Transitioning without BC'ing Support Thread

@IDareT'sHair Yeah, if using the dryer worked well for you, you should go back to doing that. I plan to air dry for the rest of the summer and most likely go back to blow drying for the Fall.

I do however, have my cousin's wedding to attend early next month in FL, but I have no idea what to do with my hair. My mom called me yesterday talking about how humid it currently is down there. Anything I do will poof up on me smh.
 
@IDareT'sHair you have to do what works for you. I know that sounds cliche, but it's the honest truth.

I only air dry because it works for me. My hair takes roughly 1-2 days to dry. I put in my leave in, sealer and KIM. For me, using heat adds more trouble. I've also noticed that when the more I wash during the week, the les tangles I have during the week. This will end as the days get shorter but for now, I can't rely on 1x a week washing.

I haven't had issues with retention mostly because my hair loves moisture, so it's helping more than hurting. Like @flyygirlll2 said, it's mostly trial and error. I never liked air drying until I got a better handle on it.
 
IDareT'sHair said:
@flyygirlll2 @rileypak @Saludable84 @GettingKinky @divachyk @stephanie75miller

Have you notice if Air Drying gives you better retention?

It seems like air drying, it takes my hair longer to dry and it's more tangly? (I think)

My past practice was to dry about 80% under the dryer.

I "said" I was going to try to continue to air dry for the remainder of the summer.
Click to expand...
I use a hooded dryer mostly. I will air if I don't have time to sit under dryer. I can't say if either has resulted in more retention. I feel I am retaining since I can see my hair is longer. I have a blow dryer that I never use (only because it seems like it would take forever to dry).
 
IDareT'sHair said:
@Saludable84
It takes me about this long as well to dry. And agreed, about the moisture.:yep:
Click to expand...

I meant to emphasize on the heat. It causes more tangles unless I'm using high direct heat. Idk why. My guess is that my natural hair doesn't really need to be stretched to retain moisture, so heat stretching causes dryness. You would think it makes for easier hair but it just causes mass tangles if I blow dry on cool or sit under the dryer. A year into my transition, I just had to stop. I hated doing twist outs at first because of the whole air drying process, but as I got the hang of it, I stopped caring. I also started retaining better.
 
@IDareT'sHair
I air dry for no reason other than laziness to be honest. Tension blow drying on cool takes me forever and my arms get tired and just bleh...
It takes my hair anywhere from 2-4 days to air dry and I'm fine with that. I just make sure my hair is fully detangled and my products are good. I have the toughest time when some product on wash day has failed me (leaving my hair feeling dry long before it should be) but it's hardly ever too bad.

ETA: Agree with @Saludable84 about direct heat. I have to really really seal when I do heat because it definitely dries my hair out quicker.
 
@IDareT'sHair, I air dry 100% of the time. I stretch my hair with using the banding method because heat zaps the moisture from my hair when I use it at home. It doesn't matter if it's direct heat or indirect heat. Both are drying. It has to be technique because my hair isn't dry like that after a salon visit. I think my retention is coming from wash day technique vs. air drying. I detangle in the shower and never let a comb touch my hair again until the next wash day.
 
@IDareT'sHair
I always air dry in braids and I think it helps my hair retain moisture. When I go to the salon she dries my hair partially under the hooded dryer and partially with a blow dryer. I'm not sure if either way helps me retain hair better. I'm too lazy to try drying my hair with heat so I'll probably never know. I'm sure that's not helpful at all.
 
I think I'm getting back under my dryer tonight and doing the 80% dry thing.

I had a hard detangling session today. I had to pull out 'several' reinforcements (Products & Tools)to get the matting/knots out.

I don't wanna go through that again.

Maybe I'm not twisting tight enough? Because right near the root area is where I'm experiencing matting.

So, I will go back to drying under my Hooded dryer.
 
IDareT'sHair said:
I think I'm getting back under my dryer tonight and doing the 80% dry thing.

I had a hard detangling session today. I had to pull out 'several' reinforcements (Products & Tools)to get the matting/knots out.

I don't wanna go through that again.

Maybe I'm not twisting tight enough? Because right near the root area is where I'm experiencing matting.

So, I will go back to drying under my Hooded dryer.
Click to expand...

Do you have tightly coiled hair? If using heat works for you, do what works for you.

I've read about the matting a round the root but I forgot how others combatted it.
 
@Saludable84
I wouldn't describe it as that tightly coiled.

I think it has everything to do with my Technique.

I have better results doing it this way (partially drying with heat), especially with my limited skill set, (or lack thereof) so I am returning to it.

If you remember what they said about matting at the root, lemme know.
 
@rileypak I plan to straighten my hair next week since I'm going to a wedding the week after. It wouldn't be an official light check since only my nape is natural anyway. Last time I checked it was APl/BSB. I'm really not in the mood to straighten my hair at all... but since this is for a wedding I'm going to suck my teeth and go ahead.
 
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