Hair is most vulnerable to damage when it is wet.
The results documented in the published paper referenced above show that letting hair dry naturally causes the cortex (the thickest layer of hair) to swell and become weaker, as the swelling puts pressure on the delicate proteins that hold hair together.
Air drying is the process of removing moisture from your hair over a long period. Depending on your porosity, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days. The style you do also affects how long your hair takes to dry. If you have high porosity hair, you may notice that your styles dry faster.
“What tends to happen, particularly in humid weather, is that the cuticles don't seal properly, which leads to frizz.
Letting hair air dry is best for healthier-looking tresses.
You can let your hair air dry after a shower rather than spending ages with the hairdryer, likely damaging your hair. When your locks are soaking wet, blow-drying can actually trap water inside the hair strands, where the water boils.
Air-drying is not bad for your skin! There's no reason you would need to towel off after getting wet, other than the water may get on your clothes or make you a little colder.
When your hair is wet, it's more fragile and prone to breakage, says Jasmine Burnside, a hairstylist in New York City. "Going to bed with wet or damp hair will most likely lead to more friction on the strands, ultimately leading to potential damage." That's why she says it's something that she advises against.
For example, cold and dry air can actually cause the cuticle of the hair strand to lift ever so slightly. As a result, moisture doesn't stand a chance of staying locked into the hair shaft. This explains why many women find themselves battling breakage and frustrating frizz during this frigid time of year.
People with oily hair or who use hair care products daily should consider washing their hair once every 1–2 days. People with dry hair can wash their hair less frequently. Those with textured or coily hair should only wash it once every 1–2 weeks.
Why it works: Hot air expedites the drying process and actually forms whatever style you're going for--whether it's sleek and straight or bouncy and curly. Cold air, however, seals the cuticles of your hair, which sets your style in place and adds shine.
If you want to know how long it will take to dry your hair naturally, it will take almost fifteen minutes if you have short hair and two hours if you have long, thick hair. Q: How to dry hair fast without a hair dryer?
The AirJet dries your shower in minutes... not hours.
The typical shower takes 5 to 7 hours to dry.
"If your hair takes a long time to dry, it typically means it's highly porous," she explains. "For example, if it takes a day to dry or it takes a longer time than average to blow dry your hair, then you know you have high porosity hair."
Use a soft t-shirt or microfiber hair towel. Continue to remove excess water by gently blotting and squeezing with your soft t-shirt or microfiber hair towel. If you have long hair, tie your hair up into a turban and let the microfiber towel absorb the rest of the excess water for 10-15 minutes.
How can I dry thick hair overnight? If you've washed your hair and need to dry it overnight, gently remove excess water with a microfiber towel. Then, apply an anti-frizz leave-in of your choice and either put your hair into a bun or a few braids/twists and sleep on a silk pillowcase.
Air drying (like over washing) over an extended period can cause scalp to compensate, over produce oil leaving hair more oily, and causing you to fight the imbalance with more and more shampoo for oily scalp and hair.
“Silk helps negate frizz,” she explains. “Twist your hair in a top knot and wrap it into a bun while going to bed. Use a silk scarf or cloth and tie it like a hairband to make sure your hair does not touch the pillowcase. Once you wake up, flip your hair upside down, gently separate the hair and flip it back up.
Celebrity hairstylist Bridget Brager adds that while blow drying your hair with hot hair may be faster, the heat can be damaging, and using cold air is actually healthier. "Styling hair at a lower temperature is imperative to maintain hair health," she says.
The dry air (both the cold outside and the heat inside) essentially sucks the moisture from your strands leaving them parched and prone to damage, which is bad news for all us of (especially those with curly or coily hair, as these types tend to be naturally a bit drier than others).