Why Does My Hair Take So Long To Dry? Am I Drying Wrong?

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You may wonder why does my hair take so long to dry? Does it feel like your hair has water-retaining capabilities compared to others?

The answer likely lies in your hair porosity. Understanding your hair porosity is key to properly handling your hair, especially when you have wavy and curly hair. If your hair takes a long period to dry out, it is because your hair has low porosity.

In this article, we’ll discuss hair porosity and its relationship to drying time and technique.

Contents

What Is Hair Porosity, Exactly?

The ability of your hair to soak up and retain moisture is measured by its porosity. The hair shaft’s cuticles determine this.

Hair porosity is mostly determined by genetics, but it can also be influenced by variables like heat, chemicals, and environmental damage. Race, climate, hair length, or curl pattern have no bearing on hair porosity.

Low porosity indicates that your cuticles are smaller and [resist] moisture if your hair has low porosity. Hair with high porosity absorbs moisture quickly and loses it quickly as well.

Hair Porosity Tests: Things To Observe

If you’re not sure of your hair porosity, you can take a test to determine your hair porosity. It’s not a form to fill out, you just put some hair in water!

Once you learn your porosity, you’ll have some insight into how to care for your hair. Having thin or thick hair can be a little confusing. Thick hair takes longer dry out, it conversely takes longer to get wet in the first place. Thin hair is more likely to get wet and dry rapidly.

Thick hair takes longer dry out, it conversely takes longer to get wet in the first place. Thin hair is more likely to get wet and dry rapidly.

Frizz affects all curly hair types, and low porosity hair is no exception. It’s a natural component of having wavy and curly hair, regardless of your hair’s porosity.

It’s usually a clue that you will need to clarify your hair if it’s dull, limp, and lifeless, with minimal curl definition. A deep conditioning treatment could be necessary if your hair looks dry and frizzy. Instead of merely implying that you have hair with high porosity, say.

Heavy creams and kinds of butter will weigh down any hair type. Even if the product is well-formulated, it will not work if you already have fine hair strands or a lack of hair.

Why Your Hair Does Not Dry Quickly

Air Bubbles

Air bubbles are tiny pockets of air that can form in your hair when wet. They’re usually caused by the friction of rubbing two strands of hair together or running your fingers through wet hair.

Air bubbles can be annoying, but they don’t have to hold you back from completing your beauty routine. Here are some ways to get rid of them:

Use a comb instead of your fingers to remove air bubbles from your hair before drying it.
Blow-dry with a proper diffuser attachment, and make sure that the heat setting is not too high (no more than 3500 watts).
Avoid rubbing two strands together during washing because this causes friction which adds up over time—and leads directly to frizziness!

Humidity

The first thing to keep in mind is that humidity can make your hair take longer to dry. The reason for this is simple: when it’s humid outside, water molecules are more abundant and spread further apart than when it’s not.

This means that your hair will absorb more moisture from the air, which slows down the drying process and makes your style more difficult to achieve.

Another thing you might notice about humid days is that your hair can become frizzy or difficult to style. While some people love having their curls or waves look big and beautiful on hot summer days, others may wish they had straight locks instead!

While some people love having their curls or waves look big and beautiful on hot summer days, others may wish they had straight locks instead!

Humidity also makes styling easier if you’re trying out a new look—but if you haven’t had success with it before (or even want something different), consider changing your routine!

Thick Hair

As a person with thick hair, it takes longer to dry than other types of hair. That’s because thick hair is made up of more hairs, and each one needs time to dry completely.

In addition, the thicker your hair is, the more prone you are to frizz after drying it since there’s not enough moisture in your strands for everything to get wet at once.

Thickness also means breakage can happen more easily because there isn’t enough moisture inside each strand from start to finish—and split ends form when sections of damaged or dead protein break off on their own.

Hair Type

Several factors can determine how long it takes for your hair to dry. Curly and thick hair is more difficult to dry than straight, thin hair.

Hair that is longer will take longer to dry than shorter hair. Hair with color will take longer than natural color or highlights/lowlights.

Water Temperature

The temperature of the water you use to wash your hair is also a factor. Hot water will take longer to dry because it opens up your hair’s cuticle, the outer layer of your strands.

Cold water will close up this layer and make it more difficult for moisture to escape. Warm or slightly cool water is ideal for letting moisture escape while still keeping hair healthy and soft.

Warm or slightly cool water is ideal for letting moisture escape while still keeping hair healthy and soft.

How To Use Hair Products

There’s a range of hair products to manage your hair type correctly. Here are a few of them:

Use a heat protector. You can find heat protectant products at any drugstore, and they’re especially important if you use a blow dryer or curling iron on your hair.
Use volumizing shampoo and conditioner. These types of shampoos and conditioners will help boost your hair’s volume by adding moisture back into it after using styling tools that dry out the strands, leaving them flat and lifeless looking instead of bouncy and full of life!
Use volumizing mousse or gel: If you have fine hair, it’s best to go for an in-between option like a mousse or gel instead of regular styling cream—you want something light enough not to weigh down your locks but thick enough for long-lasting results!

Why Your Hair May Take Longer To Dry Than You Think

The first thing to remember is that hair is not a sponge. It’s not made up of water like a sponge, and it doesn’t absorb water the same way a sponge absorbs water. Hair is made of keratin—a protein that protects your body from bacterial infections and extreme temperatures.

Unlike skin, which has pores (tiny holes), hair does not have pores—it has gaps between the cells in its structure called “intercellular spaces.”

So when you apply shampoo or conditioner to your scalp, it gets tangled with dirt and oil before being washed out again.

When you wash your hair, it’s important to remember that what goes on top isn’t necessarily going into the bottom or vice versa: Your scalp may contain some oil, but there’s no guarantee that this oil will reach all the way down your head; similarly, if there are dead cells at the very bottom of your skull (you know who you are), those might stick around for a while before getting sloughed away by friction against other hairs during brushing or styling products like gel, etc.

Conclusion

Hopefully now you have some sense of how hair porosity and thickness impact drying time. You can find the right hair products to help you correctly manage your hair and treat your curly hair.

If you’re not sure how to towel dry, see here. And if you’re using a blowdryer, get a diffuser.