As hard as it might be, the last step in your journey to perfectly air-dried hair is to simply let it be. That means no touching, scrunching, brushing, or finger-twirling your strands. By doing so, you'll only be roughing up the hair cuticle, essentially undoing all of the hard work you've done up until this point.
“Don't run your hands through your hair or brush your hair excessively as it dries,” says Tricomi. “This will cause the hair to frizz.” But if you must, just use product before touching your hair.
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.
The best way to dry your hair is to let it air dry under the fan as much as possible. However, some experts believe combining air and blow-drying is healthier than just air drying. It is good to let your hair air-dry seventy percent of the way and then blow-dry till they become dry ultimately.
While excessive heat can cause damage to the surface layer of the hair, air-drying can cause trauma to that inner lipid layer, which will make your strands weaker as a result. Over time, something called hygral fatigue happens, i.e. repeated swelling of the hair.
“Air drying dense hair for extended periods of time can be more damaging than using a blow-dryer at low heat and at a safe distance,” says Longsworth. “But even low density [i.e. thin] hair that is washed or wet every single day is susceptible to damage.”
“What tends to happen, particularly in humid weather, is that the cuticles don't seal properly, which leads to frizz.
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.
When your hair is wet, it's prone to breakage, and roughly drying your hair with a towel right out of the shower can cause a lot of damage to your strands. You're better off using a microfiber towel or even just an old T-shirt.
Usually, it takes an hour or two for damp hair to dry completely. However, this time may vary depending on the hair length and porosity. Highly porous hair can take an entire day to dry. It's because porous hair quickly soaks water and takes longer to dry.
Using hot tools can cause damage to your hair. Using these tools often leads to hair dryness and split ends. Blow dryers can cause hair to become extra frizzy as well. Letting hair air dry is best for healthier-looking tresses.
Over scrunching your hair and touching your hair too much actually causes frizz and breakage. When your fingers touch your hair too much, they can actually steal away essential oils, leading to dry and easily broken hair strands.
"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."
The key to air-drying your hair without frizz is to treat and prime the hair before even stepping into the shower and lathering up. Sunnie suggests using a leave-in treatment like coconut oil on dry ends before getting in the shower.
Blow drying with hot air is faster than drying with cold air, and it's an effective way to change your style (for example, blow drying your wavy hair straight or adding volume to limp hair). On the other hand, cold air seals the cuticle of the hair shaft for a smooth and shiny finish and helps your style stay in place.
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.
It's a mixture of two things – humid or hot weather, and how moisturised your hair is to start with. The main cause of frizz is a lack of moisture in your hair. This causes your hair to seek out and absorb moisture from the air, causing frizz - which also explains why humidity can make frizz even worse.
Why does hair get dry as we age? As we get older, our hair texture changes dramatically. Hair will slowly become drier, coarser, and thinner over the years. The truth is that as we grow older, the oils that our scalp relies on for nourishment decrease, resulting in drier, frizzier hair.
It turns out letting your hair air dry after you've washed it is causing more damage than you think. According to Dr Tim Moore (the Australian Vice President of Smart Devices) leaving your hair wet for extended periods of time is putting excessive pressure on your strands resulting in split ends.
Hot water melts away your natural hair oils, leaving it dry, brittle, and frizzy. Excess heat also lifts your hair cuticles, the outermost layer. When that happens, the cells separate and the cuticle layer can't seal itself—another cause of frizzy hair.
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.