Curlies/Wavies How do you dry your hair?

[Red_Rose]

Much like the title says, how do all of the curlies and wavies out there dry their hair after a washing?

Since I'm new to how to look after my curly hair, all I do is after I wash my hair is comb it to remove any tangles then I scrunch it and then let it air dry but I've heard that a lot of people either do the "plopping (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/to-plop-or-not-to-plop)" or the "pineapple (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/hairstyles/how-to-pineapple-your-hair)" and have had good results with it. Of course, some just let it air dry and others use a diffuser. I do have a diffuser but I would like to try a different way of air drying first.

I've considered trying the pineapple while my hair is wet to see how it turns out but wouldn't the hair underneath at the base of the neck and sides look more straight when it's drying instead of curling up? So far, I don't add any product in my hair as I do not like the way most of them make my hair feel but I'll make another thread on that topic.;)

[EricaLee83]

I won't be much help to suggest anything new because all I do is air dry. I comb with a wide tooth comb in the shower while my hair is full of conditioner. Then I do a cold rinse and gently squeeze all the water I can out. I don't comb/brush it at all once out of the shower. I like my hair dripping (or close to it) when I scrunch in product. Once it's about 80% dry, I use paper towels to gently get the remainder of the drippies. Most of the time it only takes about 2 hours for my hair to completely dry but I think it depends what product I use that day. I do occasionally "plop" it, but I don't notice that much of a difference from just air drying it. I think my curl definition is strong enough where no matter what I do with it, the curl will be the same.

[Firefox7275]

I don't think pineappling is for drying hair, it's to stop you flattening all your (dry) curls as you sleep. What are you trying to achieve - curlier hair, more defined curls?

[Topaz]

I do pretty much the same. I comb with a wide toothed bohn comb while in the shower and my hair is slathered in conditioner. Then a cold rinse and sometimes a vinegar rinse. Out of the shower and dripping wet I apply jojoba oil to the ends, then a leave-in conditioner through all of the length, and then Fruit of the Earth aloe vera gel to all of it to keep the frizzies at bay. Once my hair is slicked up with all that, I use the wide toothed comb again to smooth it all out. After that I air dry. It usually takes mine about 3 to 3.5 hours to dry all the way through.

[Red_Rose]

I don't think pineappling is for drying hair, it's to stop you flattening all your (dry) curls as you sleep. What are you trying to achieve - curlier hair, more defined curls?

On the naturallycurly.com site, some of the people there said that they use the pineapple when drying their hair and it's helped to define their curls.

What I would like to do is to try to get my hair both curlier as well as defined. Most of my hair forms into the spiral curls that I like but some of the hair at the base of the neck doesn't want to curl up much so I didn't know if it was because of how I was drying my hair or if it's because I'm currently not using product in my hair.:confused:

[princessp]

I usually either braid mine or plop it on the top of my head. I don't have time to leave it down and air dry.

[longcurlygirl<3]

i use a microfiber towl. its pretty cheap at CVS for $5. I scrunch its in a upward motion. [my mom plopped for like 10-15] and her curls looked amazingg!! plus fter you wash/condish/detangle dont touch it!! apply a leavein cream soaking wet and your favorite oil and use the microfiber towel srunch and air dry the rest.

[Chetanlaiho]

I do a tshirt turban at first, and then let it airdry loose :) I find that aloe vera gel + coconut oil makes my waves more defined ^^

[Blond On Blond]

I apply conditioner under the shower / in the bath, comb through to detangle, rinse, squeeze out as much water as I can with an old T-shirt, apply a leave-in, finger-comb, put an XXX size T-shirt over my shoulders (my hair is still pretty wet after all this) and let hair air dry. The toughest part is NOT TOUCHING IT before it's dry, as it messes up the curlies forming. It's a huge PITA, my hair takes about 2-3 hours to dry. This method leaves me with soft curls. They don't last longer than a day (turn into waves after), but I guess it's just my hair being naughty... ;)
BTW - after a considerable time of lurking only on this site - greetings to all! My first post here :)

[Blond On Blond]

I apply conditioner under the shower / in the bath, comb through to detangle, rinse, squeeze out as much water as I can with an old T-shirt, apply a leave-in, finger-comb, put an XXX size T-shirt over my shoulders (my hair is still pretty wet after all this) and let hair air dry. The toughest part is NOT TOUCHING IT before it's dry, as it messes up the curlies forming. It's a huge PITA since it takes about 2-3 hours. This method leaves me with soft curls. They don't last longer than a day (turn into waves after), but I guess it's just my hair being naughty... ;)
BTW - after a considerable time of lurking only on this site - greetings to all! My first post here :)

[dawnss]

Congrats blond on blond, I air dry but after I rinse out my hair and towel dry (sometimes) I apply my moistuizer, sealant and then detangle after that I put my hair into some kind of style: bun, twists, or braids).

[Oksana]

After washing I just leave my hair, no combing or brushing. This gives me lovely frizz free waves, I wish i new this 2 years ago!

[GlassEyes]

Pineappling is only for preserving curls over night, not drying hair.

I've done a few methods. I've done drip dry (takes forever), plopping, turbans, and diffusers. Diffusers give me frizz (but my own fault--I'm impatient with them), but usualy turbans with TEE SHIRTS instead of towels work for me. Microfiber is usually fine too, I just don't bother with it that much.

[Stub]

I wash in the shower at night, so if there is time before bed my hair gets mostly dry and I loosely pineapple it while damp. It finishes drying overnight and usually has wonderful spirals in the morning.

