If you’re blessed with naturally curly hair, knowing how to dry your curls properly without frizz is essential for achieving your styling goals.
Whether you have tight, coily hair or long, beachy waves, treating your curls with the love and care they deserve is of the utmost importance.
Crucially, when drying your curls, you need to avoid excessive heat and friction caused by static electricity and specific materials. If you do this, you should be able to dry your curls to perfection without worrying about frizz.
With that in mind, we present three options to consider that will help you to achieve perfect curls every time.
Option 1. Use a hair dryer with a diffuser
The best way to dry your hair for perfect curls is to use a hair dryer with a diffuser attachment like the Laifen Swift Special. A diffuser is a special tool that redirects (diffuses) the air from your dryer throughout your hair rather than concentrating it in one specific location.
The resulting blow dry is much more even, which prevents your hair from becoming dry and brittle. It also helps to reduce frizz caused by over-drying.
Moreover, the Laifen Swift Special is an ionic blow dryer. This technology generates negative ions to combat static electricity, which is often responsible for frizz. Therefore, when you blow dry your hair with an ionic hair dryer with a diffuser, you give yourself the best chance of eliminating frizz.
How to dry curly hair with a diffuser?
So, how exactly do you use a hair dryer with a diffuser? Here are the simple steps to follow to dry your curls to perfection:
- Prepare your hair: Wash and condition your hair with a natural shampoo, ideally one with coconut or jojoba oil to nourish your curls. Then, if you wish, apply a curl-enhancing cream to help define your curls.
- Adjust the heat setting: When using the Laifen Swift Special, you don’t have to dry your hair with the hottest setting. We recommend low or medium heat to protect your curls from heat damage. If you have particularly thin or sensitive hair, you can also apply a heat protectant.
- Section your hair: Start by drying the ends of your hair and move the diffuser around in different sections. Work in small sections, spending a few seconds on each, and be careful not to hold the dryer too close to your scalp.
- Flip your hair: A top tip to achieve extra volume is to flip your hair and diffuse it upside down. This also enables you to access hard-to-reach spots.
- Style: The last step is to style your perfect curls. You can add a moisturizing oil, or for accentuated waves, apply a sea salt spray for an instant volume boost.
Option 2. Use a microfiber towel
If you have plenty of time and you’re not rushing to make your morning train to work, drying your curls with a microfiber towel is a great option. Though this method takes longer, it eliminates the threat of heat damage and is a great way to dry your hair naturally.
After stepping out of the shower, grab your microfiber towel and gently pat your hair, removing the excess water. A microfiber towel is much better than a normal towel as it’s much softer and reduces friction. In other words, you’re less likely to damage your hair with a microfiber towel.
After removing most of the water from your hair, you can then let your hair air dry as you go about your morning routine. You can even wrap your head in a turban on a cold day if you can’t rely on the weather to dry your hair naturally!
How to dry curly hair with a towel?
There are right and wrong ways to dry your hair with a towel. Here are the steps to follow to ensure you don’t damage your curls:
- Buy a microfiber towel: If you don’t have one already, order a microfiber towel online to dry your hair. These towels are widely available and affordable and they will make a huge difference to your hair.
- Pat your hair, don’t rub it: When you step out of the shower, get into the habit of patting or dabbing your hair dry. You shouldn’t rub your hair aggressively, as doing so can damage the follicles. You can bunch your hair into sections, patting each dry as you go.
- Leave it to air dry: After removing most of the excess water from your hair, you can then leave it to air dry naturally, which may take an hour or so, depending on the weather.
As mentioned, air and towel drying are great options for drying hair naturally, but they’re not great options if you’re in a hurry. However, if you’re looking for how to dry curly hair without a diffuser, this is perhaps your best option.
Option 3. Plopping
Plopping is another great way to dry curly hair, but it’s also a method that requires a fair amount of time, so it’s not suitable for morning rush hours! Plopping is a heatless drying technique that requires you to wrap your hair into a microfiber towel, but it’s a different method to that introduced above.
This is a particularly effective approach for women with wavy or coily hair, as it helps to enhance your curls without causing them to dry out.
To “plop” your hair, you need to lay a microfiber towel (a t-shirt can also work if you don’t have a towel) on the bed or table in front of you. You then pull the towel over the nape of your neck, wrap it tightly, and flip your hair up gently.
You then need to leave it for 30-60 minutes, and you will have “plopped” your hair dry, which is a much better option than aggressive heat styling.
How to plop your hair?
If you’re looking for how to dry curly hair without frizz, plopping is a superb option. Here are the steps to follow to dry your hair in this way:
- Flip your hair from side to side: As soon as you step out of the shower, flip your hair from side to side to remove some of the excess water. You can also shake your head from side to side, but make sure you don’t touch your curls.
- Apply some product: If you wish, you can add some curl enhancer or a leave-in conditioner at this stage, but it’s not an essential step.
- Plop your hair: Lay your microfiber towel out flat on the bed in front of you. Then, bend over and gently rest your hair on top of it. Finally, pull the towel over the nape of your neck and crisscross it to the front of your head before flipping your hair gently. You can then tie it in place.
- Wait 30-60 minutes: We recommend leaving your hair plopped for between 30 and 60 minutes, but trial and error will reveal how long you should leave your hair wrapped before it is thoroughly dry.
Summary
Undeniably, the best way to dry your hair without frizz is to use an ionic hair dryer with a diffuser attachment, such as the Laifen Swift Special. The adjustable heat setting means you don’t need to worry about over-drying your hair, while the ionic technology practically eliminates frizz.
Alternatively, learning how to air dry curly hair by using a microfiber towel can also work, while plopping is another option if you’re not short of time. You can also read our FAQs below for more insight into drying your curls without frizz.
FAQs
Q1: How to blow dry curly hair straight?
Your natural hair type will dictate whether it’s possible to straighten your curls, and you may not be able to permanently change the texture and shape of your hair. That said, you can use a concentrator nozzle and styling products to help straighten your hair. Heat-based hair straighteners can also help, but be mindful that overusing them will cause your hair to become dry and brittle.
Q2: How long does it take for curly hair to dry?
This depends on the method you opt for. If you use a diffuser hair dryer like the Laifen Swift on its medium setting, you can blow dry your curls in around 15 minutes. However, if you air dry your hair or “plop” your hair, you can expect it to take an hour or longer.
