Understanding Natural Movement In Hair
08 DRYING YOUR HAIR
I believe all curls have the ability to Air-Dry and look good, though having the option to speed up the process can be helpful on multiple levels.
DEFINITION & VOLUME
Some people shy away from definition with their curls because it is the most collapsed (and most of the time noodle-y) place—they want larger, more voluminous curls or hair. In these cases, curls DRYING in their curl groups (with definition) is still important—we need it for longevity. It is important that it has a tighter reference place that we can encourage it back towards when it starts to expand too much. AFTER IT DRIES, is when we soften things up and encourage the curls to expand more or have more volume if we want/need it. Drying the curls in their curl groups from the scalp through the ends also helps keep the curls from getting confused over time. If your hair at the roots is always encouraged to dry (and live) out of its curl groups, then it can have a harder time finding its curl groups and curling to its full potential once it grows and is no longer near the head.
AIR DRYING (WASH & GO)
Once we have set up the hair in its curl groups, then we can let it Air-Dry. THE KEY IS TO LEAVE IT ALONE WHILE IT DRIES. This can be difficult if we live an active lifestyle, or are cleansing at night. I’ll say it again, don’t sleep on wet hair—it will dry wonky bends into it that is not the natural movement in your hair.
​
Considerations When Air-Drying:
-
It normally dries more collapsed and closer to the head. Some people use this to their advantage if they want to keep volume and expansion to a minimum. Some Curl Patterns start a little longer (or naturally stretched out) on Cleanse Day and then curl up more once it is dry and the Curl Cast is broken (especially on subsequent days when it is refreshed). Other curls do the opposite—they start out curling up a lot on Cleanse Day and then slowly lengthen out over time. Healthy curls will get to their place, curl to their full potential, and do their thing well when Air-Dried, it is just that they might take a little more time to get there than if you speed up the drying process.
-
KEEP THE Curl Cast INTACT UNTIL THE HAIR IS FULLY DRY! We will always face the temptation to scrunch or interact with our hair too soon—don’t do it! Even if it feels like it needs encouragement to curl up more, you will get better and longer-lasting results if you leave it alone.
-
If you want to encourage volume at the roots, then you can use duckbill clips along the curl rows to hold the roots at 90 degrees from the head as it dries. It doesn’t even have to stay in the entire drying process to be effective. Just be careful not to break up curl groups or soften the Curl Cast.
-
Once your hair is most of the way dry, I recommend shaking your head upside down a bit (NO HANDS INVOLVED) to encourage it to lift up from the head and for the shape to expand some, instead of being collapsed in on itself. We aren’t breaking the Curl Cast yet, so shake and leave it alone to finish drying.
-
ONCE YOUR CURLS ARE DRY, YOU SOFTEN UP THE Curl Cast BY SCRUNCHING THE HAIR. I don’t recommend adding an oil to this process—even though it helps soften the cast, it is also breaking down the hold you just put in … and tomorrow you want to be able to refresh it in your hair. Some people and curl combinations like to leave the Curl Cast intact and just let the day and sleeping on it soften the cast.
DRYING THE HAIR WITH DIFFUSERS, BONNET DRYERS, OR HOOD DRYERS
SIDE NOTE:
I have never met anyone with heat damage from regularly using a Blow Dryer with a Diffuser or using a Bonnet or Hood Dryer … even on high heat. I believe this is because we use a leave-in moisture that has a heat protectant; plus we are rarely 100% drying the hair; we are not adding tension to the strands along with the heat; and we have longevity between cleanses, so we aren’t needing to diffuse more than once every third day at the most. THE HEAT IN THE DRYING PROCESS HELPS THE Curl Cast TO SET QUICKLY, which is crucial when we are speeding up the drying process.
Once we have set up the hair in its curl groups, then we can let it Air-Dry. THE KEY IS TO LEAVE IT ALONE WHILE IT DRIES. This can be difficult if we live an active lifestyle, or are cleansing at night. I’ll say it again, don’t sleep on wet hair—it will dry wonky bends into it that is not the natural movement in your hair.
