mad: Maybe I didnt do it right because I sleep with dry hair...I dont know!! Any suggestions? What time in the day did you wash your hair? Maybe its better to do it in the mornig?

[alwayssmiling]

I always thought a cold is a virus?. I never go to bed with wet hair though, I think it might be rather uncomfortable and all that rubbing against a pillow when its damp might not be a good thing. You could blow dry it on a cool setting, or warm setting with it being kept at a distance from your hair. Also keep it on a low blow setting, I don't think its good for it to be blown around too much, but on a gentle setting it should be ok.

[JamieLeigh]

Try to squeeze as much excess water from your hair as possible before drying, and then wrap it up turban-style in a towel (if you can find a micro-fiber towel, that would be excellent, they absorb water more quickly). After about 5-10 minutes, the towel will have soaked up as much water as it's going to, and if it's still wet then you can blow dry as alwayssmiling suggested before my post.

I tend to try to wash in the early evening, if I can. That way I'm not having to start off my day with wet hair, and it has plenty of time to dry before bedtime.

[Siiri]

I don't think it's the wetness that gives you cold, it's the virus, but if your appartment is very cold, sleeping with wet cold hair could affect so that you catch the cold easier, you know, being cold/hungry etc. can lower your immune system. It normally takes a few days after getting the virus for the symptoms to appear, so if you felt them immediately after sleeping one night with wet hair, you probably had already caught it before that. Sorry about the rambling :)

Did you wash your hair just before going to bed? I don't know how quickly your hair dries, but if you haven't already tried this, you could wash your hair a few hours before going to bed so that it would have time to dry and be only slightly damp. Maybe putting it up on a high bun/braid would help, it wouldn't be on your face? If you want to wash our hair in the morning, but don't like the wet look, you could braid or bun it, so it wouldn't look too wet. I would imagine a braid air dries better than a tight bun, if you wan't it to dry more quickly after morning wash, but don't want to keep it down. Plus I think some people on this forum have had experience with different washing methods and drying time; for example their hair dries more quickly after CO or normal shampoo and conditioner; but this is probably different for everyone.

[Firefox7275]

What a strange thing for a member of the medical profession to say. :confused: I've let my hair air dry in all seasons and all weathers for many years and I very rarely catch a cold - not even once per year, not even if members of my household have a cold. A cold is a viral infection which you are more susceptible to if you are not taking care of your health. It's worth looking at your diet, physical activity levels, drinking/ smoking, temperature/ ventilation/ damp in your living accommodation as all these can affect your immune system.

[Panth]

As everyone else has said: a cold is a virus. It is possible (maybe?) that leaving your hair wet could make your body more likely to succumb to the cold (perhaps because your body is using more energy trying to keep your head warm?) but that is only speculation.

I spent years letting my hair dry overnight - no harm whatsoever. I would towel dry for about 10 minutes, let it out, comb it, put a towel on my pillow and go to sleep. Now I don't bother with the towel on the pillow and I put my sleep cap on, but that's more so I don't end up with weird shapes where I slept on it funny.

[julliams]

I think it was just a coincidence.. It's like when parents tell you to wear a jumper or you will catch a cold. I guess the thinking is that if you are cold, your defenses are weakened? I'm not sure.

Anyway, I always wash in the daytime and I find that it takes my hair around 3 - 4 hours to totally dry, but around 45 minutes to get it to the point where I could wear it out without it "looking" too wet. If you can wash in the day you might find it easier to get it dry faster.

[TheBluffs]

'The Cold' is a virus. :D I don't have a doctorate in front of my name, but I'm EMF certified, with my mum being a nurse. And I have have a biology class in my binder. :B

Don't wash it just before you go to bed. I know it is tempting, but I wake up sometimes with wet hair! If you do go to sleep with wet hair, put it in a twisty turbie. I think one of the LHC members has a instructions on how to do it.

[Mesmerise]

What a strange thing for a member of the medical profession to say. :confused: I've let my hair air dry in all seasons and all weathers for many years and I very rarely catch a cold - not even once per year, not even if members of my household have a cold. A cold is a viral infection which you are more susceptible to if you are not taking care of your health. It's worth looking at your diet, physical activity levels, drinking/ smoking, temperature/ ventilation/ damp in your living accommodation as all these can affect your immune system.

That was my response too! I can't believe a doctor would tell you that going to bed with your hair wet gave you a cold! That being said, I don't think sleeping with wet hair is particularly pleasant myself. I prefer to wash my hair in the morning. If I do wash it in the evening, I leave it awhile before I go to bed so it can at least dry a little.

[UltraBella]

I think this is an old wives tale that has no place in modern medicine.
I always go to bed with my hair wet, either in a bun or braid. I wash in the evenings.

[lilalong]

I do think you are more likely to catch a cold if you are in cold surroundings. Something about your immune system being less active to fight a virus when your body temperature is lowered.

I sometimes blow dry only the part of my hair that is close to my scalp while my ends dry naturally. That way, my head isn't wet and cold and my fragile ends are not being blow dried.

[feb26]

I've never gotten a cold from airdrying..must be blessed!! I do find it uncomfortable to sleep with wet hair so I wash in am. It only takes 1hr or so to dry fully...if up when wet longer drying time.

[Miss Catrina]

With all due respect, I don't think your doctor knows what he/she is talking about. Like others have said, colds are a virus, so you can't get sick directly from having wet hair. What's more, I leave my hair to air dry every single night of my life and I'm sure many others here do, too.

Did it only happen one time? If so, I'd chalk it up to coincidence and keep on going. If you're concerned, you could always take some vitamins to boost your immune system (which will probably help your hair, too.)