3 Biggest Risks of Air Drying Your Locs

Sitting under the dryer is one of the most dreaded past times of anyone that’s ever gone to a hair salon. So when you decide to maintain your locs at home, naturally you don’t want to subject yourself to such torture. However, by air drying your locs you may be putting your locs at risk and causing more problems than you realize. In this article, I am going to share with you the biggest risks of air drying and tips for properly drying your locs at home.

Top 3 Risks of Air Drying Locs

For the purposes of this article, air drying is defined as not sitting under a concentrated heat source (dryer) to remove moisture from your locs. Air drying is never the professional recommendation for locs at any stage because of the potential for the following reasons:

Flat Locs

Flat Locs from Air Drying

One of the most common causes of flat locs is residual dampness left inside the locs from air drying. Due to the fact that hair takes on whatever shape it is dried in. When you allow residual water to remain inside the locs and then compress on them by laying down or putting on a hat/scarf it will lead to them becoming flat.

Mildew & Odor

If you constantly air dry your locs and they do not thoroughly dry, fungus can develop within the center of your locs which will lead to a mildew odor. Not to mention, removing the mildew odor can be a very tedious, sometimes unachievable task.

Unraveling & Failed Styling

When the locs are not “set” into place with a concentrated heat source they will unravel or loosen at the roots much quicker than locs that are properly dried. Also, when you’re styling your locs, especially when you want curls, if the locs do not fully dry, the style will not last and will fall within a few days (if not hours). Typically, curly styles that are properly dried will last for weeks!

So now you may be wondering, “how do I dry my locs without sitting under the dryer for a long time?”. Well, I am glad that you asked because as someone who also hates sitting under the dryer, I have a few suggestions for you!

How to Properly Dry Locs

To help prevent flat locs, odors, or your retwist from unraveling, you want to ensure that you are properly drying your locs with these 3 tips:

Use an Ultra-Absorbent Towel

After you shampoo your locs, if you use a towel that is designed for use on hair, it will absorb at minimum 3x more moisture than a cotton towel or t-shirt. This will also minimize your drying time whether you sit under the dryer or air dry. Also, the towels designed for hair do not shed so they’re lint-free and you won’t have to worry about lint-buildup in your locs.

Use a Bonnet Dryer

A lot of times we neglect the ends of our locs once our hair gets long, especially when it comes to sitting under the dryer. The solution— a bonnet dryer. The bonnet dryer covers your locs from roots to ends so that all of the locs dry evenly. Also, you want to remember to use low-medium heat for drying your locs so that your locs don’t end up hard and crunchy.

Remove Excess Moisture

Instead of completely air drying your locs for hours (or days), use a concentrated heat source, such as a Bonnet Hair Dryer Attachment, for a minimal amount of time (30 minutes or less) to remove excess moisture and then continue to air dry. This is especially important if you plan to let your locs dry overnight.