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

BeautySwan88 16 Nov 2020 3:31 AM

My hairdresser always recommend me to use sea salt spray. It smells amazing and it really gets the job done.

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Yohanna 10 Jun 2020 6:32 PM

Yes! No rubbing!

xClaudia 23 May 2019 2:15 PM

I usually air dry my hair, mostly because I don't have the patience to whip the hair dryer out. In saying that though, I have dull, fine hair, so I really should make the extra effort.

Yohanna 17 Jan 2019 5:25 PM

I air dry all the time. My hair looks better. Will play with the texture sprays...never used one, but have in my stash...

Stephanie800 17 Jun 2018 9:07 PM

I have thin and fine hair so air drying my hair makes it look flat and frizzy. Think I might start experimenting with air drying now. Think ill just blow dry my fringe and front area and try use hair products to style my hair.

Also - no more rubbing my hair with the towel!! going to try use that tshirt trick to dry my hair instead of using my towel.

Cant wait. Thanks for the informative article :)

Nicoler112 11 May 2018 12:11 PM

About 9 months of the year I use air dry. So much better for your hair as well

Elunia 30 Dec 2017 6:01 PM

I prefer air drying to heat drying as I am that lazy :)

I have never heard of hair plopping, time to investigate.

clearcrystalwater 2 Dec 2016 7:10 PM

Ha ha hair plopping!! I've never tried that one. I do tend to air dry my hair most days as it dries very quickly anyhow.

Lubz 17 Nov 2016 9:47 PM

Great tips. I now use a T-shirt to dry my hair

Miss19 6 Nov 2016 8:56 PM

Whenever I air dry my hair it always ends up really frizzy

Kristy587 9 Sep 2016 12:34 PM

My hair always end up frizzy if I air dry it, even if I plait it overnight it will still be a frizzy mess and I have to straighten it or curl it.

Pixie96 1 Jul 2016 12:18 AM

I always air-dry my hair. I don't style my hair while I sleep. I've tried sleeping in plaits but it was uncomfortable.

skincare junkie 30 Apr 2016 12:30 PM

Arh i feel none is applicable for short hair!

Shop A Everyday 31 Jan 2016 10:48 PM

Leaving the towel for a few extra minutes helps too

Shop A Everyday 31 Jan 2016 10:44 PM

I always shake my head around so the hair separates too

talk-a-lot 31 Jan 2016 7:01 PM

Loving all of these tips to help air dry hair for a better style.

Natalie_92 30 Jan 2016 8:31 PM

Style while you sleep has always been my trick to get hair in the morning.

cwingy83 29 Jan 2016 2:57 PM

Air dry it when the weather it's warm.

Simonja 27 Jan 2016 9:32 PM

I prefer air drying but if I need a more decent look I try to wash my hair in advance and let it 'almost completely' dry before reaching for the blow dryer.

I cannot braid my hair over night as it will not dry. My hair is too thick.

Seezora 22 Jan 2016 1:47 PM

I air dry almost every day. There's no time to hair dry my hair if I want to do my regular beauty routine. My hairdresser says my hair is really soft and healthy due to not using a hair dryer.

HannahMay81 4 Jan 2016 5:20 PM

I have really long hair so using a dryer is a pain, I do air dry as much as possible and is quicker on hot days. My hair takes forever to dry in cooler weather so I do need to at least dry my roots to prevent scalp irritation. And overnight styling is so good I am a big fan of this

I keep meaning to give the hair plopping a try I have wavey hair so this could be great for me

jessjess1324 30 Dec 2015 7:39 AM

air drying is much easier in summer, I sometimes sit in the sun to speed things up. I love doing my hair overnight when its damp though, its such a times saver.

Linda_Vesinger 24 Dec 2015 3:21 AM

I nearly always air dry my hair, these are very useful tips

modymn77 25 Nov 2015 5:03 AM

I will try this method ,thanksfor this excellent article.

Maria397 24 Nov 2015 6:28 AM

Yess I do air dry always to my hair its frizzy it's annoying

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