How To Air Dry Hair And Keep It Frizz-Free

The great thing about summer besides going to the beach and busting out the shorts is that it’s warm enough that you can venture out of the house with wet hair and not have icicle forming on your head. You can put down that blow dryer, let your elbow pain heal, and allow your hair to air dry. Sadly, unless you’re genetically gifted, you can’t just step out of the shower, and let your hair do its own thing. You may not have to blow dry it, but you have to do something to it unless you have the guts to pull off Grace Coddington frizz (could any of us pull it off other than her?).

Here are some tips for letting your hair air dry, that require a lot less effort than your 20-minute blowout:

1. Pat Your Hair Dry

Do this step wrong, and nothing else matters. Even if you’re blow-drying your hair, you should never rub it dry. Vigorously massaging your locks, just makes them frizzy and tangled. Gently pat your head with the towel, the same way you would blot your shiny forehead with those handy oil-eliminating sheets.

2. Gently Comb It

‘Comb’ is the key word here–preferably a wide tooth one, such as The Body Shop Detangling Comb. You should never use a brush on wet hair. Brushes tend to snag fragile wet hair, which leads to breakage and split ends. Start at the ends and gradually work your way up to your roots.

3. Apply Product To Manage Frizz

To control frizz, choose a product based on your hair type. If you have curly or wavy hair, choose a curl cream to add definition to your spirals like Garnier Fructis Curl Sculpting Cream-Gel. For straight-haired girls, try a shine serum or oil, such as Dove Frizz-Free Shine Cream-Serum to keep your hair smooth and shiny.

4. Go For Beach Waves

If you still love Blue Crush (and who doesn’t?), channel your inner surfer girl by applying a salt spray like Organix Moroccan Sea Salt Spray–or make your own. Then lightly scrunch, to work the product in. Kate Bosworth eat your heart out.

5. Try Wet-Look Hair

It seems that every year, some designer decides to send models down the runway with wet-looking hair. Whether they couldn’t afford a hairstylist or it’s completely intentional, use this to your advantage on the days you don’t feel like blow drying. To make your hair stay wet-looking, follow tips 1 and 2 (you want it to look wet, not actually be soaked), comb it back, and apply a gel. Vidal Sassoon Mega Firm Hold Gel will keep things in place.

6. Try A Braid

In addition to being every celebrities’ new favorite hairstyle (it’s mandatory to have a least 1 per red carpet), it’s the perfect hairdo when air drying your hair. Just pat it dry and start plaiting. Just leave some extra time, if you’re doing a fishtail.

7. Braid It And Take It Out

You can let your locks dry in a braid, then carefully remove it for Blake Lively beach waves (one can hope). Tip: Don’t do more than two braids unless you want your hair to turn into a massive fluff ball.

8. Go For a Bun

It’s actually easier to make wet hair look sleek than dry hair. After you put your hair in the topknot, fix it in place with a gel or an aerosol hairspray such as L’Oreal Elnett Satin Extra Strong Hold Hair Spray. It will remain perfect the entire day.

9. Twist, Sleep And Remove

If you can’t fathom the idea of leaving the house with hair that isn’t 100% dry, wash it the evening and let it dry while you sleep. To prevent waking up with a bird’s nest on your head, comb it, then apply a frizz serum. Then divide your hair into sections, and twist it back. In the morning, take it out, and voilà, soft waves. Or leave it up, if it still looks cute.

10. Don’t Touch

After you have added some product and ‘styled’ your hair, leave it alone. Touching it will only make it frizzy and undo all your hard work. That also means no twirling it either.