There’s no doubt about it. Blow drying your hair can cause damage. But really, the extent of damage depends on how you blow-dry your hair and the hair products being used.
In this article, I’ll answer the question – how do you use a hair dryer without damaging your hair? Hopefully, after reading, you’ll realize the importance of blow drying your hair correctly to prevent damage.
Before going deep, here’s a bit of trivia from Lucky Curl…
Reducing the time the hair is wet and saturated with water minimizes damage. For that reason, the best way to achieve this is to add a bit of heat to make the water evaporate and lessen the time your hair is soaking wet.
How to Blow Dry Hair Without Damage – 6 Tips & Tricks
Towel Dry!
Towel dry your hair before blow-drying.
This is a vital step to take for drying your hair strands and dissipating the water they’ve taken while being washed.
Blow-drying sopping wet hair is a no-no as it will take longer and will also require more heat, which in turn, can result in heat damage.
Use a microfiber towel to dry your hair and finish off with the blow dryer.
Control the heat.
Adding too much heat to your hair can lead to some serious damage. A medium heat setting is highly recommended when blow-drying your hair.
Damaged hair cuticle can lead to fragility and dullness over time which can generally lead to more damage.
The best trick to apply in this case is to dry your hair with warm air but not enough heat to cause damage to the cuticle and prevent frizz at the same time. Lock your blow dry in with the cool air setting and go!
Heat protectant is critical.
Using a heat protectant spray on your hair before blow-drying is vital to minimize heat damage.
Heat protectants are often formulated to protect hair from temperatures as high as 450 degrees. It is important to double-check your blow dryer to ensure it is not exceeding the temperature your heat protectant spray can defend.
Still, you shouldn’t rule out the fact that heating tools like your blow dryer are damaging to your hair. So, it’s best to tread lightly when using any heat tools on your hair.
Over-drying is a no-no!
When you feel like your hair is smooth and consistent in texture, it’s time to stop blow-drying.
The more heat is being applied to your hair the higher the risk of it becoming weak which makes your hair fragile.
Intense heat exposure from the blow dryer causes your hair to lose moisture resulting in dehydrated strands that breaks easily.
With that said, you should avoid over-drying your hair because it makes it prone to frizz, dryness, breakage, and other hair damage.
Do not blow-dry too often.
There isn’t a need to blow-dry your hair every day. Blow-drying your hair shouldn’t be a part of your daily styling routine.
Your blowout should last for several days if it’s done correctly anyway. It also means you shouldn’t wash your hair every day so there isn’t a need to blow dry it often.
Especially if you are on vacation, consider air drying your hair instead.
You don’t have to give up blow-drying for good. You can still blow dry your hair every 3 to 5 days!
Be gentle.
Do not be harsh on your hair and quit the habits that are secretly ruining your hair strands such as intense blow-drying.
When towel drying, dab the towel gently on your hair – constant rubbing can lead to split ends and frizz.
Additionally, you should stop flipping your head upside and randomly waving the blow dryer on your hair. This motion work against your hair creating tangles that can lead to breakage.
Use the concentrator nozzle and air dry in one direction for best results.
Final Say
It’s possible to still have great hair despite the use of heat tools such as the blow dryer and flat iron.
You’ll come across various tactics on how to blow dry hair without damage. However, none of it matters if you’re not blow-drying your hair correctly or when you’re not using the right hair products.
In other words, the damage brought by heating tools to your hair depends on you. You must know that no heating tools are good if you’re not blow drying your hair the right way!
Overall, to have healthy hair that isn’t prone to damage, you must maintain a healthy diet and apply some TLC to your hair.
If you’re on the hunt for the best hair dryer for fine hair, check out our top choices!