Blow drying your hair: how to reduce damage and protect your hair

What you should absolutely not do

Before moving on to discussing whether a hair dryer is harmful, you need to clearly define the prohibited actions in drying your hair. Any of them will lead to disruption of the hair structure, which is clearly not worth saving time.

Dry your scalp vigorously with a towel. After water treatments, it is sensitive, as are the hair roots. It will be difficult to style your hair after such an execution - it will bristle.

Squeeze them out with a towel over their entire length - when wet, their structure becomes brittle, causing them to become lifeless.

Combing wet hair will lead to brittleness, split ends and many knots that will be impossible to untangle.

Blow-drying with hot air will simply destroy the porous structure, which is heavy with absorbed moisture. They will become dry, dull and brittle.

If you absolutely don’t have enough time, it’s better not to wash your hair at all than to do this. There are many hairstyles for slightly dirty hair, as well as dry shampoos. In other cases, you can dwell on the question of the dangers of a hair dryer in more detail.

Blow-dry your hair: researchers have destroyed the myth about the dangers of the procedure

Online courses from bloggers are becoming more and more popular, and the authors are often not even doctors, but ordinary people. Those who themselves encountered a problem, and then decided to study the issue in detail and were able to overcome it. For example, the blog of Anastasia Sidorova, who previously struggled with hair loss and dryness under the supervision of a doctor, became popular, and now writes recommendations for girls with similar problems on home care and the necessary tests to resolve the issue. In particular, bloggers are breaking myths - one of the latest to write about the benefits of blow-drying, which previously would have seemed crazy. In this article we will tell you why you should buy a good hair dryer and stop sleeping with wet hair.

Korean scientists conducted an experiment

Following Anastasia, this topic was raised on her page by chemist Yulia Sotnikova, who confirmed that the myth about the dangers of blow-drying was refuted in the course of scientific research. Thus, a comparative study was conducted at Wonju Medical College in Korea. First of all, they confirmed that quick drying with hot air damages the cuticle, as a result of which the hair begins to flake and becomes dry. At the same time, blow-drying at medium and low temperatures at a distance of 15 cm from the hair caused less damage to the subjects’ hair than natural drying. This point needs to be remembered by girls whose hair takes longer than an hour to dry - not a single trichologist will advise you to go to bed with a wet head.

Don't be afraid to blow dry

Photo: unsplash.com

How to dry your hair correctly

After washing your hair, wrap your hair in a sheet made of thin cotton or silk - this material absorbs moisture better than a bath towel. For short, thin hair, doing this for 10-15 minutes is enough, while long hair needs 30-45 minutes. Then comb your hair from the tips to the roots and start drying with a stream of air in the direction from the roots to the ends - so that the air flows along the hair scales and not against them. Do not believe the popular myth that drying your hair upside down is harmful - the logic is unfamiliar to the people spreading it. The fact that you tilt your head does not cause your hair to rise in the opposite direction - dry it to your health! Don't forget to turn on the ionization function if your hair dryer has it - this way your hair won't become electrified after drying.

Additional protection

Buy silicone serum and apply a drop of product to your hair every time after drying. A drop the size of a five-ruble coin will be enough to cover the length of your lower back. Warm the liquid in your palms by rubbing it between them, and then apply the product from the tips upward. Silicone covers the hair with a thin protective film that retains moisture and mitigates trauma to the hair shaft when combing and other manipulations with the hair.

Pros and cons of thermal and natural dehumidification

Each drying option has a right to exist, the main thing is to do it correctly. The undeniable advantage of using a hair dryer is its speed - 20-30 minutes is enough even for long hair. But you can’t dry them immediately after washing, so the basic time needs to be doubled.

The hairdryer also allows you to create various styles, the simplest being curls of different diameters in a matter of minutes. By washing your hair early in the morning and waiting for your hair to dry, you can create an elegant hairstyle within 30-40 minutes.

In addition, blow-drying hair is suitable for those with very thick hair - such a head of hair can dry on its own for several hours. The thermal approach will significantly speed up this process, but turning on the highest temperature mode even in the name of saving precious minutes is not worth it. It is better to use the cold air supply mode.

Natural drying

A drying method approved by many, which does not require any special wisdom. Simply blot the wet strands with a towel and unravel them. They dry naturally within a few hours at most, after which they need to be combed.

It would seem that this method has continuous advantages:

Hair is not negatively affected - of course, if it is not actively rubbed with a towel.
While they dry, you can do a lot of things without bothering with a hairdryer.
After washing, you can apply special oils and compounds to the strands to strengthen them.
Natural shine.

But the existence of one big disadvantage - a long time interval, for many negates all the advantages. This is why many people use a hair dryer for drying, even if only at the end.

How to dry your hair correctly

The best solution before drying with a hairdryer would be to purchase thermal protection products. Applying it before drying will protect them from the negative effects of temperatures. This kind of prevention does not damage your hair; on the contrary, it is even useful in the summer.