​
Considerations When Air-Drying:
-
It normally dries more collapsed and closer to the head. Some people use this to their advantage if they want to keep volume and expansion to a minimum. Some Curl Patterns start a little longer (or naturally stretched out) on Cleanse Day and then curl up more once it is dry and the Curl Cast is broken (especially on subsequent days when it is refreshed). Other curls do the opposite—they start out curling up a lot on Cleanse Day and then slowly lengthen out over time. Healthy curls will get to their place, curl to their full potential, and do their thing well when Air-Dried, it is just that they might take a little more time to get there than if you speed up the drying process.
-
KEEP THE Curl Cast INTACT UNTIL THE HAIR IS FULLY DRY! We will always face the temptation to scrunch or interact with our hair too soon—don’t do it! Even if it feels like it needs encouragement to curl up more, you will get better and longer-lasting results if you leave it alone.
-
If you want to encourage volume at the roots, then you can use duckbill clips along the curl rows to hold the roots at 90 degrees from the head as it dries. It doesn’t even have to stay in the entire drying process to be effective. Just be careful not to break up curl groups or soften the Curl Cast.
-
Once your hair is most of the way dry, I recommend shaking your head upside down a bit (NO HANDS INVOLVED) to encourage it to lift up from the head and for the shape to expand some, instead of being collapsed in on itself. We aren’t breaking the Curl Cast yet, so shake and leave it alone to finish drying.
-
ONCE YOUR CURLS ARE DRY, YOU SOFTEN UP THE Curl Cast BY SCRUNCHING THE HAIR. I don’t recommend adding an oil to this process—even though it helps soften the cast, it is also breaking down the hold you just put in … and tomorrow you want to be able to refresh it in your hair. Some people and curl combinations like to leave the Curl Cast intact and just let the day and sleeping on it soften the cast.
OPTIONS FOR SPEED
When using a Diffuser, Bonnet Dryer, or Hood Dryer—all three options are speeding up the natural drying process.
​
LET'S DISCUSS THE DIFFERENCES:
​
-
THE DIFFUSER allows us to replicate Air-Drying while speeding up the process and enhancing it and carefully moving the hair around as we dry. We can use it to enhance the natural movement by scrunching the curls up to the head as they dry, so we engage more of the curly movement from Day One in our Cleanse Cycle. It also can be used once hair is dry and the Curl Cast is softened, to encourage expansion within curl groups.
-
THE BONNET DRYER is allowing us to replicate Air-Drying while speeding up the process and enhancing it, while NOT moving the hair around as we dry. This is good for situations where we don’t want to/need to encourage volume and expansion. Bonnet Dryers help a lot when we have hair that takes a long time to Air-Dry because it is drying the entire head at the same time (unlike a Diffuser). It can scrunch up long hair and contain it as it dries, or help shorter hair stay in place as it dries. For some curl combinations, less interaction in the drying process equals less frizz (little hairs leaving their curl groups). [This isn’t true for all curls though, as long as the Curl Cast stays intact until the hair is dry, a lot of curls can be moved and scrunched in the drying process.] The Bonnet Dryer can allow for hands-free drying when set up correctly, which a lot of people find helpful for multitasking.
-
THE HOOD DRYER is allowing us to replicate Air-Drying while speeding up the process, and NOT moving the hair around as we dry. This is good for situations where we don’t want to/need to encourage volume and expansion—when we want the hair to dry exactly where we set it in its wet state. This can be appealing to those who experience a lot of natural shrinkage with their curls over the days between Cleanses. Hood Dryers do not touch the hair at all. They help a lot when we have hair that takes a long time to Air-Dry— it is drying the entire head at the same time (unlike a Diffuser, and the same as a Bonnet Dryer). It doesn’t always give consistent results on longer hair that is not under the hood. Like the Bonnet Dryer, it also can allow for hands-free drying.
USING A DIFFUSER
Considerations When Using A Blow Dryer With A Diffuser
​
-
A lot of curl combinations have the ability to bring the diffuser in at any stage of the drying process and don’t need to 100% dry their hair with it. Some people start out by using the diffuser to set the Curl Cast and start the drying process, then Air-Dry the rest of the way. Some people let things Air-Dry most of the way and then come in with the diffuser at the end to finish off the drying process, encourage volume, and begin softening up the Curl Cast.
-
Some curl combinations do better when taken from wet to all the way dry if heat is involved.
-
Using a diffuser allows us to dry the hair with the curls scrunched up, so we can engage the curl up the entire strand/curl group easier. For curls that are heavier, confused, or tend to be meltier—this can help us see more of the curly movement from Day One in our Cleanse Cycle.
