You Should Stop Blow Drying Your Hair. Here's Why

Blow drying your hair might have been part of your get-ready routine for decades — maybe you don't even feel "dressed" if you don't have a heat-tamed mane. As it turns out, though, gently patting your hair dry with a soft towel might mean healthier, better-looking hair in the long run. It's true, of course, that a hair dryer does a better job than any towel of smoothing away frizz for women blessed with thick curls, and adding volume to those with baby-fine locks. But beauty experts say that the price we pay for all the time blasting our heads with high heat is damaged hair and an injured scalp (per SkinKraft). This is because a blow dryer sucks the moisture out of your hair, making hair cuticles shriveled and brittle (via Be Beautiful). 

"Too much heat on the hair causes breakage — constantly heating and cooling will weaken the hair, leading it to break," stylist Chad Wood explained to Well+Good. Don't believe him? Try taking a one-week hiatus from blow drying, and your scalp's natural oils will start to regenerate; take a month off, and you'll see improvements in the quality, texture, and density of your hair, Wood said. Plus, curls and waves will become more defined.

We know, we know — you just don't feel like "you" without a smooth and shiny head of hair. But people who have taken the bold step of divorcing their blow dryers report that after they got used to a less polished look, they actually began to accept and enjoy the look of their hair's natural texture. "I was also afraid of volume growing up," one woman told HuffPost, adding that she'd only stopped using her hairdryer at her hairdresser's urging, because her tresses had gotten so damaged. She was surprised that her naturally curly hair was a better look for her. "But now that I'm older, [I've realized] my face doesn't look good with stick-straight, flat hair. I was born with this hair because it fits with my face."

Another former hot tools addict noticed that her hair was shinier, with fewer split ends and less shedding. And not only that, but her dyed hair held its color longer, and all the time she used to spend on hair drying could instead be spent on styling her hair with fun braids and hair ties (per CheatSheat).