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Hi guys,
I was wondering what your opinions are on towel drying? Another member recently posted that towel drying can be even more damaging than using a hair dryer. I don't use a hair dryer for fear it is too damaging. I do towel dry, but very gently. The motion can be more described as a gentle patting motion to remove excess water from the hair as well as some gentle smoothing with the towel, then the hair is allowed to dry the rest of the way naturally after some gentle combing with a wide tooth comb. I find if I allow the hair to dry from a soaking wet state that is is much messier afterwards. I really want to treat my hair as gently as possible and any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
David
I used to soak up excess water with a towel, but stopped doing so after reading that it can potentially also remove the scalp oils and excess conditioning oils that protect hair. I tried going without drying, and sure enough! My hair was definitely smoother and healthier, even after just once or twice.
It's kind of a pain because you tend to drip water everywhere while getting dressed, but I'd say it's a small price to pay for healthier and shinier hair.
Hope that helps! =)
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I don't even "blot" when I towel dry. I just wrap the towel around my head for a few minutes--just so my hair isn't dripping wet, and then let it air dry.
I can't imagine how that would be damaging.
i do the same thing with a towel and it seems to work okay to me. I think the thing to avoid is rubbing with a towel. heck, even with all the blotting it's still around 75 minutes to dry. If I didn't do anything at all i'd never get out of the house.
I'm the one who said that!!:P...what I meant by "damaging" is the kind of vigorous towel drying...where you towel dry until the hair is almost completely dry...but since you said you do just a "patting" motion...then you should be fine!!all I do is squeeze my hair in the towel for a few seconds to sop up any extra moisture my hair might have
I rinse my hair from the back to the front and leave it hanging forward. Then, just like the ladies, I put the towel on the back of the head, wrap the hair and twist it up on to the top of the head. No wonder the ladies do it like this! It works wonders! I only need to leave it on for a minute or 2, and then brush with a wide-bristle brush (like the ones used for blow drying) and go! It's dry by the time I get to work ( about 20 min) and behaves pretty well for hair this deep into the awkward stage.
Hope this helps!
Man!
I want a 'how to' with pictures. I have tried to do the towel on my head thing both for myself and my daughter -- though not at the same time with the same towel -- and can't get it to stay up past a couple seconds.
Shawn (Mr.Crow)
Thanks for the tips guys. I probably won't change my routine much as it appears the type of towel drying I do is not too damaging. I may experiment a bit with leaving the hair in a wetter state and assess this compared to my current routine of drying slightly with a towel before air drying. Again, thanks.
David
I doubt it causes damage of any kind as long as it's not heavily done like the others said. Personally, I don't why I don't use anything to dry my hair, not even towel. I love it when it dries naturally even though it takes about an hour and when my hair gets longer it will take even more.
I can testify that toweldrying, when done in the rubbing way that many short hairs use, and then carry on with when the hair gets longer is very damaging. I toweldried like that all the time the first time I grew out my hair, and it was very damaged from it!
Now I do as you say, and gently pat my hair to remove excess water. I've noticed no damage from this method.
Hi David,
I use a towel for taking out most of the water, then air dry if I've got the time. If I don't have the time, I'll use a hair dryer on low heat. Just enough to where my hair is still very slightly damp. Instead of rubbing my hair with the towel [like I used to do when my hair was shorter :) ], I gently squeeze my hair with the towel. I've never noticed any loss of natural oils by using this method. As far as shampooing, I give my hair a good water rinse each day, condition every 1 or 2 days, and shampoo generally once a week. Seems to work for me... hope this helps.
--Rick