[dfotw]

I shower at night, so right after the shower I gently squeeze out as much water as I can, then use a t-shirt turban to catch the worst of the dripping while I get ready for bed. Then, I put some Nightblooming Panacea on the ends / coconut oil on the length, stuff my loose hair into my sleepcap and go to sleep like that. It's usually 80% dry when I get up in the morning and with nice curls, and then I can use a bit of flax-seed gel if I want to wear it down, or just put it up into an updo.

HTH! :flower:

[Firefox7275]

On the naturallycurly.com site, some of the people there said that they use the pineapple when drying their hair and it's helped to define their curls.

What I would like to do is to try to get my hair both curlier as well as defined. Most of my hair forms into the spiral curls that I like but some of the hair at the base of the neck doesn't want to curl up much so I didn't know if it was because of how I was drying my hair or if it's because I'm currently not using product in my hair.:confused:

Ooooh you and I are wanting the exact same thing! :cool: I am really new to CG so can't help that much, but I am keeping a blog here on LHC and I will subscribe to this thread so I can find you later. It's VERY early days for me but ... I am letting my hair (or parts of it) get too dry before scrunching in leave-in conditioner. I think this is making some parts of my hair less curly and less defined, specifically the back and roots.

I think making my parting may also contribute to straighter bits, maybe you could try not combing at all once you get out of the shower? I'm really interested in trying the Icequeen Method (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/general-discussion-about-curly-hair/69033-oh-clumps-icequeen-method.html) as there is not an extra step and styling product is not required.

[PamelaViktoria]

and then I scrunchy bun for sleeping. It gives me consistant natural looking waves.

[Red_Rose]

Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone! I always thought that pineappling was just for when you sleep at night but on naturallycurly, some of the ladies there put their hair up like that to help it dry.

I think I might give the microfiber towels or T-shirts a try to see how that works for me.:)


Ooooh you and I are wanting the exact same thing! :cool: I am really new to CG so can't help that much, but I am keeping a blog here on LHC and I will subscribe to this thread so I can find you later. It's VERY early days for me but ... I am letting my hair (or parts of it) get too dry before scrunching in leave-in conditioner. I think this is making some parts of my hair less curly and less defined, specifically the back and roots.

I think making my parting may also contribute to straighter bits, maybe you could try not combing at all once you get out of the shower? I'm really interested in trying the Icequeen Method (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/general-discussion-about-curly-hair/69033-oh-clumps-icequeen-method.html) as there is not an extra step and styling product is not required.

Ah! Someone else who is looking for the same thing!

What I normally do is wash my hair with shampoo and once that's rinsed, I add a conditioner and leave it in for about three minutes. I comb through my hair during that time to remove any tangles and loose hairs as well as to evenly coat my hair with the conditioner with a wide tooth comb and after I rinsed out the conditioner, I give it another quick combing and then I begin to scrunch. The part near my neck is the section that takes the longest to dry and of course, I have a hard time trying to keep myself from touching my hair when I let it air dry.:o

I had just found a thread on flaxseed gel here so I'm seriously going to give that a try.

[julliams]

Mine is more wavy but I use a microfibre turban for about 5 mintues which gets soaked, then I take it down, brush through my hair with my wooden quill body shop brush (which I think it really like using a comb), put some Giovanni Direct leave-in conditioner in, scrunch the ends a bit and leave it alone.

If I have one of those days where it's just not co-operating, I just wait until it's pretty much dry, put it in a loose bun for about half an hour and that makes it look a whole lot better.

[HairStickler]

I used to wear my wet hair up, but then I decided to enjoy my curls and started letting it air dry and wearing it down. Unfortunately, my hair got more damaged after several years of that. Now I am back to keeping it up all the time, which means that my bun will stay wet for more than a day. When I take it down, it is not very curly, but it is not as tangly and hopefully it will be in better condition in the long run.

[AchtungCurly]

When I've finished my shower, I smooth leave-in on dripping wet hair. Then I smooth on a little shea butter on the ends. (I used to use Boots Curl Creme after this in winter, Curl Keeper in summer, but I'm trying to go easy on products lately.)

Anyway, I use a t-shirt and scrunch a lot of the water out of my hair, and then another t-shirt to plop. I plop at least 15 minutes, more if I have time (not for curl, just to keep wet hair off my neck). The t-shirts I use are cotton/rayon, because that gives me the least amount of frizz.

Occasionally, I diffuse, but it's usually when I need to be somewhere, because I don't get great results.

I modified pineapple on dry hair at night, spritz a little water the next day, and get good 2nd day hair.

I tried to wet pineapple once, but it did pull the curls out of the back and sides. I have a weaker curl pattern that you, so YMMV.

[growingpains]

Well, to get more definition to the curls you could consider twirling the pieces once no longer sopping wet, to get the straighter hairs to take on the curl pattern of the curlier ones. I get great curls from this. (As much as a 1c/2a can anyways). I like to use a bit of oil on it to help the twirled sections hold.

Product would probably work too.

[gthlvrmx]

I detangle when i have my conditioner in it, and then i just let it air dry. I haven't dried plopping or the pineapple, i fear the tangles O.O

[dulce]

1 carefully detangle with a widetooth comb [add oil to snag if it's bad]while wet,mop up some wetness with a very soft bathrobe-plush type then put some" A and G liquid hair shine " on my ends and canopy while still wet to seal in moisture,,let air dry till almost dry,then use a blowdyer with a diffuser to lift and loosen my tight air dryed curls-only use it for about a minute-just to fluff and soften my naturally curly hair-