Wet hair weighing you down? Today, let’s talk about how to dry your hair without a blow dryer and keep it healthy in the process.
Our hair is at its weakest when wet, and I wouldn’t recommend attacking it with intense heat right after you step out of the shower. With these quick tips and tricks, I promise you won’t even think of reaching for your blow dryer again.
RELATED: Hairstyle Guide: Curling Hair With Flat Iron In 3 Simple Steps
In this article:
- How to Dry Your Hair Without a Blow Dryer | in the Shower
- How to Dry Your Hair Without a Blow Dryer| Towel Drying
- How to Dry Your Hair Without a Blow Dryer | Brushing Your Hair
Effective Ways to Dry Your Hair Without Heating Tools
How to Dry Your Hair Without a Blow Dryer | in the Shower
1. Conditioned to Dry
Your hair is at its weakest when wet, so make sure to deep condition regularly. It will help your hair stand up to towel drying and whatever styling tools you’ll be using.
The silicone in conditioner acts as a protective layer for your hair cuticles and does a great job of repelling water. This will help your hair dry much quicker and keep it frizz- and damage-free in the process.
Tip: Shampoo is meant for the scalp, conditioner is designed for the mid-section to your tips. Letting conditioner touch your scalp will lead to a greasy head of hair and more shampoo days.
2. Shake It Off
If you love to sing in the shower, cap the performance with a hearty dance number. Flip your hair over your head and shake! This is a gentle and effective way to remove as much water as possible without straining your fragile locks.
If you rock a pixie cut, this may be the only tip you need!
How to Dry Your Hair Without a Blow Dryer | Towel Drying
3. Begin With Your Roots
This area may need a bit more of your attention when drying. Because of the volume at the roots of your hair, it comes into less contact with air.
If you’ve ever wondered why your tips keep getting damp after you just dried them, I might have an answer! When towel drying your hair, pat your roots first to prevent drops from falling to the ends of your hair. The roots are the last part of your hair to dry, taking them on first will help your lower sections dry fast.
4. Use a Microfiber Towel
Towel drying is everyone’s go-to method for drying hair, but I’m sad to report that it’s actually not the best way. Cotton towels are harsh on your strands and may cause frizz, and worse, hair damage. Luckily, it’s not the only way!
If you insist on towel drying, use a microfiber towel! A microfiber towel is a gentler fabric than cotton, will absorb much more water, and result in much less damage. Part your hair and blot it in sections until it’s not dripping wet.
5. Use Your Soiled T-Shirt
Don’t toss your shirt in the laundry yet, fashion a turban out of it! Curly-haired beauties, this technique is for you. This will dry your whole head of hair without friction, leaving you with tame and frizz-free curls.
Apply a leave-in conditioner or a curl styler on your damp locks, this is to ensure that your hair dries off to a beautiful finish. Flip your hair over your head, slip your head through the neck hole, and knot it at the top. Leave the makeshift turban on for 20 minutes and do your skincare routine while waiting.
How to Dry Your Hair Without a Blow Dryer | Brushing Your Hair
6. Use a Microfiber Hair Brush
Invest in a hairbrush with bristles safe for wet hair and is equipped with microfiber fillings. It will gently smooth and wipe the water off your hair, perfect for when you’re in a rush and need a tidy do.RELATED: How Often Can You Dye Your Hair Without Damaging It
7. Finger Comb
Use your fingers to detangle your locks and shake off water in the process.
Begin at the tips of your hair, removing tangles and freeing your strands one by one. Work your way up and avoid pulling and tugging at your hair rather than forcing your hair straight from the roots downward. If you begin from your roots, you’ll encounter more tangles and exacerbate them as you force your way down.
Work in some product while you’re at it, the smoothed and slippery texture will help you detangle your tresses and nourish at the same time.
8. Wide-Toothed Comb
Keep a wide-toothed combed shower and use it to apply a deep conditioning mask. This will help you apply conditioner evenly and loosen your tangles simultaneously. You’ll notice that your tresses are soft and tangle-free when you’re rinsing it off!
The wide gaps between the teeth of the comb will ensure you’re not tugging at your strands too much, tackling tangles little by little. Use the same brush to apply a leave-in product after towel drying or shaking. If you’ll be using this brush on dry hair, make sure your hair is 30% dry at the very least!
How to Dry Your Hair Without a Blow Dryer | Use the Right Product
9. Apply Heat Protection
Grab a heat-protective product with heat-conducting polymers that will help cut down dry time. No need to follow this up with a blow dryer or iron! Rough dry your tresses by running your fingers through your hair and shaking it to give your do a blow-dried effect.10. Mousse
The alcohol in mousse helps your hair dry faster and keep your hair from frizzing! After leaving your hair to dry a bit, divide your locks into four sections and bun them. Once your hair has dried completely, remove the buns, run your hands through your hair, and enjoy your loose waves!
If you have somewhere to be in the morning, do this the night before to wake up to naturally curled hair. Just don’t sleep with wet hair since the friction will undo all the work you’ve been doing up to now.
11. Sea Salt Spray
Other than heat-conducting polymers and alcohol, sea salt spray also does a great job of wicking away moisture! Salt absorbs water and will cut down your dry time significantly. (Bonus Tip: It’s the same mechanism that makes us bloat after eating salty snacks.)Spritz your sea salt spray generously onto your shirt-dried hair and when your hair is 40% damp, rough dry with your fingers! The volumizing effect of rough drying will give you soft beach waves and the sea salt spray will lock the waves in place. Safely dried hair and a cute hairstyle to boot!
12. Dry Shampoo
This goes without saying – if you don’t want to dry your hair in the first place, just keep it dry! Dry shampoo will absorb oil from your scalp and eliminate odors so no one would know you’re on your third no-shampoo day.
Hair follicles secrete natural oils that nourish our hair, so our daily shampoo routine is actually doing more harm than good. No matter how much biotin or collagen your luxury shampoo contains, robbing your strands of natural oils will dehydrate them and leave them brittle.
Check out Brand Mondo’s own seasoned techniques to air drying hair:
Are your mind and hair blown? Combine these techniques and I promise you you’ll see a difference in your hair. The best part is these tips don’t require any more time than it takes to blow dry your hair!
The next time you’re worried about getting your hair dry, shake it off!
Which technique worked best for you? We’d love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments section below.
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