If your hair takes what feels like forever to dry, — we’re talking hours at a time and maybe even an entire day — you probably have questions. The first and most important one being, why, followed by, is there anything that can be done to fix this? The answer isn’t that simple — how long your hair takes to dry really depends on your hair texture, porosity and density.
And while it can be annoying to spend the whole day waiting for your hair to dry, it may not be a bad thing. For more advice on the topic, we turned to Jonathan Colombini, L’Oréal Paris Creative Director of style and color and celebrity hairstylist. Take notes as we share why your hair takes so long to dry, plus, some expert tips and tricks to help speed up the process.
Why Does My Hair Take Forever to Dry?
There are a few different reasons that explain why your hair takes so long to dry. According to Colombini, healthy hair actually takes the longest to dry. While it’s less than ideal, your hair may take a long time to dry simply because you maintain healthy hair practices and your strands are able to easily absorb and retain moisture.
With that said, things like hair density, texture and how much hair you have also play a role in how fast or how slowly your hair dries. If you’re someone with thick, wavy hair, there’s a very good chance your hair is going to take much longer to dry than someone with thin, fine hair simply because you have more hair.
Another thing to keep in mind is hair porosity which refers to your hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. “Porous hair can act as a sponge to anything you apply it to,” Colombini says. This means high porosity hair can easily draw in moisture, including that offered through hydrating hair care products like conditioning masks, treatments and serums. The downside is that while high porosity hair can effortlessly absorb moisture, it has a very hard time retaining it.
On the other hand, low porosity hair has a hard time absorbing moisture because the hair cortex is closely laid together. While this makes it difficult for moisture to enter, it’s able to stay put for a while once it does. This also means low-porosity hair may take longer to dry.
“Hair may be porous in different sections of the hair,” Colombini explains. “The ends [of your hair] may have more porosity to them than the mid-shaft or roots.” If you find that some parts of your hair take longer to dry than others, that’s totally normal.
Tip: To determine your hair porosity, brush your hair and place the shedding strands into a glass of water. If you have high porosity hair, it will sink to the bottom. Low porosity hair will float because it has a difficult time absorbing moisture, whereas normal porosity hair will float and then slowly begin to sink.
How Can I Make My Hair Dry Faster?
While how fast your hair dries will depend on your hair’s density, texture and porosity, there are a few things you can do to speed up the process. Check our top tips for faster-drying hair.
- Towel Dry Your Hair
Colombini recommends towel drying your hair to remove excess moisture after washing. Not only does this work to speed up the air-drying process, but it also helps you prep your strands for heat styling.
Instead of a bath towel, try using an old t-shirt to plop your hair or consider a microfiber towel. Both of these alternatives will help minimize the friction and tugging motions on your wet hair, decreasing the risk of breakage.
- Apply Your Hair Products onto Wet Hair
Rather than waiting for your hair to dry before applying your leave-in conditioner or hair treatments, Colombini advises applying your products immediately after towel-drying your hair for better and more even absorption from roots to ends. Not only will this allow your hair to air-dry with less frizz and flyaways but it will help speed up the process.
- Practice Rough Drying
Attempting a blowout with sopping wet strands is not going to be very successful and it’s going to take a long time. Instead, Colombini recommends power drying your hair with your fingers to remove the excess moisture before picking up your round brush. This will speed up your blowout while making the styling process a bit easier.
- Don’t Skip Conditioner
After shampooing your hair, reach for conditioner to rehydrate your strands and prevent your hair from absorbing more moisture than necessary. As weird as it sounds, conditioner creates a seal over the hair, repelling water, which will allow your hair to dry faster.
Via: Lorealparisusa.com
