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

freaky 19 Aug 2015 11:17 PM

I always dry naturally and been plopping for years

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Blondie7 19 Aug 2015 10:55 PM

I always air dry my long hair as heat drying would cause my mature hair to be dry and brittle . As a result of this and using a good quality leave in conditioner, my hair still swings. I also plait my wet or damp hair and sleep on it for volume as it is otherwise fine and straight. Your article has made me think about extending the plaits to the side of my face for even more volume. Thanks for that!

tarameoww 19 Aug 2015 10:08 PM

I do like to blot my hair rather than rub, and always air dry.

maggieball 19 Aug 2015 7:22 PM

Blotting is a very good tip - I have a tendency to run so will have to take more care. I like the twisting idea too.

Beauty_Jem 19 Aug 2015 6:38 PM

I don't usually air dry unless it's summer and I'm not leaving the house any time soon. My hair just has a mind of its own if left unsupervised! It frizzes, curls sporadically, and I just don't have room/can't be bothered buying products simply designed for air drying... I know it damages my hair, but I use the middle heat setting and finish with a blast of cool so my hair isn't completely tortured. I also can't stand going to bed with wet hair, yuck. And I don't like that wet hair feeling for long either.

IndieAna 19 Aug 2015 3:51 PM

I only air dry my hair, I don't like to use heat on it.

bluerose 19 Aug 2015 3:42 PM

I always air-dry my hair. After washing and quickly towel drying, I apply an argan oil product, split my hair down the middle with a wide-toothed comb, and twist it over my shoulders into two 'ringlets'. My hair dries into much tidier curls and doesn't suffer damage from heat styling. Very occasionally I may need a quick blast on the coolest setting with my hair dryer.

Roxymisha 19 Aug 2015 2:54 PM

I air dry my hair as it is very curly and frizzy. If necessary I may blow dry it for a couple of minutes first and then let it dry naturally.

MelissaFay89 19 Aug 2015 1:29 PM

I have fine, long hair which takes like an hour to dry. I air-dry 100% of the time as I am simply too lazy

Misy Rose 19 Aug 2015 1:17 PM

I always air dry my hair, since I'm not used to using the hair dryer. Also, the one in my house has to be at least 10 years old and since I haven't gotten around to replacing it yet, the second best option is to never touch it haha.

Elunia 19 Aug 2015 1:10 PM

I usually air dry my hair, since I am keeping it long air drying seems safer to ward off damaged hair.

kloh 19 Aug 2015 12:04 PM

I do try to air dry in summer sometimes, I have quite long hair so it's takes a little while and I can't stand that wet hair feel for too long

Seashells 19 Aug 2015 10:05 AM

I prefer to let my hair air dry especially in summer, although with the slightly warmer weather in Sydney recently I've started air drying it again. I have done the overnight plait/braid look but didn't really like the overall result...maybe because I didn't put product in beforehand.

Pinkswoon 19 Aug 2015 8:59 AM

I air dry my hair in summer when it is warmer at night and my hair would then dry faster. In winter, i opt to use my hair dryer.

Blotting is a great way to dry hair and it protect the hair as well.

TheUglyDuckling 19 Aug 2015 7:35 AM

I used to hair plop like a champion in high school, however my hair got so long and was so thick, my hair would still be damp when I woke up! Fail! However, I found if I used a warm towel and then blasted it with a hot hair dryer, that helped the process overnight.

misfortune8 19 Aug 2015 12:02 AM

I usually air dry my hair. I often pop it into a plait & go. If there's no wind, letting it dry naturally in the sun makes your hair shiny. It doesn't work if there's a breeze though.

Josie1993 18 Aug 2015 11:51 PM

Whoops I always rub my hair dry! I'll definitely stop doing it now to prevent my frizziness of hair

Chicklet 18 Aug 2015 10:57 PM

My hair is fine, so it air dries quite quickly.

Miss19 18 Aug 2015 10:34 PM

During the week I don't really blow dry or straighten my hair and will just let it air dry. I also have a habit of twisting my hair to give it nice curls.

ray_jay 18 Aug 2015 10:25 PM

Thanks for this article I'm trying to air dry more but hate the result

Gilded 18 Aug 2015 9:47 PM

I air dry but have to work some product in. Also I don't know how people can style hair with a braid in overnight. I look horrible if I do this.

Temporary Princess 18 Aug 2015 9:42 PM

I wonder if plopping would make everything just smell a little musty?

Lucrecia629 18 Aug 2015 9:32 PM

I always air dry. After showering I wrap my hair in a towel while I apply my lotion. Then I spray with a detangling spray and comb through with a wide tooth comb so my hair dries straight and smooth.

Jlgaddes 18 Aug 2015 9:31 PM

Lovely tips.........something for me to try.

Ellelily 18 Aug 2015 9:12 PM

During the week i let my hair dry naturally and just add some mousse as it assists with my curls.

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