Healthy Curls
Drying Methods
The Different Ways To Dry
The best thing you can possibly do for your hair's health is to stop heat styling completely. I air-dry my hair every day, even when it's freezing cold out.
If this simply isn't an option for you, here are some things you should know.
First things first: one should never, ever, under any circumstances, touch or play with wet waves or curls while hair is drying, whether air drying or heat styling. Frizz will result, every time.
Secondly; one should never, ever use a regular hair dryer on curls. The curls will blow around and, again, frizz will result.
Diffusing
If one must use a hair dryer, a diffuser should be attached to the end of hte nozzle. A diffuser will diffuse the air from the blow dryer, so the air stream hits a larger surface area and is more gentle, so the curls won't be blown around.
The two different types of diffusers that I'm familiar with are the sock diffuser and the bowl diffuser. My personal favorite is a bowl diffuser with fingers (the one I currently use is from Sally Beauty Supply, but I've had several through the years and, as long as it's huge like the one in the link, they've all worked equally well). Since the "fingers" scrunch my curls as I'm drying, I wind up with far tighter ringlets than I would otherwise.
However, diffusers only work if one has the patience to use them correctly. First thing in the morning, before I've had my coffee, I absolutely do not.
Bowl diffusers should just be used to support your curl while your hair is drying. The best step-by-step diffusing instructions I've ever seen were written by username "pixiecurl" on naturallycurly.com, so I will quote her here:
"here's the method i've found for maximizing curls/volume and minimizing frizz:
flip hair upside down and put hair from front middle section (closest to forehead in the bowl of the diffuser, and hold bowl all the way against scalp so it is "scrunching" your curls for you. THEN i turn the dryer on, pressing the cool shot whenever it gets too hot for my scalp. i then TURN IT OFF before removing the bowl from my scalp. then i go to the front right section and repeat, then front left, then flip right side up and get the underside, then flip back upside down and get anywhere i missed. i don't diffuse until 100% dry, and it doesn't look quite right until it's finished airdrying all the way and i flip upside down and scrunch again.
the key is only having the blowdryer on when the bowl is against your scalp because this minimizes your hair getting blown around and thus minimizes frizz."
I think my problem is that I'm lazy, and I move the dryer around too much while I'm drying. I just don't have the patience to leave it alone!
Bonnet Dryers
So what I've been doing lately is piling my hair into a bonnet dryer attachment for a while after getting out of the shower. It holds my curls against my head like the towel drying method does, but dries them at the same time. It also gives me a little free time to check my email before leaving for work in the morning!
Design by Andreas Viklund.