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How to dry your hair without damaging it?

Hair drying is considered a simple step. Yet it can affect hair health. There are techniques, tips and steps to care for hair during drying and avoid damage. Let’s explore them.

Summary
Published June 9, 2025, updated on June 9, 2025, by Pauline, Chemical Engineer — 5 min read

Is hair more fragile when wet than when dry?

Yes, wet hair is more vulnerable than dry hair.

This fragility arises from the structure of the hair fibre. It consists of several concentric layers. The outermost layer is the cuticle, which serves as a protective shield. The middle layer is the cortex, composed of keratin, and the inner layer is the medulla. When hair is immersed in water, the cuticle scales lift and lose cohesion, which exposes the internal layers of the hair. Water penetrates the fibre and disrupts the hydrogen bonds linking keratin chains, rendering the structure less stable.

Saturated with water, hair tends to lengthen under its own weight, which increases its susceptibility to mechanical deformation. Passing a brush with excessive force or rough towel rubbing can cause irreversible damage. Studies have shown that dry hair can stretch up to 20% of its original length before breaking, whereas wet hair can stretch up to 50% before breaking. However, the actual force required to break hair, corresponding to its tensile strength, is lower when wet than when dry, which means that wet hair is more likely to break under a lower force, despite its increased elasticity.

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Techniques for drying hair without causing damage.

To preserve the structure and health of your hair, be cautious when drying it, as it is fragile when wet.

Contrary to common belief, air-drying hair is not the gentlest method.

In fact, letting hair air dry means it stays wet for an extended period—often tens of minutes or even several hours depending on texture. This extra time allows water to penetrate the cuticle and weaken the hair fibres. One study also showed that air drying tends to damage the hair’s cellular membrane complex. Composed of lipids and proteins, this complex is essential to cuticle cell cohesion, and its degradation compromises the seal and protection of the hair fibre. It is therefore preferable to avoid delaying the drying of hair after showering, using a towel or a hairdryer.

Method No. 1: Towel-dry hair.

Your first impulse after the shower is to wrap your hair in a towel. While this may help, you should pay attention to your technique. Excessive rubbing with a standard cotton towel can generate friction that disrupts the cuticle and leads to hair breakage. A comparative study assessed hair resistance to mechanical wear by drying method: hair dried with a cotton towel retained only 20% of its mechanical strength, compared with 45% for hair blotted with a microfiber towel (80% polyester, 20% nylon). Slow movements, coupled with a soft towel, can help dry hair without damaging it.

Note : Scientists tested the effect of a hairdryer on hair’s mechanical strength. It dropped to 10% of its initial value, below the level after towel drying. However, the drying method was not specified. This matters because, as explained below, technique can help dry hair without causing damage.

Résistance des fibres capillaires après shampooing et séchage selon différentes méthodes.
Hair fibre resistance after shampooing and drying by different methods.
Source: MARTINS M. et al. Insights on the hair keratin structure under different drying conditions. Journal of Natural Fibers (2023).

Method No. 2: Dry hair with a hair dryer.

Hair dryer use draws criticism because it is accused of drying the hair. High temperatures, combined with a close distance and continuous heat focused on one spot, cause visible damage to the hair surface. A Korean study evaluated the impact of different drying protocols on hair structure by subjecting strands to 30 drying cycles under five conditions. The results show that the higher the temperature and the closer the distance, the more pronounced the surface damage. At 95 °C and a distance of 5 cm, the hair cuticle showed clear alteration, similar to air-dried hair. The study found that air drying or drying at high temperature (95 °C) can change hair colour, increasing its lightness over cycles, due to progressive oxidation of hair pigments.

Dommages superficiels de la cuticule après le séchage des cheveux.
Superficial cuticle damage measured by scanning electron microscopy after hair drying: (A) no treatment, (B) shampoo and air drying (ambient temperature of 20 °C), (C) shampoo and hairdryer drying for 60 seconds at a distance of 15 cm (47 °C), (E) shampoo and hairdryer drying for 15 seconds at a distance of 5 cm (95 °C).
Source: LEE W.-S. et al. Hair shaft damage from heat and hair dryer drying time. Annals of Dermatology (2011).

According to this study, the ideal method to dry hair without damage is to move the hair dryer in constant motion at a distance of about 15 cm and at a moderate temperature of around 47 °C.

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