How do you dry your hair?

We know that excessive heat is bad for your hair. So using a blow-dryer to dry your hair after washing it should be avoided as much as possible. Especially using a blow-dryer on soaking wet hair.

If you want to avoid using heat on your hair then the question is how can you dry your hair without heat. Believe it or not there are other options like:

Air dry.
After washing your hair you can just allow the air to dry your hair peacefully. The advantage is that there is no heat at all applied to your hair and there is little manipulation. The only disadvantage is that if you have really long hair then it could take ages for your hair to dry. You could braid or twist your hair in big sections to ensure that as it dries, it doesn’t shrink so much.


T-shirt.
You could use a cotton T-shirt to dry your hair. This is what I usually do, with an old cotton T-shirt that I’ve set aside specifically for this task. The great thing about using a cotton T-shirt is that it is nicer on your hair than a regular towel. People often complain that towels can snag your curls.





Towel.
Some people still use regular towels to dry their hair. But many curlies have agreed that they should also be avoided. Especially avoid drying your hair with a towel by rubbing the towel around your head. That is a sure way to create tangles. If you can avoid regular towels please do. If not them you could try draping it around your head in a turban like manner and allowing the water to soak into the towel instead of rubbing the towel around your head or squeezing your hair with the towel.

Microfiber towels.
These are becoming increasingly popular among natural haired ladies. Microfiber towels are not harsh on your hair like regular towels because they are made of a different material (Microfiber)
A fellow natural hair blogger sometimes uses a Microfiber towel( Aquis Microfiber Towel), when she is scrunching her hair. She explains what scrunching is on her page. Read more about it

Paper towels.
Believe it or not paper towels are being used by some natural ladies as well. You may be wondering what the point is. You see the whole aim is to be as gentle as possible while drying your hair. Our natural hair is very fragile so the more we do things to it that can cause it to snag or break the worse our hair will be. Paper towels are attractive because they are gentle on the hair. You probably will only be able to use the paper towels to soak up extra water. I don’t think it will be able to soak up as much water as a T-shirt would. Or you would use it for scrunching your hair.


Before I end this post, I have to add that using a diffuser is also an option. It can be used instead of a hooded dryer.

CurlySuzy/Suzanne Schroeder writes about how to use a Hair diffuser for Curly Hair:

The air force from a hair dryer can ruin clumping and curl formation. A hair diffuser can reduce the air velocity from your hair dryer, allowing you to dry your hair without disturbing your curls. Diffusers are also perfect if you are in a hurry and need to dry your hair quickly. They also are great for adding volume to your curls.

Read more here

Also check out this youtube video on how to diffuse your hair




So how do you dry your hair and what have you discovered works best for you?