Beauty Lexicon: Controlled Air-drying

I experimented with air-drying my ‘do this weekend over the Thanksgiving holiday (suburban Philadelphia is an excellent locale for these types of things) and am pleased to report that my famously multi-textured hair (it’s curly and wavy in different areas) dried into fairly uniform natural waves.

It’s such a fine line with air-drying. Not enough product and controlling of the situ, and your hair winds up a bigger disaster than New Coke. But you CAN achieve natural waviness (if, indeed, your hair is wavy or curly) that’s simple, yet chic. All you need to do is take… control (to get what I want). Allow me to share the steps.

1. Wash with a hydrating shampoo and conditioner. Now would be a great time to deep condition with a hydrating mask like Biolage Intensive Strengthening Masque.

2. Towel dry and apply a bit of Moroccanoil and follow with a quarter-sized dollop of leave-in conditioner. I especially like Abba Pure Gentle Leave-in Conditioner.

3. Blow dry bangs/front section of hair (I mean, let’s not get crazy. But RELAX, it’ll be mostly air-dried). Lately, I’m loving the Super Solano MODA Dryer. More details to come in my holiday gift guide.

4. Put the rest of your damp hair into a fairly loose coiled bun at the nape of your neck. Take it out every 30 minutes or so and let it dry out a bit, twist it around and throw it back up. Doing this ensures it won’t be too tightly crimped from being in the bun for hours, nor so wet that it never dries.

5. After an hour and a half or so, shake out your hair sexy secretary style and unleash your beguiling beauty on an unsuspecting world.

And tell me: What are your favorite air-dry products in your beauty arsenal?

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Disclosure: Samples of all products mentioned in this post save for ABBA Pure Gentle Leave-In Conditioner were provided to me by the respective brands’ PR.

4 Comments Beauty Lexicon: Controlled Air-drying

  1. Christie

    I’d like to consider myself a pro on the subject of air drying (considering I do it nearly everyday) and I love Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious Defining Creme and Oribe Creme for Styling. I find that the creams work best because they leave hair crunch-free and soft to the touch!
    Love your blog, thanks!

    Reply
  2. Courtney

    Great tips! I also have wavy/curly/crazy hair that is difficult to air dry. I have tried Paul Mitchell Round Trip…it works fairly well, but it holds longer with a diffuser over total air dry.

    Anyway, great tips!

    Reply

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