Are you using any leave-ins at all? If not, you should. It will keep the hair soft and moisturized as it dries (I air dry ALL the time). What I also do that helps me is to separate the hair gently with my fingers as it dries. So I'll gently rub the hair between my fingers so it doesn't stick together and get hard. I've never had problems with air drying when I do this, and I usually will flat iron after. I have some pics of it in my fotki and a video. In the video it seems like it's a lot of manipulation, but it's not, I'm being very gentle and using the pads of my fingers.