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  1. #1
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    I'd really like to let my hair air dry loose again just to see how it looks now completely shrunken naturally. I've been pulling it back to dry for over a year and while I haven't had breakage I'd still like to have a gentler alternative once in a while. I stopped drying it out loose because it got so drippy once it passed 6 or 7 inches and gets my shirts wet and is basically a big mess! I still hear of those with longer hair than mine that do shake & go's and I'm wondering how do you do it? Do you use a hair band or just let it drip dry? Doesn't it make a mess? And how long does it take to dry or at least stop dripping? Any tips appreciated!

    ETA: And what products do you use on it?
    We know that we are beautiful--Langston Hughes

  2. #2
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    My hair is not longer than yours, but here's what I do:

    I wrap my head in an old cotton t-shirt (like you would a towel) to absorb the excess water. I leave it like this while I get dressed. When I take it off, I shake gently and style. I hope this helps.
    Happily nappy since March 30, 2002.
    Fotki Album password: nywele

  3. #3
    skn is offline Active Nappturality Member
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    I only air dry my hair and it's about bra-strap/mid-back when it's dripping wet (shrinks to just below shoulders). I put a leave in condish on before I get out of the shower and then wrap my shoulders in a hand towel. By the time I've finished putting moisturizer on my face, my hair is done dripping. Then I add my styling lotion and finish getting dressed. I think adding the leave-in and lotion when my hair is still pretty wet is key. (Actually, I know that's the reason. I've gone to the gym without my full complement of hair stuff, and my hair drips like there's no tomorrow.) My hair just soaks up the product and then the drips are gone.

    My leave-in: Curls Essential Element Moisturizer
    Styling: Curls Curl Enhancer Styling Lotion
    Jessicurl Rockin' Ringlets

    Adding the products when your hair is wet is key. HTH.
    free from the lye since 1993

  4. #4
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    New Zealand
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    Like skn I only air dry (which for me takes ages!), mine is a similar dry legnth too (just below the shoulders dry, but 2.5-3 in below the bra strap when completely wet.

    I turn my head upside down, hold my hands palms up, and push my hair up against my head gently (I say again gently!), just once, or twice at most, in each area of my head, shake gently, then put a towel around my shoulders and wipe around my face. I get dressed, then wipe gently around my hairline once more with the towel then apply my leave in and anything else I'm using (I go thru phases!). Then it's usually dry enough on the ends to do my make up, if I'm wearing it, without the towel, unless I'm wearing something really absorbant or expensive fabric that I don't want to risk. I occationally pat slightly with a towel if I'm in a hurry, but I try not to, since it looks better when dry the less I touch it when wet/damp.

    So I guess, it stops dripping (at least for the most part) within around 5, maybe 7 minutes - but sometimes, if from a completely wet state in the morning, it's still damp close to the crown in the evening. I find the trick with my palms makes all the difference to my drip-free time. The palm trick also works well if before I do it, I spray a litle leave-in on my hands.

    HTH.

  5. #5
    Honeycomb Guest

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    I don't consider my hair long either (6") but I gain a lot of length in the back and it appears shoulder length when I wear it out, because I don't get much shrinkage.

    I condition wash in the shower and brush through with my denman brush. Then while my hair is soaking wet (still in the shower) I put in my hair gel (elasta qp feels like silk), then before I get out of the shower I squeeze as much water out of my hair as possible, with my hands, until it's not dripping anymore, this helps a lot. I don't use a towel because towels give me frizzies. Once I get out of the shower, I will put a plastic cap over my hair until I put my clothes on and after I remove the plastic cap, if there's any more drips, I'll just take my hands and squeeze that out and add a little more hair gel if needed. When my hair gets longer I'll probably have to wear a towel around my neck until I leave the house or until it dries. But I've noticed that squeezing the water out with my hands (I grab my hair by the roots like I'm about to gather in a ponytail and move my hands down to the ends to get water out) makes the ends of my hair that hangs dry faster.

    With this technique, my hair is dry in less than 4 hours, I have no frizz, and my hair looks shiny and well-defined all day.

    HTH

  6. #6
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    I have cotton flannel baby blankets.or flat crib sheets. I wrap my head in one before /when I get out of the shower after applying my leavin conditioner,,after pulling it down with a
    W-I-D-E tooth comb and sometimes banding it down with my scrunchie band

    I can dry off, moisturize my face, by then drips have stopped... I am not dry until about 10am

    HTH
    Last Lye 07/01 No Big Chop

    I thank God for opening my eye to the Lye!!

  7. #7
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    I know exactly what you are asking. I do not wear my hair out much because it takes so long to stop dripping. For me it takes about an hour to totally stop dripping no matter what style I am wearing ( pony poof or free form fro). I thought it was just my hair. It is mid back length when straight but shrinks above the shoulders when dry. Pics are on my site for better descriptions.

    I just wrap a towel around my shoulders and let it drip until it is done. If I put a towel on my hair it would take forever for me to detangle the mats, so I do not touch it after I apply products.
    [url="http://public.fotki.com/kayc1920/"]My Pics[/url]
    Password: kinkycoily


    [url="http://www.dearestdesigns.com"]My Jewelry[/url]
    My hobby of hand-made jewelry and custom items

    [url="http://www.kaycthequietstorm.blogspot.com"]My Blog[/url]

  8. #8
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    You all have given some really good tips. The idea about the plastic cap is really good Honeycomb! Today I gave myself a cold water rinse and my hair looked soooo pretty when I got out of the shower. However I didn't have the patience to wait for it to drip dry so I put it in my usual flipped up pony puff. I'm going to wait for a really warm day when I'm sure I won't be about to take a nap- and give some of these ideas a try.
    We know that we are beautiful--Langston Hughes

  9. #9
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    Girl I have to digress from the topic to just say....your hair is banging! You put me back on the Surge bandwagon for real!

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