Have you noticed more damage to your hair than usual? Believe it or not, the way you towel-dry your hair may be the cause of this.
Your hair is a delicate thing and can easily be damaged by rough towel-drying techniques. This doesn't mean that you can't dry your hair ever again, but it does mean you need to adopt gentler hair drying methods.
If you would like to learn more about preventing hair damage when drying hair with towels, keep reading.
What Is Considered Towel-Drying
Towel-drying is the most common way women all around the world dry their hair. You towel-dry your hair when you use a towel, shirt, or any other piece of fabric to remove water from your hair. You typically do this when you finish washing your hair or swimming in a pool or lake.
Why Towel-Drying Can Be Damaging
Like most women, you've probably been towel-drying your hair for as long as you can remember. If this is the case, you are more than likely shocked to hear that can be bad.
This is dangerous because of the coarse texture of your bath towel. When you rub your bath towel against the ends of your hair and scalp, strands of your hair are being pulled by the towel. When this happens, the caught hair can break off and cause split ends or frizz.
Drying hair with towels can also bunch it up and tie it into knots. If the knots are tight enough, you will be forced to damage your own hair by pulling them out. This is obviously the complete opposite of protection and will cause you to develop dead ends.
If you are in a situation where you have to use a regular towel to dry your hair, you can. Just keep in mind that it can be damaging and try to use the safest hair drying methods possible; even if it takes longer than usual.
Safe Hair Drying Methods
The first thing you need to do when trying to prevent hair damage when drying is to stop scrubbing your hair. Instead, scrunch the ends with a towel as gently as possible. This technique will not pull your hair like rubbing it will.
Make sure to switch to dryer sections of your towel to make sure the water is being collected.
If you do not want to scrunch your hair, you can also gently twist it up in your towel and rest it on top of your head. For the best results, leave it up for roughly 30 minutes. This will dry your hair with less frizz.
You should also leave your hair damp after drying. If you use a towel on your hair until it is completely dry, it will be easier to break.
Moisturize Your Hair
All the previous methods are safe for your hair, but breakage is inevitable. The only way to ensure that your hair isn't brittle enough to break is by moisturizing it.
You can do this by combing a leave-in conditioner through your hair before towel-drying it.
Best Tools to Towel-Dry Hair With
Along with gentle scrunching, there are dozens of other ways you can safely dry your hair. Don't worry, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars to protect your mane. Most of the tools you will need are completely affordable or even free.
T-shirt
Not only does your shirt have your back, but it has your hair's too. Your t-shirt is made of soft fabric that will not snap your hair like a towel. Instead, it will simply collect the water in your hair without dehydrating it.
Try to use a shirt that is 100% cotton.
The best way to dry your hair with a t-shirt is by scrunching it until it is no longer dripping. Once you finish scrunching, place your hair through the neck of your shirt and twist it until it feels secure. Tying the excess fabric will allow the shirt to sit on top of your head without you needing to hold it.
After 15-20 minutes, take your hair down and it will be dry.
You can also choose to sleep in your t-shirt overnight. This is the best way to protect curly hair while you sleep and keep it from frizzing. If you choose to do this, you will need to perform your curl routine before pulling it up; once it's wrapped you can't take it down.
Microfiber Towels
Microfiber towels are considered one of the best types of towels by professionals. Similar to t-shirts, microfiber towels are designed with a smooth fabric that prevents the towel from grabbing your hair and breaking it.
This towel is also specially designed to hold the water in your hair without dehydrating it.
Microfiber towels can work on all different hairstyles and are known to last longer than a t-shirt or regular bath towels. This is because they are made to only dry your head. Because of this, you will save money on drying tools in the future.
Dry Your Hair Without Damage
Now that you know all about how to towel dry hair, all you need to do is decide which drying method is best for you.
If you're interested in buying a microfiber towel for your hair, check out Turbie Twist. Our gentle microfiber towels have been drying hair since 1995. They come in dozens of adorable color options and styles created to match your personality.
Visit our website to shop our unique line of protective microfiber towels and learn more about our brand.