Is blow drying bad for your hair?
The answer is NO!
“If done correctly, it is actually better than towelling dry or just letting your hair dry naturally.” According to a feature titled “Tress Distress” dated 21 Nov in Urban under The Straits Times, the consistent heat applied in the same direction smoothens hair cuticles and gives you shiny hair. It also sets hair in place and seals in moisture.
In fact, the article states that towelling your hair dry is akin to scrathing your skin with your nails as it roughtens up your hair fibres and air-drying promotes frizziness. However, don’t try to style completely dry hair with a hairdryer as heat on dry hair is damaging. Pat your wet hair with a towel before blow drying.
So yay to blow drying because I’ve been doing that everyday for the past 15 years and my hair certainly doesn’t look damaged or dry.
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I can’t believe that. Sounds a bit like the spin solariums try to push.
Zoe: I can understand why you see it as unbelievable. Actually I used to think so too. However, I’ve been blow drying my hair for as long as I can remember and my hair looks quite good. Definitely better than compared to when I don’t blow dry. But the trick is not to overblow till the hair is too dry. Usually the recommendation is 80% dry but I don’t really follow that strictly.
Hmm, I think it is a marketing gimmick as well. I thought the best way is to air-dry your hair. Perhaps blow-drying hair is to make your hair fuller and neater.
De: Haha…I’m definitely sold on the idea cos it justifies my daily blow drying. Heehee…
I think it doesn’t hurt to blow dry your hair by lifting the blowdryer farther away from your hair then just slowly tousle your hair…i guess, it’s the lesser evil ?
Nikki: No, it won’t hurt. It’ll hurt me more if I can’t blow dry my hair! ?
i’m soooo happy! FINALLY an excuse to buy a new blowdrier! XD
eMz: YAY to new hairdryer! ?
If we set the hair dryer to blow cold air, it won’t hurt our hair right?
Ms Blacklace: I believe that’s not far from air drying so should be fine. But it won’t do much for volume though.
I really, really think it depends on the hair type. The people I know with thick, naturally straight hair have less trouble with blow drying than the ones with brittle, curly hair. The curly-haired folks shouldn’t rub their hair dry with a towel, but they will have stronger hair if they let it air dry. EVERY source on curly hair I’ve ever seen says this.
mj: Hey, you’re right! I wasn’t thinking so much about curly hair when I wrote this but when I did have curly hair, I used to let it dry naturally. I think the drying effects can also come from using too much unnecessary hair products.
Thank you for the notice of the hair ‘iron’, that looks so much better than the one I have! Hope it works! ?
cowsandlemonade: You’re welcome! I hope you’ll be lucky! ?
Yes, i agree with you that blow-drying your hair the right way does not harm your hair. Infact, having to blow-dry my hair everytime right after my shower also gives me a chance to throw my arm muscles..keke =)
GabrielLe: Haha…you’re funny! ?
i cnt live without hair dryer, otherwise my hair will take hrs to dry. i was arguing with a friend over this subject, she never uses hair dryer, oh well, i guess i must show her this post ?
prettybeautiful: Same here! I will die without a hairdryer so I even ensure I have a spare one at home in case my regular one die on me. LOL. If I remember correctly, your hair condition is quite close to mine. Greasy scalp too right? I’m testing out a new shampoo. Seems to work. Will review it soon. ?
Hi, anyone have recommendations of which hair dryer is good for hair blowing and not so damaging to hair? i tot of getting myself a satinpro dryer this X’mas…have anyone of you here heard of the Farouk Chi flat iron? wanna know how’s the rating and can i get 1 here in SG besides eBay?
GabrielLe: Not heard of those you mentioned but you may want to check Shin’s reply below, suggesting where you can try to get the flat iron.
yeah im interested too in finding out what features to look out for in a good dryer…
GabrielLe:i think you can get it at sites like beauty choice and drugstore, it’s cheaper.
Shin: I’m not entirely sure but through some years of observation, I think the power is important. I used to own only 1200 watt type of hair dryer. Hair is slow to dry and hence, falls flatter as the power is weaker. I wanted to achieve standards like at the hair salons and noticed that they use hair dryers with like 2000 watts. So I invested in one close to that…my is a Philips 1800 watts. It’s quite powerful and I can achieve better volume with that. I verified with my hairstylist who concurred that more hairdryers with higher watts are better.
Shin: Thank u for ur recommending the sites to me but I’d really prefer to go down to stores and check out the products myself. U can feel and try out the products, I feel more safer this way..
GabrielLe: Ah…I know what you mean. The comfort factor is important, especially you’ve never seen the product before.
ooh i see… im contemplating on getting a 1900 one. btw, do ionic vs non-ionic dryers really make a diff?
haha thanks!
shin: Not sure…must do some research first. Let me see if I can find anything and if yes, I’ll post an update here again.
Hm…I also feel a little dubious since washing your hair in cold water is supposed to make it shiny. Hot air doing the same??? I say, whatever makes your hair pretty!
I agree with blow-drying! The left side of my hair tends to have an ugly curl naturally. Somehow, if i blow dry my hair after applying serum, the ugly curl wont be there.
And my hair will looks shinier and somehow prettier. (:
Tara: Yeah, I like it when I blow dry my hair too. It looks a lot better.
Nice informative post as usual. I’ve just had a baby and haven’t worried about my appearance for almost a year now so it’s refreshing to read a post like this, thank you.
I’ve been looking for a decent honest review of the best hair straightener for ages, thanks for your help.
You’ll notice that’s why all the stylists at hair salons always use a blow dryer. They’re trained and know what’ best for hair.s
This is good news to hear. I used to think blow drying my hair is so selfish of me. It’s nice to know blow drying my hair does not hurt at all. Thanks for sharing. ?
I live in a country where its very hot during the day and i’m 16 and got my very first hair dryer ….. so is it ok for me to use it ??
P.S :Is it also ok to use on very thin hair???
Sure…don’t see why you can’t and you can use it on thin hair too…just dry at a distance so that your hair is protected.