For years now, we’ve been fed the rhetoric that heat is your hair’s biggest adversary. Or, more specifically, heat-styling. Processes such as blow-drying and strand-straightening have been endlessly dissected and vilified, with many a professional declaring it a key cause behind parched locks as well as damaged cuticles. In fact, it has become a sentiment so ubiquitous that it is now a norm for beauty tech to utilise alternative methods beyond high-temperatures to treat hair. See: the Dyson Airwrap, which employs airflow to change the shape of tresses, as well as the emergence of overnight hair rollers that now come equipped with newfangled attachments. And yet, it’s clear that things aren’t as cut-and-dry as it seems, with a recent study from the National Library of Medicine in South Korea uncovering that heat-drying your mane causes less damage than air-drying.
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“Air-drying is actually harmful because of what it does to your scalp,” explains Yuhi Kim, professional hairstylist. “Letting hair dry naturally could lead to the growth of bacteria on the scalp, which in turn can cause bad odour and itching.” Surprisingly enough, that’s far from all. Other factors come into play too, including damage to the hair shaft from prolonged contact with water as well as increased breakage thanks to the rough towel-dry process. Below, a rundown of the full extent of what air-drying does to your locks; the best method to employ to maintain optimal hair health; and more.
What does air-drying do to your hair, really?
There’s no denying that heat does extensive damage to your hair. The difference, however, lies in what air-drying does to the layer between the cuticle and the cortex, which is dubbed the cell membrane cortex.
“Water causes the cell membrane complex layer to swell, and the process of hair swelling and deswelling constantly—particularly if you wash your hair every day—will actually lead to it weakening,” states Kim. “This, thus, results in your locks growing brittle and dry over time.” Not forgetting, of course, that tresses are more fragile when wet, which means the process of raking a towel through it can often cause it to stretch and break, even when minimal force is applied.
Does this mean we should forego air-drying completely?
Not exactly. The general consensus seems to be that those with severely damaged or colour-treated strands could benefit from air-drying, especially seeing how heat is known to diminish the vibrancy of hair dye and bleach. If you are using colour shampoo, however, then Kim recommends you go with the blow-dryer route instead to retain optimal moisture levels since the formulation of the colour-safe products already ensures that the hue doesn’t fade out.
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Is there a right way to blow-dry hair?
Certainly. According to Yuhi, it’s all about getting hair dry as quickly as possible.
“Start by wiping off as much water as possible from your hair before drying it while avoiding friction,” she instructs. “This means gentle, patting motions rather than rough raking. After that, apply a hair treatment to the ends of your mane, and then apply any product remaining on your hands to the roots—this is so you’ll be able to protect your scalp from the heat of the hair dryer.” To sustain as little damage as possible, it is recommended you keep the dryer at a distance of 15 cm from the head, and to use it in a single, continuous motion until hair is dry.