Before using a hairdryer, you need to comb your hair. Yes, it is not recommended to comb wet hair, but it won’t work otherwise. If you start thermal drying of tangled hair, after it the situation will become difficult to resolve. It is advisable to use a wide-toothed comb made from natural materials.

It is advisable to buy a hairdryer with an adjustable air flow rate - too intense exposure is undesirable. Devices without this function are harmful for drying, even when used carefully.

Hair that is still damp should be treated with a cold stream of air at low speed so as not to damage it. Then you can increase the speed, but it is better not to switch to the hot air supply mode - the whole effect will be ruined.

It is useful to use the advice of hairdressers:

The distance when drying with a hairdryer is 20 cm, otherwise it will damage the hair.
Direction - from roots to ends, capturing individual strands, no chaos! This will leave the cuticles smooth.
Overheating is unacceptable, so you need to dry it in a certain order: secure large strands with clips and follow from the hairline to the crown and occipital area.
High speed hair dryer is less evil than high temperature.
At the end of the procedure, direct a stream of cold air onto the hair - this will “close” the scales.

Many people are interested in how to blow dry their hair to create curls. This does not require curling irons or sleepless nights with curlers on your head. It is enough to purchase a nozzle such as a diffuser. You need to immediately buy styling products for it, otherwise your hairstyle won’t last throughout the day.

Drying hair naturally

If you want your hair to shine with health, then you should use a hair dryer very rarely, and it is better to abandon it altogether. But by leaving your hair wet in the air, you are also exposing it to unwanted effects. It is also not recommended to dry your hair in direct sunlight.

There are two ways to dry your hair naturally: using a towel and using your fingers.

Towel dry your hair following these rules:

After you have washed your hair, you need to remove excess water. To do this, it is better to wring out the hair, but you should not twist it, otherwise it will become very brittle.
You should wrap your head tightly with a towel. A large terry towel or any other soft towel is best for this. However, it should be warm. You can heat it on a radiator or iron it with an iron. The towel should be left on your head until your hair is completely dry. If possible, try to change it for a new warm and dry one as the towel becomes damp. It is recommended to wash your hair at night and go to bed, wrapping your head in a warm towel. If for some reason you cannot completely dry your hair using a towel, you can dry it with a hairdryer or air dry it.

It is very convenient, safe and quick to dry your hair using your fingers. And, most importantly, this drying method is available to any woman. I would like to note that for those with weakened and thin hair, this method of drying hair will be an excellent replacement for a hair dryer.

You need to start drying your hair with your fingers, as with any other method, by removing excess moisture. To do this, it is best to pre-dry your hair with a warm towel. Then strands of hair are passed through your fingers, lifting and tousling them at the roots. These movements must be fast and confident. This method will allow your hair to dry faster than towel drying and will give it extra volume.

How to protect your hair while blow-drying

Using thermal protection products is the best preventative move. Hair when wet is vulnerable and requires careful handling. Do not use fine-toothed combs or old hair dryers that blow air that burns the skin. If you don’t have time to let them dry in a loose state, it is better to wrap the turban in a towel for 15-20 minutes rather than dry it with a hot stream of air.

Those with curly hair are often interested in whether a hair dryer is harmful to their curls. If you use it without a diffuser - definitely, because they will get very tangled, and you won’t be able to put them together into an acceptable hairstyle.

Using this attachment in the form of a disk with “fingers” will help in this matter - drying with it will smooth out the hair and give it a more noble appearance. It should be used in conjunction with styling and heat protection products.

Under no circumstances should you dry them in one place for a long time - this will lead to overheating. Therefore, it is better to consistently “go around” the entire area of the head, without lingering for a long time on a small area. Drying from bottom to top is strictly not recommended - this will lead to brittleness and a “husk” feeling instead of healthy strands. Conclusion

A hair dryer is used by the vast majority, but not always correctly. Many people simply get used to split ends or loss of shine, but this is wrong. Compliance with the rules for thermal drying is the key to beautiful and healthy hair.

Common mistakes when drying hair with a hairdryer and how to avoid them

How to properly dry and style your hair with a hairdryer - a pro tells, Masha shows.

There is a common belief that blow-drying is harmful to your hair. And many people think that it is impossible to do a light styling with a brush at home without first taking a course in hairdressing.

However, if you do everything correctly, despite the use of hot air, your hair will remain healthy. And you can easily handle the installation yourself. You just need to take into account a few basic principles.

We asked Alexandra Edelberg, trainer and CHI brand ambassador, to talk about common mistakes when using a hair dryer. To make it more clear, Masha Botvinina demonstrates all the techniques on herself.

By the way, even if you are not going to style your hair with a round comb, but dry your hair for reasons “just to keep it dry,” you will also need these instructions - the basic rules are just that: