8 Ways to Dry Natural Hair Without Damaging It

Many factors, such as length, porosity, hair thickness, or the amount of product applied to your hair can affect the amount of time it takes for it to dry. Regardless of how much product we use or how thick our natural hair is, we all want it to dry within a reasonable amount of time and preferably without damaging heat. When you’re in a rush and must be somewhere, soaking wet hair is not an option. And neither is a five hour long dry time.

Fortunately, there are several ways to dry your natural hair in a reasonable amount of time and without the use of damaging heat. Listed below are eight ways to dry natural hair without causing damage:

dry natural hair
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1) T-SHIRT

Many of us have a habit of grabbing a terry cloth bath towel after washing our hair to dry it with. This is understandable because bath towels are highly absorbent and effectively dry natural hair. The problem is that the terry cloth towels can snag hair and cause excessive frizz. Using a cotton t-shirt to dry your hair can be a better alternative.

The cotton in the t-shirt is absorbent and will easily soak up excess water without snagging your hair or causing too much frizz. Additionally, if you find that there is visible residue remaining in your hair from a product, you can use a cotton t-shirt to dab out the residue.


2) FANS

Fans are an easy way to rapidly dry natural hair without causing snags, frizz, or heat damage. Simply place a fan (preferably an oscillating fan) near your hair to significantly reduce your drying time. Select a speed that is comfortable for you. Of course, you should take caution not to place the fan too close in order to avoid your hair becoming caught in it. You can further speed up drying time by choosing to dry your hair in a room with a ceiling fan and then supplement it with another fan (or two). Using fans to dry your natural hair can be a very quick and worry-free process.

dry natural hair
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3) AIR DRY

The most obvious, easiest way to have a damage free drying time is to simply air dry your natural hair. Carefully blot excess water and product from your hair and then let the air do its thing while you go about your daily tasks. Allowing your natural hair to air dry cuts down on excessive frizz. It also eliminates damage from using heat. Of course, air drying your natural hair might not be the way to go when you are in a hurry or have to go to work etc. Air drying is just a calm, no fuss way to treat your hair.

4) DIFFUSER ON COOL SETTING

Using a diffuser (an attachment that is designed to disperse the air flow of a blow dryer over a larger area) can provide multiple benefits. The rounded tips on diffusers help to reach to the roots of your hair as well as reduce frizz. Besides speeding up the drying process, diffusing can aid in creating more volume in your natural hair. Using a diffuser on a cool or low setting will help to prevent damage while still drying your hair in a reasonable amount of time.

*Cooler heat from a diffuser, blow dryer, or any drying tool is still dry heat and may cause damage when used / done in excess. However, drying devices when used with cool air on occasion can be a healthier alternative for your strands to speed up the drying process.

5) BLOW DRYER ON A COOL SETTING

If a diffuser attachment is not available, a blow dryer can be used on a cool setting to dry your natural hair without the harsh damage. Using a blow dryer on your hair may possibly cause some frizz and fly-a-ways. But, if you want a more voluminous and stretched look, blow drying can help you to achieve it. To reduce shrinkage, gently stretch the roots and apply the blow dryer to increase volume.

6) GO OUTSIDE

Warm, pleasant days present ample opportunities to allow natural breezes to dry your hair naturally. If you aren’t in a hurry and have nowhere in particular to be, go outside and leave the hair drying process to mother nature. If your hair isn’t soaking wet when you start, you could go out and about on a nice drive. By the time you reach your destination and / or then return home your hair should be close to fully dried.

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7) SQUEEZE OUT WATER/ EXCESS PRODUCT

Letting too much product or water sit on the top of your hair can be a reason that it takes a long time to fully dry. An excessive amount of a hair product can leave residue even when your hair is fully dry. If your hair feels weighed down or if it does not fully absorb the product you have probably applied too much. If so, simply rinse some of the product out. Use a t-shirt or microfiber towel to gently squeeze and remove the excess water and product from your hair.


8) MICROFIBER TOWELS

If you prefer the convenience of using towels to dry your natural hair over other methods of drying hair such as blow drying, microfiber towels are a more favorable option to use in contrast to terry cloth towels. Terry cloth towels are more harsh on natural hair than microfiber towels. They are very absorbent, and they remove moisture effectively, but they also frizz hair and cause snarls. On the other hand, microfiber towels are far gentler on natural hair and do not cause damage to the extent that that terry cloth towels do.

Microfiber towels are also absorbent and are great at removing moisture and excess product from natural hair. However, they do not snag or cause hair to frizz up like terry cloth towels do.  This is because microfiber towels are interwoven with fibers that help to gently and efficiently dry your natural hair.

 

Do you have any tips or tricks for other naturals when drying their hair?

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