Hey guys! I’ve had a few friends ask about how I air-dry my hair, so I thought I’d write up a post on it! A quick note: my hair is fine and wavy, so my goals are always to increase volume/definition of my waves, without having it end up frizzy. This is my current method that’s really been working for me.
- After showering (I use this Cold Spring Apothecary shampoo and the matching conditioner), I squeeze out excess water and then throw it up in a towel for a bit.
- Once I take it out of the towel, I DO NOT BRUSH IT. This is the most important change I’ve made with my hair over the past few months. I used to gently detangle my wet hair with a paddle brush, but I realized that what I was doing was essentially pulling out my natural curl, especially at the roots, which would lead to dreaded “triangle hair” with flat roots. Now, I simply lightly finger-comb my hair and kind of arrange it so I don’t look insane.
- While my hair is still pretty uniformly damp, I take a pea-sized amount of this cream-gel by Bumble and bumble, spread it over my palms, and scrunch/press it into my hair all over, from roots to ends. This stuff is kind of…intense. It might seem like it’s a bit sticky/weird at first, but I promise that the volume and definition that it adds are totally worth it. And when your hair dries, there’s no crunch factor, promise.
- Next, I let my hair air-dry, or I’ll lightly blow-dry to speed up the process. You can use a diffuser if you have one, but my blow dryer is pretty gentle and doesn’t mess with my waves, so I can just use it normally.
- Once my hair is almost dry, I might use a one-inch curling iron to define my waves and add a bit of polish and structure if I care/have the time. I just grab small seconds (maybe half-inch?) and wind them around the outside of a cheap drugstore curling iron. I usually alternate directions for a more natural wave; I feel like this method helps the fake curls blend in with my real curls. 😉
- To finish, I’ll spritz on some Bumble and bumble’s cult-favorite Surf Spray for some extra definition and light hold. I also love Verb’s Sea Texture Spray if my hair ends up drying kind of flat.
And that’s it! I’d like to add the disclaimer here that when I use this method, my hair basically looks different every time…it depends on its mood/the humidity/how recently I’ve had my hair colored/cut, etc. But, my biggest takeaway here is that my hair seems to look best when I just really embrace the wave/frizz whatever, and just rock it.
I hope this helps! Next post (on another day) will be how I deal with second-day hair, which actually way more of a struggle, haha. Let me know if you have any questions, and tell me if there are any air-dry products that you swear by that I should take for a spin!
Tara Rasmus 