Dry your hair

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

8 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 uses both hands to set a center part in her damp loose hair, then lets the lengths fall over her shoulders.

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 holds selected damp wave or curl sections away from the scalp with small clips while the hair air-dries.

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

Mature-loc drying removes excess water without wringing, then allows established locs to dry through before they are covered or tied.

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.

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

1–3 min hands-on

Plop waves or curls with a T-shirt

T-shirt plopping gathers damp waves, curls or coils inside a soft cotton shirt for a temporary wrapped stage before the hair finishes drying.