Towel drying your hair after a shower can feel great. However, if you aren't careful, you can severely damage your hair and cause weakened strands to fray or break.
As much as it is important to keep your hair clean, it is equally important to know how to dry your soaking strands. Once you've given your hair proper care in the shower, it's worth examining some techniques to towel drying your hair correctly.
In this article, we look at easy ways to towel dry your hair the right way, so that you can bid farewell to unwelcomed frizz, splits, and breakage. Read on to find out how to best towel dry your hair for an effortlessly beautiful look.
Highlights:
What Is Towel Drying?
When you towel-dry your hair, you use a towel or other absorbent material like a soft t-shirt to soak up moisture from your hair. This little step helps cut the time it takes to air-dry your hair.
Is Towel Drying Your Hair Good Or Bad?
There is a right and wrong way to towel-dry your hair.
When your hair is wet, it is at its most fragile state. At this point, rubbing it vigorously with a towel can cause long-term hair damage and cause your hair to fall out. Excessive rubbing with a towel can also lead to major frizz.
However, if you are gentle, use the right kind of towel, and take a few simple precautions, your hair will thank you later.
How Do You Towel Dry Your Hair Without Damaging It?
Towel drying can be beneficial if you know how to do it right. All you need is a soft microfiber hair towel. Remember, regular towels are rough and course and tend to tangle hair badly.
Once you finish washing your hair, gently squeeze out excess water, starting from the scalp and moving towards the ends. Your hair will still be damp, but it shouldn't be dripping wet. Next, gather a section of your hair and gently blot it with a towel.
The trick is never to rub your hair, instead gently squeeze it.
Once you finish drying all sections of your hair, you can repeat the process once more. This is not a mandatory step, but if you have long hair or if you feel your hair is still not dry enough, you may want to repeat this step.
If you have thick, long, curly hair that holds on to the water for a long time, you can try the 'wrapping your hair' technique to dry your hair. This technique requires a larger towel than blotting - it has to be soft and big enough to wrap your hair.
When you finish washing your hair, gently squeeze out excess water. Next, bend over and flip your hair forward, so it hangs straight down. Place a towel over your hair, so the bottom of the hair and the towel are in line. Twist the towel by starting as close to your forehead as possible. Flip the end of the twist on top of your head.
You can leave your hair in the wrap for about 20 minutes.
Also, ensure that all your hair is hanging in the same direction before you wrap. Be careful not to twist the towel very hard. Doing so can stress and pull your hair leading to breakage.
Note:
Don't rub or twist your hair too hard, as this can cause irreparable damage to your hair. Divide your hair into small sections and squeeze gently.
Benefits Of Towel Drying Hair
When done right, there are countless benefits of towel drying your hair. Some of the most significant ones include the following:
1. When you use a blow dryer, your hair is exposed to heat. Excessive heat can turn your hair frizzy and damage it. Towel drying saves your hair from getting exposed to extreme heat.
2. When you use a towel, you do not need to apply any product to dry your hair safely. Styling products and heat protectants often accumulate and build-up on your scalp leading to other hair and scalp issues. This doesn't happen when you use a towel for drying hair.
3. There is little or no friction when you dry your hair with a towel (of course, you shouldn't be rubbing your hair with the towel). The less the friction, the better it is for the health of your hair.
What Towel Is Best For Drying Hair?
A microfiber towel is the best option out there for drying your hair. Microfibers are a hundred times finer than human hair so they can pack up many fine fibers, providing a large surface area for the towel to absorb moisture.
The most significant benefit of using a microfiber towel is the lack of friction caused. Since there is no need to rub the hair to absorb water, there is less strain and friction inflicted on your hair.
Microfiber towels also last longer, providing better value for money. You will notice no trace of fiber or lint left on your hair, unlike cotton towels, when you dry your hair with a microfiber towel.
These towels absorb better than cotton towels so you can speed up the hair drying process and save a lot of time.
Wrapping Up
The absolute best way to dry your hair without damaging it is to use a combination of towel drying and air drying.
Using the right hair products, such as a nourishing leave-in conditioner or serum, can also help maintain your hair's health.
When its time to towel dry your hair, make sure you follow these tips and tricks listed above. It will not only help you dry your hair without damage but will also help fight frizz and control hair fall.
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