Is Using a Hood Dryer On the Cool Setting the Same as Air Drying or Not?

[Isis]

I haven't used any heat in 1.5 years and I threw out all appliances when I came to LHCF (they were old anyway). Now I'm reading posts that some ladies are getting great results drying their rollersets using a hood dryer on the cool setting. If this is just like "no heat" then I may look around for a dryer to speed up the drying process.

So what's the verdict? Is using a hood dryer on a cool setting the same as air drying or not? Is there any damage to the hair whatsoever? What are the benefits? Is this method a good choice for those of us on the no-heat challenge?
An inquiring mind wants to know!

 

[Lorraine]

I say yes.

You aren't applying any heat to your hair. You're just using an electric appliance to dry faster. It's the equivalent to having the window down or sunroof open in your car and air drying (which also works well IMHO). I applaud you for going nearly two years without heat, Isis. Girly, you are my inspiration.

 

[DangerouslyShy]

lool this is a good question!!

 

[ccd]

I agree with LorraineG..........I think you are safe.......

BTW,
When I was in DR two summers ago, the salon had the setting on a cool one and I said to the lady, "yeah its not hot?" she told me it would be fine, then she asked me if I was from NYC, she said, yeah she knew they put it on REALLY HOT....she said that wasnt neccesary,(my hair came out fine)...........now that I think about that, its probably healthier....I may even try it next wash

My mom doesnt like it hot either......but her hair is finer than mine so she takes 35mins to dry!!!!!I wish ( )

 

[Isis]

I say yes.

You aren't applying any heat to your hair. You're just using an electric appliance to dry faster. It's the equivalent to having the window down or sunroof open in your car and air drying (which also works well IMHO). I applaud you for going nearly two years without heat, Isis. Girly, you are my inspiration.

Thank you Lorraine! Going without heat was pretty easy, once I got into a routine. Plus, without appliances around, I didn't have a choice.

So using the hood dryer in this way doesn't have the effect of heat at all...:scratchch

 

[Isis]

I agree with LorraineG..........I think you are safe.......

BTW,
When I was in DR two summers ago, the salon had the setting on a cool one and I said to the lady, "yeah its not hot?" she told me it would be fine, then she asked me if I was from NYC, she said, yeah she knew they put it on REALLY HOT....she said that wasnt neccesary,(my hair came out fine)...........now that I think about that, its probably healthier....I may even try it next wash

My mom doesnt like it hot either......but her hair is finer than mine so she takes 35mins to dry!!!!!I wish ( )

If it isn't necessary and probably healthier to use the cool setting, I wonder why everyone who has these dryers are not using the cool setting.

 

[Neroli]

I say YES. I have been using the cool setting on my hood dryer for last 8 months with excellent results. My rollersets dries much smoother, not to mention the incredible TIME SAVINGS - it takes 3 hours to dry my sets completely under a cool dryer as opposed to 8-10 hours airdrying. My 4b relaxed hair about inch or so past my shoulders and I now enjoy smooth bouncy straight hair with zero heat.

I am beginning to see tremendous results -- I need to upgrade my magnetic rollers from the purples to the grays and I can barely get my head under the hood now, so will have to invest in bigger hood dryer (with a "cool setting" of course!) really really soon . . .

 

[sengschick]

I think it's fine to use the cool setting, but to me it's cool HEAT. The other settings are Medium and Hot, which means to me that Cool is a HEAT SETTING. My dryer also has a fourth setting for cool air (equivalent to the cool shot button on a hand held) which is just air w/no heat that pushes through. They tell u that this button s/b used for 'setting' the hair once it's dried, but I've used it to set my hair like I would w/heat or to get air dry set to really finish drying. B/c the air is pressurized it like air drying w/help. It still takes a long time in comparison, but works nonetheless.

On a personal note (the other was technical ), I don't think there is anything wrong w/using the cool setting. And I don't think it would do any harm to your hair. The benefit would just be speeding up the time a bit, b/c your hair dries puffier (mine does at least) when I use the cool or no heat setting. But do I think LOW is a heat setting, yes.

 

[Neroli]

I think it's fine to use the cool setting, but to me it's cool HEAT. The other settings are Medium and Hot, which means to me that Cool is a HEAT SETTING. My dryer also has a fourth setting for cool air (equivalent to the cool shot button on a hand held) which is just air w/no heat that pushes through. They tell u that this button s/b used for 'setting' the hair once it's dried, but I've used it to set my hair like I would w/heat or to get air dry set to really finish drying. B/c the air is pressurized it like air drying w/help. It still takes a long time in comparison, but works nonetheless.

On a personal note (the other was technical ), I don't think there is anything wrong w/using the cool setting. And I don't think it would do any harm to your hair. The benefit would just be speeding up the time a bit, b/c your hair dries puffier (mine does at least) when I use the cool or no heat setting. But do I think LOW is a heat setting, yes.

Hmmm. On my hood dryer, there are 4 settings, Cool, Warm, Medium & Hot. The cool setting is definitely not "cool heat" because it is indeed cool (during winter, I have to wear my robe to stay warm under there 'cause the cool air is really COOL bordering on cold, without a hint of heat. I have a very old Hamilton Beach hood dryer. It may depend on the dryer whether the setting is really 'cool' or just 'cool heat'.

