My name is Khrystyne and I'm addicted blowdryer.

[khrystyne572]

.................................

[barely.there]

I got rid of my straightener, but I still use my blowdryer. I tapped down the cool setting and use a large round BBB to get a nice styling. however, i dont have curly hair. I also don't use cones. Sometimes my hair looks good, sometimes it doesnt - on those days I keep my hair up. If you haven't, check out Curly Girl http://www.naturallycurly.com/ for good tips on how to embrace your curls :)

[sun-kissed]

I've never used heat for more than a special occasion on my hair, and my hair is stick-straight, so I really have little advice to offer. But I do know what it's like to miss playing with your hair, as I used to wear my hair down 24/7/365 -- literally ALL THE TIME.

When I joined the forum, I knew that wearing my hair down was destroying it(if you look in my albums you can see the sad state it was in), but hated the way I looked with it up and not being able to play with it during the day. So I joined the "wear your hair up for a month, etc" challenge on here, and struggled through a month with it up. It was hard, I felt ugly, I got headaches, and I missed my hair, but at the end of the month I had broken my addiction to wearing it down. Now, almost a year later, my hair is thanking me for it, and sometimes I am 'naughty' and wear it down for my enjoyment, but am also content with it up and away.

So I do understand your struggle with not being able to touch or play with it, but I really recommend that you try a month(or whatever)-long challenge to give your (lovely) curls a chance. Also, I see a set time to be much easier than vowing to "not use the blowdryer anymore" right off the bat. You're much more likely to meet the small, set goal than to never use a blowdryer again.

ETA: ...Was that just totally off-topic, or what? :o

[Laylah]

I use a blowdryer almost everytime I wash my hair (once or twice a week) in the winter. I've been doing this for years and my hair is not damaged. I use either cool (room temp) or warm (cool enough that it doesn't hurt my hand if I hold it directly on the end of the dryer). Heat damage is caused by rapid evaporation/expansion of moisture in hair, which is why it steams when you use a flat iron. Blow dryers can cause this too. This makes causes the structure of the hair, especially the cuticle (the outside layer) to become weakened or burst, which leads to stuff like white dots, split ends, and "fried" looking hair. So, if you use cool or slightly warm air from a hairdryer, it won't cause this to happen and won't damage your hair.

The other possible issue is the paddle brush. Is it ripping through your tangles? Do hear snapping? When you're done brushing, are there a lot of short, broken hairs in the brush? If not it's probably fine. Something that would help, if you want to keep using the paddle brush, is completely detangling your hair with a wide tooth comb before brushing it. As long as you detangle small sections at a time starting from your ends to your roots and are very gentle with the comb, it should be fine.

[Tealpuffin]

Just persevere and you will get used to your natural hair type However I can't see it being as damaging as heat but i think it still dries the hair out a lot. Just keep up with the coney conditioning and oil your ends regularly and there shouldn't be too many issues

I am exactly the same with straighteners. I am going to get my ends trimmed then i am hoping to go a long time without straightening and only use them on special occasions. I want to get into this habit before Uni as i Know I will not be able to afford the regular trims.

[khrystyne572]

...................

[HintOfMint]

No advice, just sympathy. I'm a chronic hair petter and I have a hard time accepting my natural wave pattern. I can't help but play with my hair! My roommate once tried to put shea butter in my hair and told me, "DO NOT TOUCH IT." What happened in class? I touched it. A lot. She was upset :-P

I usually damp bun and use oil or some cream in it. It adds a different curl pattern than my natural one and it plays more nicely with being touched. Something to consider?

Oh and since you use cones, I just thought of something else I do. I'm on a cones and straight hair kick, and so this is what I do. I'll use Pantene Ice Shine conditioner (the king of all coney conditioners), and then John Frieda Frizz Ease Extra strength, sometimes mixed with a cream or other random serum, whatever I have on hand. I'll run that concoction liberally through my hair, comb through, let it dry to barely damp, comb a lot (be careful and extra gentle at this step), and then section it off into four BIG pin curls. Wrap the section around your hand and then pin it. When it dries thoroughly, take it down and comb to rearrange the ends and you should have pretty straight hair with some body. This is what works for me lately, it gives me straight hair without heat.

[DancingQueen]

I would be vary careful with using a brush on wet hair, but that's just me ;) I find that wide tooth combs are the best for my hair, especially if I want to use my curls.

About the cones: Don't feel bad about using cones. I find that my (curly) hair just needs cones to prevent tangles, make it shiny and just behave better. :) An alternative to cones could be oiling your hair, that really does make a difference.

About the blowdrying, plenty of people use it every day, just use it with care. You might want som protective mousse though, GHD makes a really good one with heat protecting: http://www.ghdhair.com/dk/volumise/total-volume-foam

Hope I could help ;)

[Hollyfire3]

No advice, just sympathy. I'm a chronic hair petter and I have a hard time accepting my natural wave pattern. I can't help but play with my hair! My roommate once tried to put shea butter in my hair and told me, "DO NOT TOUCH IT." What happened in class? I touched it. A lot. She was upset :-P

I usually damp bun and use oil or some cream in it. It adds a different curl pattern than my natural one and it plays more nicely with being touched. Something to consider?

