DRYING curly hair

This is the morning of my wedding as my best friend and maid of honor assisted me in drying my hair. You can't even see the diffuser on my hair dryer because it is inside my hair :) Beauty is painful. That is my best friend rubbing my neck from the strain being caused by drying my hair!!! I put a picture of my hair that day, before I got into my wedding dress (as I was putting on my bridal shoes), so you can see that it dried beautifully!

Drying curly hair is VERY important! A diffuser is a MUST....not a maybe, a MUST!!! I found a great YouTube video about styling curly hair that I cannot embed but is perfect information. Click on my link to see it. There are TONS of videos that are just like it that you can use to get info. Just try different tips and tricks and see if they work for you!

Tips I like for drying my hair:

• Use an Aquis Super Absorbent Towel (You can find these at many retail locations. I got mine years ago at Bath & Body Works )
• Do NOT brush you hair. I don't even run my fingers through my hair. I try to keep my curls together and touch it as little as possible
• Put styling product in by scrunching it in (I plan to blog about different product ideas later). DON'T be afraid to use a lot of product!!! We curly girls need it!
• Use paper towels to scrunch hair after putting in product to take all the excess moisture out. Your hair will still be wet but not dripping and ready to dry
• Use a "finger" diffuser on the best hair dryer you can afford. I believe in expensive hair dryers. I have a Chi that I love ! It comes with a "finger" diffuser attachment. (I also plan to blog later about straightening and my Chi flat iron is another product I swear by)
• When using your Chi, use the lowest setting for speed. You want the least amount of air to hit your hair. The more air, the more you look like you came out of a wind storm and get the "wind blown look"....not the look we are going for here :) You will have less frizz if you have a lower power setting on your hair dryer. That is a MUST for any hairdryer of any cost for me!
• TAKE YOUR TIME! Hold the diffuser at your ends and treat it as a cup, then slowly raise the dryer and let your curls ring around the "fingers" until you reach your scalp and let it rest. Let the dryer do the work. Don't move it around a lot! Let the blow dryer DRY your hair! It will set the curls. Turn your head to each side for a few sets of drying (each time for a few min) and then tilt to the back and the other side.
  
• Finally, flip your head over and dry it from the top. Don't be frightened! When you flip back your hair will be wild!!! But, you can put more styling product in and get it to lay down. Better to try and tame extra volume than have your hair too flat...in my opinion!
• When done, DON'T TOUCH YOUR HAIR! Throughout the day, touch your hair sparingly. The more you touch it, the frizzier it will get!

Future curly hair post ideas:

• My hair throughout the years
• Straightening
• Products
• Curly Celebrities
  
• Styling
• Know your type of curly hair
  
• Curly books
  
• To wash (shampoo) or not to wash...
• My curly hair inspiration and instructors