-
A diffuser can help us engage more volume from Day One since we can dry the hair lifted from the head.
​
Tips For Using A Diffuser:
-
Start with High Heat, Low Air Flow. The heat helps the Curl Cast to set quickly. The Low Air Flow ensures that the hair is staying in its curl groups and that the natural movement isn’t being blown out of the hair. You can lower the heat to medium once the hair is dry and it is time to start softening the Curl Cast.
-
As the blow dryer is heating up, start with a little focus on the roots to give them a head start since most of the drying will be focused away from the head.
-
Be careful not to disturb the curl groups—we want the hair to stay in its curl groups during the entire drying process.
-
When encouraging things to curl up and have volume, the more we let the hair be in its natural hang from the head, the better. We put the ends of the section we are focusing on into the Diffuser Basket (only the amount that fits into the basket well) and then we scrunch up to the head with the diffuser. We hold it there until it gets too hot for the head—when this happens then we just tip the Diffuser outward so that the heat is not focused towards the head—yet we keep as much of the strands scrunched up into the basket as possible. We then work our way to all sections around the head.
-
If we have curls where the goal is to not encourage extra curling or volume in the drying process, then we focus the basket on top of the sections, underneath the sections, and on the sides of the sections instead of placing the ends in the basket and scrunching.
-
We start by focusing on evenly removing water from the hair. We don’t need to worry about the shape being collapsed, the curls being tight in their groups, or curls not curling to their full capacity yet.
-
Once the Curl Cast is set and the hair is no longer drippy wet, then I have my guests who want volume and expansion of shape to flip their hair forward (upside down). Some people do this from the beginning when drying their own hair. We then make sure that every section (especially the top of the head) is getting scrunched all the way to the head where it grows out of, as it dries.
-
Again, try to evenly dry the hair.
-
Once the curls are dry, then we gently scrunch the hair to soften the Curl Cast, if desired.
-
To encourage the curls to expand in their curl groups, then we can continue scrunching them with the Diffuser on Medium Heat.
-
Don’t over-dry the hair.
USING A BONNET OR DIFFUSER
Tips And Things To Consider When Using A Bonnet or Hood Dryer:
​
-
Pay attention to where the hair is sitting and drying because it will really remember that. We don’t want any strange movements dried into the hair. Make sure the band of the Bonnet Dryer isn’t sitting on the hairline.
-
Some curl combinations do better when taken from wet to all the way dry if heat is involved, and some combinations have the option of only partially drying and then Air-Drying; or vice-versa.
-
I ALMOST ALWAYS FOLLOW UP BONNET/HOOD DRYING WITH QUICK DIFFUSING ONCE THE HAIR IS MOSTLY DRY. I use the Diffuser to finish drying and add some life into the hair so that it doesn’t look stuck in place. We can also choose whether we want to soften the Curl Cast and encourage expansion within the curl groups this way.
-
Don’t over-dry the hair.
ONCE HAIR IS DRY
Some people choose to scrunch and soften up the Curl Cast so that the curl groups can expand from their tight groupings; whereas other people prefer to leave the Curl Cast intact and allow it to soften up and expand on its own. Again, we don’t add oil to soften up the cast because it breaks down the hold that we need to have present and refresh in the following days.
For those wanting to encourage Volume and Body (or have the hair visually fill in and not show the scalp), this is the stage—once the hair is completely dry—that we can gently massage at the roots with our fingertips to break apart the curl groups right at the scalp. We don’t want to pull our hands through our hair or break apart curl groups beyond the roots. We can also shake the hair a bit to get the shape to expand. I recommend using a hair pick to help with this. We don’t pull it all the way through the strands, instead, we think of it as little fingers that can gently get in there and lift curl groups that have collapsed into lower curl rows back up on top of the rows below it (which expands out the shape). This isn’t always necessary or desired, but can give some curl combinations nice results.
The Drying Process doesn’t have to be long and tedious, yet we want to be thoughtful and intentional about it. It is worth putting a little effort into it or making sure we are really leaving the hair alone to dry to ensure we get good, lasting results. When our hair looks good and easily refreshes each day then we don’t have to do stressful things to hide it or alter it from its natural state.
​
We get to just enjoy our hair and it gets to just enjoy doing the beautiful things it does well.