the key to air drying is.... ?

LivingDol1

LivingDol1

Well-Known Member
okay. i want to air dry once a week just because it's a pain in the butt to roller set and dry my hair on a week night after a full day at work. i have been tempted to pick up the blow dryer and blast the heat but i am trying to beat that temptation.

i air dried on wednesday. co washed only. put in NTM silk leave in. detangled my hair, sectioned it in 4 places. i twisted the hair and then braided it into 4 braids. sat under the bonnet dryer for 30 minutes and then went to bed.

i woke up the next morning with dry hair. maybe the twisting was a mistake because it was a pain to untwist the braids when it was dry. also, my ends were super super dry and tangled and i had breakage. yes yes, i am getting an inch of damaged hair chopped off next week so i will be rid of that dead hair. but, overall, my hair was super stiff and super dry.

can anyone who is an expert air dryer (perhaps relaxed...?) suggest how to keep the hair feeling soft and moisturized? i just kept my hair in a bun. should i try wetting my hair with water on a daily basis? should i use conditioner instead of just a leave in? should i seriously not touch my hair at all so i avoid breakage, until i wash my hair again?

and can anyone direct me to some helpful threads? i hope i'm not on repeat... but the search option wasn't helpful for me personally.

thanks in advance.
 
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For me, the key to air drying is using a great moisturizing conditioner. I also braid my hair when air drying because the ends can get really frizzy and that's a no no.
 
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I'm relaxed, and prefer to use a nice oil (like coconut) after my leave-in, after cowashing with a great moisturizing conditioner. I actually found that the one time I airdryed my twists under a hooded dryer, it came out crunchy and dry, also, so I prefer to airdry with a scarf overnight. HTH.
 
RavenMaven said:
For me, the key to air drying is using a great moisturizing conditioner. I also braid my hair when air drying because the ends can get really frizzy and that's a no no.
Click to expand...

what kind of moisturizing condition to you use?

do you oil your ends after you moisturize? or oil all over? i'm thinking back and that is one thing i did not do... at least not on the day i washed. i have vatika coconut oil but it's been solidifying due to the colder temperatures up here. i don't want it freezing on my hair. and then i have some carol's daughter junk that i'm just using up.
 
Simply_Kelz said:
I'm relaxed, and prefer to use a nice oil (like coconut) after my leave-in, after cowashing with a great moisturizing conditioner. I actually found that the one time I airdryed my twists under a hooded dryer, it came out crunchy and dry, also, so I prefer to airdry with a scarf overnight. HTH.
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good point about the crunchiness. i used the dryer for 30 min only because i know my hair takes like 18 hours to dry without any heat or air. :) but i guess if i just bun it, i don't need to use the dryer.
 
product, technique, & how you wet set all play a role.

you gotta find a conditioner that moisturizes well..and gives good slip as your hair dries. A leave-in afterwards can also work....or can make up for the slip your conditioner lacks. Oil also plays a good role. whether on your ends or on your hairshaft. you can put it on soaking wet hair after your leave-in.how you wet set is important as well. you can hide your ends in rollers, a bun, a bantu. you just have to keep finding that right combination of things that will ultimately give you a soft airdry.


i haven't had a 'dry' airdry in a looooong time. but it all comes with practice.products that i use for airdrying:



hairveda strinilah or moist condition pro
qhemet burdock root cream or amla heavy cream
giovanni direct leave-in
tigi dumb blonde
millcreek conditioners
HE conditioners
castor oil on ends

oh yea....real silk or real satin scarves leave a really soft hairline. the ones in the bss are good...but once you've used the real thing, you'll see a difference
 
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I also experienced breakage after using NTM Silk Touch Leave-In. Everything you did might work if you just use a different leave in.
 
oh yea. stay up on your porosity. I find that when my porosity is on point...i have better airdries. Also, sometimes cones can help. I'm not a big cone user, but with airdries i need something
 
i just found out today that the secret for me is to dry in a style that stretches the roots because my hair tends to shrink and tangle at the root. so, i put it in 8 twists (or braids) around my head and it came out beautifully. the roots are controlled and it looks pretty good. that and applying a bit of your favorite leave-in too! :)

next i plan to try bantu knots, then i want to try banding - that seems like a great method - then i'm going to experiment with less braids/twists - prob 4 instead of 8. i can't wait to wash and air-dry again. :) hth
 
poochie167 said:
product, technique, & how you wet set all play a role.

you gotta find a conditioner that moisturizes well..and gives good slip as your hair dries. A leave-in afterwards can also work....or can make up for the slip your conditioner lacks. Oil also plays a good role. whether on your ends or on your hairshaft. you can put it on soaking wet hair after your leave-in.how you wet set is important as well. you can hide your ends in rollers, a bun, a bantu. you just have to keep finding that right combination of things that will ultimately give you a soft airdry.


i haven't had a 'dry' airdry in a looooong time. but it all comes with practice.products that i use for airdrying:



hairveda strinilah or moist condition pro
qhemet burdock root cream or amla heavy cream
giovanni direct leave-in
tigi dumb blonde
millcreek conditioners
HE conditioners
castor oil on ends

oh yea....real silk or real satin scarves leave a really soft hairline. the ones in the bss are good...but once you've used the real thing, you'll see a difference
Click to expand...

thanks for the list of products! that's really helpful. i don't think i've found a conditioner with "slip" yet.

soaking wet hair must be key as well. i always loosely wrap my hair in a towel after i wash so that my hair is like 75% wet/damp when i set or braid it. maybe i should stop doing that.

and i need to invest in castor oil. i guess i could just pick it up at the grocery store. i find it weird to buy grocery store products for my hair. the extra virgin olive oil that i cook with can go in my hair? whaaaaat...?
 