Oh and since you use cones, I just thought of something else I do. I'm on a cones and straight hair kick, and so this is what I do. I'll use Pantene Ice Shine conditioner (the king of all coney conditioners), and then John Frieda Frizz Ease Extra strength, sometimes mixed with a cream or other random serum, whatever I have on hand. I'll run that concoction liberally through my hair, comb through, let it dry to barely damp, comb a lot (be careful and extra gentle at this step), and then section it off into four BIG pin curls. Wrap the section around your hand and then pin it. When it dries thoroughly, take it down and comb to rearrange the ends and you should have pretty straight hair with some body. This is what works for me lately, it gives me straight hair without heat.

BIG pin curls! Brilliant! What do you secure them with? I want to try this! Its like hot rollers without the roller! Thanks for the idea!

[torrilin]

I didn't set out to be someone who air dries her hair. When I got to college, I was sure I had to blow dry my hair and I thought it'd take forever to dry without.

I was half right... I do have an unusually long dry time for someone on LHC, and unusually long even for my hair type. But it's not a huge pain to deal with. In college, some days I'd do what I did in high school, and I'd blow dry my hair and then stuff it into a ponytail. But I rapidly figured out no one could tell if I had had a hurried morning if I braided my hair in the shower, or stuck it in a cinnamon bun as soon as I got out.

At some point in there, I just couldn't remember what I'd done with my hair dryer.

Eventually, I was getting pretty regular comments from people that my hair was really pretty when I did wear it down. Even more important, I was getting comments from my regular stylist that my hair was in fantastic shape even tho I got trims every 3 to 6 months.

This was a really really long and slow process. It started at 18, and I didn't realize it was a solid and settled habit til I was 25ish.

My sister-outlaw is slowly working on making a similar transition. Not to no blow drying. She's had long hair for as long as I've known her, and she's now trying to transition to wearing her hair curly. She had pretty good generic long hair habits (don't wash much, use lots of conditioner). But the stereotypical longhair habit of wash and stuff in a bun didn't do her curls any favors, and while she was using a lot of conditioner by her mom's standards, she was using less than *I* do as a straightie! And as part of this transitions she realized she'd really like to try wearing her hair "short". In her book, short is anything where she can't braid her hair :).

Even a small change like wearing your hair curly one wash a week might do a lot for you. Next day hair will tend to be less curly no matter what.

[spidermom]

I think the brushing wet hair is more damaging than the cool setting on your blow-dryer. You might try a diffuser to encourage your curls rather than brushing and stretching for straight hair.

I feel your pain. I arrived at LHC thinking my hair only looked good straightened, and it was a huge mental adjustment to change my outlook.

Now the weight of my hair pulls out the wave/curl so that it goes relatively straight between washes, so I ended up with the best of both worlds.

[lapushka]

You can still use the blowdryer, except use a diffuser with it. It's an extension especially made for curly / wavy hair, to bring out the curls / waves more. There's no reason to ditch that blowdryer, if you use it wisely (lowest heat setting)... IMO.

[Tealpuffin]

I didn't set out to be someone who air dries her hair. When I got to college, I was sure I had to blow dry my hair and I thought it'd take forever to dry without.

I was half right... I do have an unusually long dry time for someone on LHC, and unusually long even for my hair type. But it's not a huge pain to deal with. In college, some days I'd do what I did in high school, and I'd blow dry my hair and then stuff it into a ponytail. But I rapidly figured out no one could tell if I had had a hurried morning if I braided my hair in the shower, or stuck it in a cinnamon bun as soon as I got out.

At some point in there, I just couldn't remember what I'd done with my hair dryer.

Eventually, I was getting pretty regular comments from people that my hair was really pretty when I did wear it down. Even more important, I was getting comments from my regular stylist that my hair was in fantastic shape even tho I got trims every 3 to 6 months.

This was a really really long and slow process. It started at 18, and I didn't realize it was a solid and settled habit til I was 25ish.

My sister-outlaw is slowly working on making a similar transition. Not to no blow drying. She's had long hair for as long as I've known her, and she's now trying to transition to wearing her hair curly. She had pretty good generic long hair habits (don't wash much, use lots of conditioner). But the stereotypical longhair habit of wash and stuff in a bun didn't do her curls any favors, and while she was using a lot of conditioner by her mom's standards, she was using less than *I* do as a straightie! And as part of this transitions she realized she'd really like to try wearing her hair "short". In her book, short is anything where she can't braid her hair :).

Even a small change like wearing your hair curly one wash a week might do a lot for you. Next day hair will tend to be less curly no matter what.

