The Towel Rub: A Don’t For Healthy Hair

We’ve all heard tales of the dangers of heat damage since we were old enough to hold a hairdryer – and curly-haired ladies battle blowdrying frizz daily. As a result, many women with curly or long locks adhere religiously to the wonders of towel drying; however, that may be causing your hair more damage than it’s preventing!

Truth is, rubbing hair dry vigorously with a towel creates frizz and causes breakage to sensitive wet hair. Still, towel drying can make ending up sans Afro easier than blowdrying hair, and it’s not damaging if it’s done right. Here are some solutions for drying hair without creating breakage and frizz:

• Instead of rubbing or wringing hair out, blot hair dry with a thin towel made for hair drying like Aquis Microfiber Hair Towel.
• Drape a towel around shoulders and comb the moisture out with a wide toothed plastic comb.
• Blow drying can be done without frizz if hair’s properly finished; to do this, apply a leave-in meant to prep hair for heat styling. Our hands-down favorite is Kerastase Resistance Ciment Thermique.
• Comb out a flat section of hair. Using a concentrator attachment on your hair dryer (my FHI Heat Nano Weight Pro 1900 Turbo has one), run the dryer down the top of this section slowly, stopping 1/2″ before the ends. Repeat (but don’t rinse!) until you’re all dry.