I wash my hair with Nexxus Therappe and deep conditioned with Silk Elements MegaSilk Moisture under the dryer for 10 minutes capped, then put in Nexxus Humectress for 2.5 hours capped; I towel dryed it, afterward I added Aphogee leave in conditioner, I parted my hair in four sections, placed one half dime size amount in each section sealed with JOJOJBa oil then braided each. I applyed my emu/MT/MN/infusium 23 moisture mix on my scalp. ALL I CAN SAY IS THE NEXT DAY, my natural roots were like Indian SMOOTH!!!!! and my hair was SOFT as a babies bottome and moisturized. I love it!
 
JJamiah said:
I wash my hair with Nexxus Therappe and deep conditioned with Silk Elements MegaSilk Moisture under the dryer for 10 minutes capped, then put in Nexxus Humectress for 2.5 hours capped; I towel dryed it, afterward I added Aphogee leave in conditioner, I parted my hair in four sections, placed one half dime size amount in each section sealed with JOJOJBa oil then braided each. I applyed my emu/MT/MN/infusium 23 moisture mix on my scalp. ALL I CAN SAY IS THE NEXT DAY, my natural roots were like Indian SMOOTH!!!!! and my hair was SOFT as a babies bottome and moisturized. I love it!
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mixology is something i have yet to venture into. i've read wonderful things about aphogee. thanks for sharing your routine!
 
i stumbled on to freeman products, right in winn dixie. they have great slip
wash, condition, detangle with mane and tail, leave in, chi si, then wet wrapping is the only thing that has worked for me.
 
The best air dry I've experienced, is when I cowashed with LTR conditoner, used the LTR leave in and sealed with coconut oil. My hair was super soft. I braided in about 6 box braids and used small rollers on my ends. I have to secure my ends, or they'll be frizzy and crunchy also.

I tie a scarf over my head to flatten the roots.
 
I'm a natural, but what helps me w/ airdrying is:

1. Fingercombing

2. Keeping the hair in a stretched state

3. Applying castor oil to my ends more than once (I twist my hair & it takes a long time, so I like to reapply the oil to my ends so that they won't dry out before I finish twisting and rolling my entire head)

Also, KBB deep conditioner has slip.
 
darlingdiva said:
I'm a natural, but what helps me w/ airdrying is:

1. Fingercombing

2. Keeping the hair in a stretched state

3. Applying castor oil to my ends more than once (I twist my hair & it takes a long time, so I like to reapply the oil to my ends so that they won't dry out before I finish twisting and rolling my entire head)

Also, KBB deep conditioner has slip.
Click to expand...

thanks for sharing. what is KBB?
 
i was going to tell you to hit up supergirl cause i know i just saw a thread on this yesterday but it looks like she already posted. i would try that.
 
I have been airdrying for a couple of years.

After a good moisturizing conditioner, I do the following:

I try to wring out as much water as possible but I don't sweat it if it's drippy.

Leave in (QP H-Two or Rusk Smoother Sensories sp?)

Moisturizing lotion (BB Oil Moisturizer)

Seal with an oil

Style how you like. But if you are going to work in the morning, try to put a few rollers on the ends (whether twist out or braid out) for a nice curl. I notice when airdrying the ends look much better when set with a roller.

My process is very similar to Traycee but we just use different products. Here is her link on youtube. Use the products that you like if you use this method.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVkePeCqMzE
 
I air dry relaxed and natural but I "HAVE" to use an oil no matter what else I put on my hair. Jojoba, avocado, EVOO even wild growth. Some type or I'll end up dry as pine straw.
 
I wait until my hair is about 80% dry--then moisturize with Elasta QP Mango Butter and seal with a mix of oils. Turns out soft every time. If I moisturize while my hair is still soaking wet my hair will turn out crunchy.

ETA: I am a relaxed head
 
For me, using a good leave-in, putting a small amount of oil and wrapping it overnight in a silk scarf works. It is soft and silky smooth in the morning.
 
LivingDol1 said:
mixology is something i have yet to venture into. i've read wonderful things about aphogee. thanks for sharing your routine!
Click to expand...

YOur very welcome; I hope that you do get into the mix; it is fun to find out what works and what doesn't. APhogee is great been using it for about 14 years already; I am so happy it hasn't been pulled off the shelf.
 
I'd say find a really really good leave in conditioner (or even a light regular conditioner to use as a leave in). Apply it to your hair and seal ( I like either coconut oil or castor oil) and braid it up. You should have a really moist juicy braid out the next morning :lick:
 
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