Clever tricks for air-drying your hair

If there’s one thing all low-maintenance beauties love, it’s air-dried hair. It’s timesaving, much better for your strands, and, when done right, looks effortlessly cool. Unfortunately, if you do it wrong, you’re more likely to end up with a limp, frizzy mop (and wishing you had just relied on your trusty hairdryer).

So, what’s the secret to pulling off an air-dry like a pro? Well, Shu Uemura Art of Hair Ambassador James Galvin recently revealed his four foolproof steps for looking “perfectly undone”. They’re not totally effortless, but if you master them now, you’ll have the beach babe look down pat by summer!

RELATED: 17 handy hair dryer hacks

RELATED: How to create perfect waves

1. Don’t rub, blot

To minimise the frizz factor, you first have to remove as much moisture as possible with a towel. Don’t rub the towel over your locks though, “as this will rough up the cuticle and create frizz”. Instead, “gently blot your hair dry with a towel to remove most of the moisture”. Patience is key!

2. Pick the right prods

You may not need styling tools for this look, but a choice product or two is still necessary to give it the right amount of polish. James recommends an all-rounder air-dry perfector – we like evo day of grace leave-in conditioner and Paul Mitchell Taming Spray. If your hair tends to dry a bit flat, spritz sea salt spray such as John Frieda Beach Blonde Ocean Waves Sea-Salt Spray (below) or Wella Professionals Ocean Spritz at the crown of your head and along the parting to add some oomph.

Ocean waves

3. Use your fingers

To avoid breaking up wave formations and any pre-existing texture, ditch your hairbrush and use your fingers to gently “comb the product through”. Don’t go overboard – the look is supposed to seem a bit undone and play up what your mumma gave you (aka your natural texture).

4. Twist for texture

For a bit more texture, randomly twist pieces of hair around your fingers to create loose, smooth waves. "The great thing about the art of air-drying is that after five minutes of twisting, your hair will dry by itself naturally with movement."

5. Style while you sleep

If you don’t have the patience for painstaking finger styling, why not head to bed and let your wet locks do the work themselves? By styling your hair while you sleep, you can achieve anything from luscious curls to a smooth, sleek do without using any heat whatsoever. My favourite is loose waves, created with the help of a high bun (see 2.).

6. Try hair plopping

An American trend that recently took the internet by storm, hair plopping was invented to help wild-haired beauties enhance their curls without heat styling. It involves ‘plopping’ your wet tresses in a towel, t-shirt or cloth on top of your head. Hair styling doesn’t get much simpler than this!

Hair plopping

Do you air-dry your hair, or do you prefer heat styling? What’s your favourite low-maintenance beauty look?

113 Member Comments

Sonniaa2126 22 Nov 2015 4:38 PM

i usually blow dry my hair but I should air dry it because its getting really dry

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Kassalee 15 Nov 2015 4:50 PM

My hair is best when air-dried and I like to use Tresemme sea-salt spray or Kerastase oleo curl. I never use hair dryers or heat appliances. These are great tips and I'd love to give hair plopping a go!

Dreamy 2 Nov 2015 9:04 PM

I usually air dry my hair in summers but in winters dryer is must

Sassyblu26 27 Oct 2015 11:37 PM

I have very thick hair which takes ages to air dry but that being said i very rarely use my hairdryer as it tends to make my hair go very frizzy and by air drying my curls are looking more natural.

Affy92 25 Oct 2015 4:25 PM

I ALWAYS air dry! Should try some of these tricks next time :D

Bluebird 24 Oct 2015 2:56 AM

Some good tips but I can't get my bed head curls to last me further than the morning when I try it. Wondering if there's some products I need to put in other than hairspray to keep my waves in my otherwise straight and lifeless hair.

Erin403 9 Nov 2015 11:10 PM

I have the very same problem!

Yohanna 18 Oct 2015 1:57 PM

I always air dry, except in an emergency cases...put in plats and get waves

Growing old 9 Oct 2015 7:55 AM

I do love a great leave in conditioner. For my fine hair (and not wanting one for volume as they tend not to he repairing or hydrating) it's hard to find a great one. As I've recently started using Evo shampoos and conditioners I've been reading reviews on their leave in conditioner..the day of grace one and here it is again.

Growing old 9 Oct 2015 7:51 AM

I always regret air drying once it's dry. My fine hair literally only needs a few minutes of hair dryer but when I don't and let it air dry my hair seems more frizzy and I use a hair towel and never rub my hair. I tried the plopping...I was so excited when I got up in the morning..oh dear...my hair went crazy curly. Could not leave the house...it was bad!!!

Pandr134 8 Oct 2015 7:29 PM

I partly air dry my hair, but usually finish it off with a quick blow dry. When it is nearly dry I use my brush and hold the air dryer,quite a distance from my hair . I put it on warm and then I switch it to cold, this usually sets the curl nicely and it means you don't have damaging heat on your hair.

sporty_ytl 8 Oct 2015 5:27 PM

I only air dry my hair in summer. Hairdryer in colder months is a must for me.

hellodolleh 16 Sep 2015 5:51 PM

I love braiding my hair before bed and getting up with beautiful waves that last the whole day! I have really thick hair though so I need to make sure my hair is only slightly damp when I do this.

Shop A Everyday 13 Sep 2015 12:42 PM

Great ways to dry naturally

Rainbownerds 7 Sep 2015 2:10 PM

Great article, now i know to blot hair dry

Tomc 7 Sep 2015 10:05 AM

I have very thick, curly hair. I air dry in the warmer months. I sometimes set it onto medium rollers and use a dryer. It looks much better and is easier to control.

Unidentified 7 Sep 2015 4:52 AM

I air dry my hair almost all the time. I have varying degrees of success with it. I don't use a towel on my hair. I use an old tshirt to make a turban, wear it like that while I do my make up base and then comb my hair. I apply product if I have time. My hair looks a lot less frizzy since I ditched the towel.

Jlgaddes 4 Sep 2015 7:09 PM

Excellent article, I always let my hair dry naturally then style.

melanie.sylvia 4 Sep 2015 12:32 PM

I'm trying to perfect air drying my hair. Since I became a mum I have less time to heat style my hair. BUT, If I go to bed with wet hair I wake up with frizzy "curls". And if I wash it in the morning it takes half the day to dry! I can't seem to get it to sit right without using a straightner to fix it either. I usually just chuck it in a pony tail or mum bun these days!

Makeup Maven 4 Sep 2015 12:07 PM

I almost always airdry because my hair takes forever to dry with the hairdryer, so much so that even hairdressers give up on using the curling/smoothing brush and just blow it whatever way they can to get it dry quicker. However, I have very uneven waves in my hair, one side is lower than the other so I end up with really weird looking hair so I end up heat styling anyway.

Themummabear 4 Sep 2015 11:45 AM

I generally air dry my hair and use the blotting technique to reduce frizz but occasionally use the hair dryer to speed up the process.

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cwingy83 4 Sep 2015 11:37 AM

style while i sleep it's the best and natural look

Trish_D 3 Sep 2015 8:34 PM

I look like I've had my hair done by a 5 year old if I air dry it, unfortunately.

Shop A Everyday 30 Aug 2015 5:41 PM

I let it dry as much it can before I pop the blowdryer on it, unless we are going out

Flicky26 30 Aug 2015 1:39 PM

I usually air dry my hair..... it's much easier! In fact, I just bought a new hair dryer a few weeks ago & it was my first in almost 15 years LOL

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