Ah that is great! it is nice to know that it does work. I may accidentally on purpose forget my Dryer and Curlers (and maybe even my straighteners) If I go to uni in September ;) x

[sfgirl]

Maybe you can use a tangle teezer instead of a paddle brush? They're non damaging. You can also kind of comb your hair straight, just make sure it is wide tooth and seamless. I have done this before! (though not on purpose, my hair just tangles when wet and dries into matts)

[HintOfMint]

BIG pin curls! Brilliant! What do you secure them with? I want to try this! Its like hot rollers without the roller! Thanks for the idea!

I just use bobby pins, nothing fancy. :)

[DancingQueen]

Maybe you can use a tangle teezer instead of a paddle brush? They're non damaging. You can also kind of comb your hair straight, just make sure it is wide tooth and seamless. I have done this before! (though not on purpose, my hair just tangles when wet and dries into matts)

Depending on how curly your hair is, you might want to be careful with the tangle teezer. I find that it breaks my hair, especially when using it on wet hair. Maybe you won't have any problems, just watch out for it. :)

[heidi w.]

Ok, if you all remember I posted a week or two ago about my hideous looking medusa hair. After some very nice suggestions and a lot of help, it was discovered that I'm fighting nature by trying to get my hair straight when I actually have curly hair.

So I vowed, then and there to everyone to not use the blowdryer anymore.

I unplugged it. Jammed it away in a dark drawer, didn't even want the thing in my sight.. and proceeded on with my life trying to get my curls to come out.
And that's been working.. sort of. I can usually get some decent looking curls with curl creme, and twisting some strands of hair as it dries.

But.. It's kind of.. boring. and I miss straight hair. I find myself missing that I can't run my hands through my hair anymore or toss it up in a loose pony. You see, once the curls are touched- by hands or the wind or a chair or anything.. they sort of look more like a pathetic dry wave rather and a boingy curl.

So, I did, what all addicts, do- I relapsed. This time though, I decided to put it on the cool setting- as in, there isn't any heat coming out of it at all- But, It's still bad because I'm using a flat paddle brush to smooth the wet hair straight as I blow cold air on it. Can't be good.

I've got tons of cones in it, and, combined with the cool air, It looks sort of shiny. So how damaging is a cold blow dryer? Anyone using one regularly? Are you seeing less damage?
I'm trying to rationalize to myself that the heat is the damaging part, not the action of blowdrying, but I could be totally wrong.

Your experiences?

Curly hair is not boring. Boring is straight hair because then you can't ever consider wearing it any other way. I have bone straight hair that simply will not hold a curl -- ever.

So be glad you've got what you've got.

Have you looked into the Curly Girl method of Condition Only washing? It's going to take some time to recover from all you're doing. You're asking for dramatic change almost overnight. That doesn't exist most times in real time. You may need to be far more patient. You might even being looking at a few months or over a year for actually see the improvement. Anything hair care is simply not achieved overnight.

I can't recall the whole backdrop of your story, so I am reluctant to say a whole lot more.

Focus on what you have achieved, and recognize this effort. Discounting effort isn't helping you.

Also, curlier hair tends not to show a lot of shine. By nature, curly hair is a bit coarse compared with say a hair type as mine, super straight. Plus, if I have it right, you're a dark colored person which tends to not reflect the shine so much. All those TV commercials have super glossed hair, super high powerful lights they're working in, and is not showing these same people on the street. It's all pumped up to make it appear this way. It's a highly controlled environment they're filming in.

Do not brush your hair wet. Use instead a wide-tooth comb, and detangle while wet and still in the shower. Coat the hair with conditioner, and redip the comb over&over in conditioner and work this through the hair while using the power of the shower water to assist with detangling.

A blow drier is a highly focused stream of wind, so actually, all that blowing about can indeed cause some damage, although far less than simply the heat from a blow-drier. We here at LHC call it blow frying.

Apparently curl's curliness and shine can be dulled by the use of shampoos containing sulfates. So consider a low- to no-shampoo for shampooing your hair such as is sold by Lorraine Massey, author of Curly Girl books (there's a subsequent Handbook). I know the first book discusses Condition Only Hair Washing. And she sells her products on Devashan Salon, too, an internet website.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

You can still use the blowdryer, except use a diffuser with it. It's an extension especially made for curly / wavy hair, to bring out the curls / waves more. There's no reason to ditch that blowdryer, if you use it wisely (lowest heat setting)... IMO.

I believe the windiness is controlled somewhat by the use of a diffuser.

(I threw mine away decade or more ago.)

heidi w.

[Hollyfire3]

I just use bobby pins, nothing fancy. :)

Oh awsome! Sounds easy and great for my stupid heat damaged hair that no longer curls like it used to, it is inbetween curly and straight and just doesn't look nice these days, maybe this will give me the more straight look I want, with some body to boot! Yeah trying it out tonight so excited!:D