You’ve washed, conditioned and carefully detangled your hair, only to undo all the good work the minute you step out of the shower. The culprit? How you towel dry it.
Most of us instinctively grab a towel and start rubbing hair back and forth to get it dry as quickly as possible. But wet hair is more vulnerable to damage, and all that friction can rough up the hair’s outer cuticle. The result is more frizz, flyaways and tangles – and potentially more breakage over time. If your hair tends to look fluffy or fuzzy after washing, your towel technique could be partly to blame.
The good news is that you don’t need to add another step to your routine – just change the way you dry. Instead of vigorously rubbing your hair, use a soft microfibre towel or cotton T-shirt to gently squeeze and blot excess water from the lengths.
Avoid twisting it tightly into a towel turban, too. Hair stretches when it’s wet, so pulling and twisting can put unnecessary tension on already fragile strands.
Once you’ve removed the excess water, apply your usual styling products and leave it to air dry or reach for the hairdryer. The less you disturb the hair as it dries, the better: less friction, less frizz and a much smoother finish.
