Dry your hair

Compare removing excess water, air-drying and dryer-assisted methods.

9 guides · Free to read

Choose your starting point

Separate the first drying step from the finish. Blotting and plopping remove some water; they do not replace complete drying. Then compare air-drying, a handheld dryer or a diffuser. Braids, twists and mature locs have their own drying guides.

Compare the methods

Explore the methods below. Open a guide for when to use it, what you’ll need and the full steps.

A woman places her fingertips on either side of the part in her damp hair, with the lengths hanging loose.

1–3 min hands-on

Air-dry your hair

Air-drying lets loose hair dry in the surrounding air without a heated styling tool.

A woman holds a dryer away from her own loose side section and directs airflow down the lengths while lifting the ends lightly.

10–30 min hands-on

Blow-dry your hair in sections

Sectioned blow-drying dries separate portions of loose hair in turn with a handheld hair dryer, making it easier to cover the whole head.

A woman supports a damp root clump upright with one hand and positions an open small root clip with the other.

2–5 min hands-on

Clip your roots while air-drying

Root clipping uses small clips to hold selected damp wave or curl groups away from the scalp while they air-dry.

A woman outside the shower presses a light gray towel around her own braid lengths with both hands.

3–8 min hands-on

Dry braids or twists after washing

Drying installed braids or twists combines gentle water removal with open-air drying, paying attention to the roots and inner layers.

Hands gently pressing cotton fabric around the lower lengths of wet hair.

30 sec–2 min hands-on

Dry hair gently with a cotton T-shirt

Cotton T-shirt blotting uses soft fabric to absorb excess water from wet hair without rough rubbing.

A man seated outside the shower presses a light gray towel against his own mature loc lengths.

5–10 min hands-on

Dry mature locs after washing

Drying mature locs removes excess water by pressing and blotting, then uses open air or unheated airflow while keeping roots and thick lengths accessible for checks.

A woman holds a bowl diffuser several inches from the side of her damp curls while drying her own hair.

15–45 min hands-on

Dry waves and curls with a diffuser

Diffuser drying uses a bowl-shaped hair-dryer attachment to spread airflow while drying loose waves, curls or coils.

A seated woman gently separates the side lengths of her damp bob in front of the diffuser of a supported tabletop dryer.

10–40 min hands-on

Dry your hair with a matched dryer stand on cool air

A matched dryer stand supports its compatible dryer while you move your hair through a gentle stream of unheated air.

Woman lowers the ends of her own damp wavy-curly hair into the center of a flat cotton T-shirt without twisting it.

3–6 min hands-on

Plop waves or curls with a T-shirt

Plopping gathers damp waves, curls or coils in a loose pile on top of the head inside a cotton T-shirt. The fabric absorbs some water without rubbing the lengths.