How To Air Dry Your Hair Properly

There’s a casual glamour built into your look when you choose to wear your hair in its natural state. Sure, we love a voluminous blow-dry or effortlessly beachy waves as much as the next person, but harnessing your natural texture pattern by learning how to air dry your hair properly brings with it its own superpower. Similar to the way we’ve been pairing back our makeup and investing in skin care, the trend toward creating a hairstyle by highlighting what you’re born with isn’t going anywhere. 

Whether you’re new to the concept or have always air-dried your hair — we’re detailing a few of our favourite tips and the top product picks to air dry your hair no matter your hair type and texture.

Apart from the obvious reasons, like taking a break from heat styling, air-drying your hair creates a style that is truly unique. It gives you the chance to highlight your individual texture and create new styling habits along the way.

From straight hair to fine hair, wavy hair and curly hair — finding a perfect balance to your air dry routine can improve more than just your finished style. While cutting down on frizz and reducing hair damage are obvious reasons, improving a dry scalp is another that often goes overlooked.

Some of the biggest goals when air-drying are creating a finished style with volume and definition, but without frizz. For best results on all fronts, finding techniques, products and a routine that are tailored to your hair type are key.

Cleansing and conditioning your hair play a large role in how your hair will air dry. You’ll want a moisturising formula that gently cleanses the hair without completely stripping strands of natural oils. 

Straight and fine hair types need less definition and more volume. To encourage a natural finish, ANGEL.WASH and ANGEL.RINSE are an ideal shampoo and conditioner to gently cleanse, restore and add weightless volume when needed. 

For wavy, curly or coily hair, focus on preserving strength and moisture. KILLER.CURLS WASH + RINSE enhances the hair’s texture to encourage a more refined shape, making them an ideal duo to prep the hair for air-drying.

If your hair is tangle-prone, apply conditioner and then comb through with a wide-toothed comb to help you detangle. This will not only ease the detangling process, but also helps enhance curl definition for some hair types.

Microfiber towels remove excess moisture without agitating the cuticle, which leads to less damage and less frizz. For best results, when towel-drying use gentle blotting or squeezing methods to remove moisture without roughing up your hair pattern

Air-drying the hair can be a tricky process because, without the heat of a styling tool, hair can appear frizzy and undefined. You will find your own unique approach to prepping and applying products, but there are a few best practices that can be tailored to your hair type. 

• Fine or straight hair needs products that will control the hair without weighing it down. Start with a leave-in conditioner designed for your hair type like STAYING.ALIVE for fine hair or UN.TANGLED for thicker hair, and then follow with a rejuvenating oil like YOUNG.AGAIN to add shine and a touch of definition.
• An air-dry specific styler, like KILLER.TWIRLS, is essential for wavy, curly and coily hair types. This unique styler creates a soft hold and definition without creating a crunchy or hard finish. With use you’ll notice moisture, body, movement and shine thanks to ingredients like Shea Butter and Organic Oat Milk.

We Suggest: STAYING.ALIVE + SHIMMER.SHINE

Spray STAYING.ALIVE onto damp hair and then follow with a light dusting of SHIMMER.ME once hair is completely dry.

We Suggest: UN.TANGLED + YOUNG.AGAIN

Apply UN.TANGLED to damp hair and then comb through to evenly distribute. If you have any flyaways or want to add shine, apply YOUNG.AGAIN where needed.

We suggest: KILLER.WAVES or KILLER.TWIRLS

Apply product, comb through, scrunch and twist to dry as necessary.

We suggest: KILLER.TWIRLS or KILLER.CURLS

Apply product, rake through with fingers or TEXTURE.COMB and scrunch for a few minutes to enhance your curl pattern.

We suggest: LEAVE-IN.REPAIR, KILLER.TWIRLS or MOTION.LOTION and EASY.RIDER to finish.

Apply product, comb through with a TEXTURE.COMB, twist to reshape as needed. Once dry, you can unravel the twists or leave as is.

Once hair is dry, everything from daily activities, sleep and the environment can disturb your natural texture pattern creating frizz or an undefined finish. To elongate your style try a few of these helpful tips.

• Avoid sleeping on wet hair as this will cause excess tension, can increase breakage and disrupt your curl pattern. 
• Sleep on a silk pillowcase or wear hair in a silk scarf or bonnet to preserve moisture and avoid disturbing your texture. 
• Apply a dry conditioner in addition to your dry shampoo. This ensures oils are absorbed but hair is also treated to a healthy dose of moisture. We love FRESH.HAIR + YOUNG.AGAIN DRY CONDITIONER.