 

[Isis]

I say YES. I have been using the cool setting on my hood dryer for last 8 months with excellent results. My rollersets dries much smoother, not to mention the incredible TIME SAVINGS - it takes 3 hours to dry my sets completely under a cool dryer as opposed to 8-10 hours airdrying. My 4b relaxed hair about inch or so past my shoulders and I now enjoy smooth bouncy straight hair with zero heat.

I am beginning to see tremendous results -- I need to upgrade my magnetic rollers from the purples to the grays and I can barely get my head under the hood now, so will have to invest in bigger hood dryer (with a "cool setting" of course!) really really soon . . .

Thank you Neroli and Sengschick.

Sengschick, it sounds like your cool setting isn't really cool air, especially if you have another button on your dryer for no heat. It really does look like it depends on the hair dryer as to what options are available. Thanks for explaining yours.

And Neroli, your hair results sound pretty exciting to me. Only 8 months? Your hair is getting longer if you're upgrading to larger rollers. If my hair can be smoother and bouncier with zero heat in only 3 hours, what am I waiting for?!!

 

[Healthb4Length]

My dome dryer just broke. It lasted for 4 years so I'm not beat, but I am in the market for a new one. Any suggestions?

 

[LegallySpeaking]

Do you think you still get the same deep conditioning effect (e.g., heat helping the conditioner to penetrate) if you deep condition on the cool setting?

 

[sengschick]

Do you think you still get the same deep conditioning effect (e.g., heat helping the conditioner to penetrate) if you deep condition on the cool setting?

IMO, no b/c according to this thread cool has no heat.

 

[Neroli]

Do you think you still get the same deep conditioning effect (e.g., heat helping the conditioner to penetrate) if you deep condition on the cool setting?

My dryer has 4 settings, cool, warm, medium & hot. I use one of the heat settings for deep conditioning (usually warm) and dry my hair on cool.

 

[Neroli]

My dome dryer just broke. It lasted for 4 years so I'm not beat, but I am in the market for a new one. Any suggestions?

I think I posted a reply to you in another thread, but here is a dryer I'm eyeing cause I need to upgrade to larger rollers:
http://www.texasbeautysupplies.com/begohot16hab.html. I like fact that it has a "cool" setting, has a wider dome and is ionic. Anyone who has this dryer, please post a review. TIA!

 

[Isis]

I think I posted a reply to you in another thread, but here is a dryer I'm eyeing cause I need to upgrade to larger rollers:
http://www.texasbeautysupplies.com/begohot16hab.html. I like fact that it has a "cool" setting, has a wider dome and is ionic. Anyone who has this dryer, please post a review. TIA!

And I posted the Sally's hard bonnet dryer (which I recently called about today) on Ali77's thread with these main features:

Ionic conditioning airflow
1875 watt
oversize adjustable hood
high, medium, low and cool setting
price $42.99 and $4.00 off with coupon or
$39.00 with Sally's card and another $4.00 with coupon

 

[Neroli]

And I posted the Sally's hard bonnet dryer (which I recently called about today) on Ali77's thread with these main features:

Ionic conditioning airflow
1875 watt
oversize adjustable hood
high, medium, low and cool setting
price $42.99 and $4.00 off with coupon or
$39.00 with Sally's card and another $4.00 with coupon

I went and picked one up along with some grey rollers at Sally's after work today. The sales lady was like "today must be an Ion day because that's the 2nd one we've sold in the last hour." Sooo, I figure another LHCF member on this thread got there before me -- the Sally's at Concord & South Cobb in Smyrna. Who got there first?

 

[Isis]

I went and picked one up along with some grey rollers at Sally's after work today. The sales lady was like "today must be an Ion day because that's the 2nd one we've sold in the last hour." Sooo, I figure another LHCF member on this thread got there before me -- the Sally's at Concord & South Cobb in Smyrna. Who got there first?

It wasn't me Neroli, although I went down to Sally's and bought one also! Yay! The $4 coupon was in their brochure and I used my Sally's card too. The sale is over January 31. The manager said people are very satisfied with this particular dryer and not one has ever come back to their store.

It isn't time to wash my hair yet but I'm sure looking forward to it! When I turn on the cool setting, it really is cool air coming out. I may have to put on a sweater while using it.

And since it's ionic, I've learned that it's very healthy to have these negative ions flowing (I have an ionizer in my bedroom) and that these ions are especially good for our hair!! There's a diagram on the box of a cuticle showing before and after ionic conditioning. It looks like it smooths and closes the cuticle "resulting in softer, shinier hair".

Please share your results Neroli if you use it first, or if any of you ladies use it!

 

[keylargo]

let us know how it turns out

 

[tryn2growmyhair]

lool this is a good question!!

Co-signing on this! I have been wondering about this for a while now!

 

[tryn2growmyhair]

Thank you Neroli and Sengschick.

Sengschick, it sounds like your cool setting isn't really cool air, especially if you have another button on your dryer for no heat. It really does look like it depends on the hair dryer as to what options are available. Thanks for explaining yours.

