Is blow drying bad for your hair?
Monday, 24 November 2008
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.
Hair straightener Iron Giveaway
And since we’re on the topic of hair, I’ll like to extend my readers based in US and Canada a chance to win a Karmin Titanium Hair Straighten Iron valued at US$99.99, courtesy of My Hair Styling Tools.com. It’s very easy to enter. All you need is to leave your information in the widget below and you have until 6 Dec to do so.
(Note: US & Canadian residents only)
Additionally, you can use the following codes to get any hairstyling tools at My Hair Styling Tools.
VIVA25 – Good for $25 off any Karmin Titanium Hair straightener
VIVA10 – Good for $10 off any item
Good luck!
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Posted in Giveaways, Haircare, Promotions | 20 Comments »
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November 24th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
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.
November 24th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
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…
November 24th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
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!
November 24th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
i’m soooo happy! FINALLY an excuse to buy a new blowdrier! XD
eMz: YAY to new hairdryer!
November 24th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
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.
November 25th, 2008 at 6:15 am
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.
November 25th, 2008 at 6:42 am
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!
November 25th, 2008 at 9:48 am
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!
November 25th, 2008 at 11:08 am
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.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
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.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
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.
November 27th, 2008 at 9:15 am
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.
November 27th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
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.
December 14th, 2008 at 9:15 am
[...] while we’re on the topic of giveaways, I should announce that the winner for the Karmin Titanium Hair Straightener Iron Giveway have been selected last week and it was Denise Nguyen from Santa Ana, USA. And Denise should [...]
March 24th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
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!
April 11th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
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.
May 15th, 2009 at 9:38 am
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.
May 15th, 2009 at 9:55 am
I’ve been looking for a decent honest review of the best hair straightener for ages, thanks for your help.
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:17 am
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
September 21st, 2009 at 11:08 am
[...] for hair Blow drying your hair regularly is not bad. In fact, I wrote about this in my entry asking is blow drying bad for your hair? You just need to do it right and use the right thermal styling tools. If you go for a lousy [...]