Gave away my straightener and blowdryer! Will freezing wet hair damage it?

[brave]

I'm moving, and while I hadn't used either in a while, I still had both. I live in Minnesota (I'd never used a blowdryer before coming here in the winter!) so I guess next winter I'll be attempting to wash my hair at night only.
Little worried about my bangs, but I haven't heat styled them in a while and while they're not as perfect I feel better about not frying them to death. I had a wet-to-dry straightener and they would snap, crackle and pop. I also hated having to drag a whole other machine to the bathroom with me JUST for my bangs.

Truth be told I never succeeded in ever completely blowing my hair dry or straightening it, so both tools were relatively useless. Still, I feel triumphant for having gotten rid of them :cheese:

However, now I am slightly concerned. Last winter I did occasionally go out with wet hair (like I said, I never actually succeeded with a blowdryer), and wondered if I was somehow exploding my hair from the inside by letting it get frozen. I googled but found not a whole lot of info.

[taliarose]

Hello, I know Mass winters and Minn winters aren't quite the same but... Depending on how thick your hair is you should be fine washing at night. Mine is only sometimes a bit damp in the morning and since I can't function in the cold with out a hat anyways, I've never had a problem. :D

[heidihug]

I wash at night and my hair is always a bit damp the next morning. But I've never had a problem with it being damaged from the cold, and I live in Wisconsin. Pretty much the same weather as Minnesota, just a few hours later :) Make sure and use a super absorbant towel or T-shirt to wrap your hair in after you wash it, and you shouldn't have a problem.

[GeoJ]

I grew up in Minnesota, and I used to walk to school in the mornings with wet hair fairly often. It would be frozen when I got to school. I can't say how much damage it caused, but I'm sure it caused some since water expands when it freezes.

That being said, I do not think it caused nearly as much damage as the backcombing and use of the curling iron that I tortured my hair with during my early teens did.

[Laylah]

Freezing hair probably isn't good for it - ice crystals forming/expanding inside your hair stands doesn't sound good. Not that I actually have any experience with this. At least with live tissue, freezing will seriously damage/kill it, because water in the cells freezes and burst the cell. So I guess something similar might happen with freezing water in hair.
Blow drying isn't that bad as long as you don't let it get too hot. Otherwise it's just wind.

[Freija]

I still have my hairdryer for defrosting the freezer. The boy also uses it sometimes in the winter, to get warm after a shower, which is quite sweet really and a far better use for it than frying my hair!

[Tisiloves]

So long as you wear a hat, which you should if it's that cold, you shouldn't have frozen hair anyway.

[Chromis]

So long as you wear a hat, which you should if it's that cold, you shouldn't have frozen hair anyway.

Yes, this exactly! If it is cold enough for my hair to freeze, I've already been wearing wool hats for some time that season. My hair stays fine under the hat and more importantly, so do my ears! I walk everywhere and am out in the cold more than most folks with nary a problem.

[brave]

Yes, this exactly! If it is cold enough for my hair to freeze, I've already been wearing wool hats for some time that season. My hair stays fine under the hat and more importantly, so do my ears! I walk everywhere and am out in the cold more than most folks with nary a problem.

What kind of hat do you wear that all your hair fits under it? You have way way longer hair than I ever had yet my hair usually doesn't fit. I generally wear a beret or a bomber hat and buns don't fit in those for me.

[Tisiloves]

What kind of hat do you wear that all your hair fits under it? You have way way longer hair than I ever had yet my hair usually doesn't fit. I generally wear a beret or a bomber hat and buns don't fit in those for me.


Slouchy hats have a ton of bun room, or try man hats.

[jacqueline101]

I'd try to air dry it before you go out.