And Neroli, your hair results sound pretty exciting to me. Only 8 months? Your hair is getting longer if you're upgrading to larger rollers. If my hair can be smoother and bouncier with zero heat in only 3 hours, what am I waiting for?!!

You brought up something that I was going to point out -- it really depends on the dryer that you buy, so you might want to do some research before buying one and ask about one that has cool air. Also, ask about the watts or the power. I have a professional dryer (Pibbs Kwik Dry) and I think that its coolest setting would probably dry my hair a lot faster than the cool setting on a home dryer.

 

[Isis]

It worked!! I love my new ION hard cover dryer! I used it on the cool setting and it really is like having forced cool air directed at my head. My big 3" rollers fit inside too. My hair dried much faster although I need to experiment more and wash my hair earlier in the evening so I can get an exact timing.

One thing I noticed was that my hair feels very smooth and even more moisturized and bouncy. I keep touching it. And my hair is lying closer to my head. It has to be those negative ions. This dryer is a keeper!

BTW, if I ever need a portable heater, I just can use my ION dryer on high - it gets hot!

 

[Pookie25]

I'm curious too.

 

[Poohbear]

Good question Isis! I've thought about this question before as well. But you know what? Whenever we airdry our hair, it dries at different temperatures each time. Just because we airdry doesn't mean we are totally avoiding heat. Sometimes the air could be warmer than that cool setting under the hooded dryer. But since it is winter time, the air is probably colder. But it also depends on if you have the heat on to warm up the house. Just some thoughts!

 

[Isis]

Good question Isis! I've thought about this question before as well. But you know what? Whenever we airdry our hair, it dries at different temperatures each time. Just because we airdry doesn't mean we are totally avoiding heat. Sometimes the air could be warmer than that cool setting under the hooded dryer. But since it is winter time, the air is probably colder. But it also depends on if you have the heat on to warm up the house. Just some thoughts!

Those are great thoughts Poohbear.
It is true that we may not be able to totally avoid heat because of the environment. In the summer, for example, it can be quite warm inside and in that case, my fans or air conditioning is on. For many of us, we can control the temperature inside. If it is too hot inside of a building, for example, because of a heater, I would make sure my hair is protected or turn the heat down.

IMO, the difference is how the warm air flows - dispersed around the house or focused at one's head, at close range. Most of the ladies on this board have not had problems using heat from their soft or hard bonnet hairdryers, although many choose to use a low heat setting. Since there is now a no heat setting on some dryers, this cool air for me is mainly to speed up the airdrying time, without heat. The negative ions conditioning my hair are a plus.

 

[Neroli]

Those are great thoughts Poohbear.
It is true that we may not be able to totally avoid heat because of the environment. In the summer, for example, it can be quite warm inside and in that case, my fans or air conditioning is on. For many of us, we can control the temperature inside. If it is too hot inside of a building, for example, because of a heater, I would make sure my hair is protected or turn the heat down.

IMO, the difference is how the warm air flows - dispersed around the house or focused at one's head, at close range. Most of the ladies on this board have not had problems using heat from their soft or hard bonnet hairdryers, although many choose to use a low heat setting. Since there is now a no heat setting on some dryers, this cool air for me is mainly to speed up the airdrying time, without heat. The negative ions conditioning my hair are a plus.

Eight 8 months or so ago when it really HOT outside and I had the AC on inside trying to airdry my hair and I found myself sitting under the vent in the bedroom (cool air hitting the rollers) in order to speed up drying time -- that's when a light bulb went off -- EUREKA! -- my dryer has a "cool" setting and I pulled that sucker out and it was bye bye heat since then. That focused cool air speeds up the drying time -- I went from airdrying at 8 to 10 hours down to 3 hours.

I sometimes shake my head at God's grace . . .

BTW Isis, will be wasing and using my Ion dryer today and will post review. I'm encourage that you likey . . .

 

[Neroli]

I used my ION hood dryer last on cool setting with excellent results. It took about the same amount of time as my old dryer (3 hours) and the hood is large enough so that the large purples & greys rollers fit nicely. I THINK my hair is a bit softer because this is ion and my old dryer is not -- not sure, but hair feels nice, soft, bouncy even though 10 weeks post relaxer and a small "fro (about inch or more of new growth) under there right now . . .

 

[Isis]

I used my ION hood dryer last on cool setting with excellent results. It took about the same amount of time as my old dryer (3 hours) and the hood is large enough so that the large purples & greys rollers fit nicely. I THINK my hair is a bit softer because this is ion and my old dryer is not -- not sure, but hair feels nice, soft, bouncy even though 10 weeks post relaxer and a small "fro (about inch or more of new growth) under there right now . . .[/QUOTE]
Thanks for sharing your experience Neroli! It's great isn't it! My hair did and continues to feel softer and bouncier snce I used it. Got lots of compliments and looks yesterday with my extra swingy braidout.

I would like to learn more about this ion technology. As I mentioned recently, I have an ionizer in my bedroom and the negative ions are wonderful for sleeping and health too. Ions may be doing even greater things for our hair. I'm going to check this board for threads about this...