Blue Jeans and Hair - An Analogy

Browndilocks

Browndisha Brownie Sundae
I've received a few PMs over the past few weeks on why drying hair with heat works better for me than air drying. I have mentioned it in previous posts, but I'm starting this thread by the suggestion of another member. Just putting the info out there again...

THIS IS WHY DRYING WITH HEAT WORKS:

Think of a pair of blue jeans that are put in a washing machine. If you air dry them after they come out, they do indeed dry. The problem however is that they dry into a hardened state and in order to get the material flexible again, heat, such as an iron or tumble drying has to be applied. Either that or you just have to wear the jeans and soil them to get the flexibility back after a while.

We can apply this same concept to hair. When hair is air dried, it is left in a state that is vulnerable to hardness, which leads to breakage. The only solutions to combat that are using other heat sources such as flat ironing and/or "soiling" the hair with products.

Heat is not an enemy when used wisely. Drying with heat, specifically roller setting allows your scalp's natural oil production to be stimulated. Roller setting allows your ends to be protected and sealed even before styling occurs. In short - roller setting with heat helps retain length.

I'm sure it doesnt work for everybody but it works for me. I'm 100% natural, 4a. The mini chop pic in my siggy is a dominican blow out and my April progress pic is a very mild press. Both styles were achieved with a roller set first. When I want length, I go hard on the roller setting.

Hope this helps someone.
 

AHeadOfCoils

Well-Known Member
This also works best for my hair. When I leave my relaxed ends to air dry they are hard and break. I have tried using different cream, liquid, protein, and moisturizing conditioners but none changed the outcome. My blow dryer is my best friend and the sun works wonders too. lol
 

TwistNMx

New Member
:scratchch I never thought of it that way....althought it may be true for some, your analogy makes some since to me except we use moisture on the hair when before it dries, at least I do. :yep:
 

aileendq

New Member
For me (and I do use heat to dry more often than not) it's less about the heat, and more about whether the hair is stretched & smoothed when air dried (like a roller set) or allowed to curl/kink up all by itself.

I can put the same exact products in my hair for an air dry as I do with rollerset (air dried), and the rollerset will turn out soft, whereas the the other will be "hard." I don't get it.
 
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Tiye

New Member
I was a anti heat for a long time but I'm coming around to another perspective on that and what you're saying makes sense.
 

Lady Esquire

New Member
Clever analogy. I agree with you 100%. I have done the no or low heat regimen mostly. Airdrying works but for me, only to a certain degree. When stretching a relaxer, airdrying my hair is a NO NO when I'm far into the stretch. My hair behaves the best with rollersetting. It is not direct heat (like a blow dryer or curling iron attacking strands head on) but rather heat from a hooded dryer circulates throughout, whcih helps straighten out my coily roots, thereby preventing tangles and breakage.
 

swimfan09

New Member
This analogy ok...up to a point. I am relaxed and it is true that as I get closer to touch up time, when I allow my hair to air dry, it crinkles up more, like blue jeans allowed to airdry. I do not have the hardness problem, however. I just make sure I have a light touch after washing and deep conditioning. I will put in a leave in conditioner and seal with a light oil and it dries with no hardness.


I line dry many of my clothes and don't have a problem with hardness because my clothes are lighter fabrics. Heavy thick denim will dry harder. Maybe it is the same with hair - some people have hair that is thicker and stronger and can probably stand up to heat or need the heat to soften. Some people have fine to medium texture hair and just like lighter weight fabrics, can air dry without getting hard. My hair CANNOT tolerate much heat at all.- it wish it could, but it cannot.
 

SmilingElephant

Well-Known Member
That does make sense.....but i just cannot rollerset my hair....i have no patience and i suck at it....so i "soil" my hair with leave in conditioner and oil and let it airdry:).
I can't imagine letting my hair airdry with nothing on it:nono:
 

cmbodley

Active Member
This makes so much sense as already stated excellent analogy.... I use heat not abuse it & when I blow dry I dry with cool air.... no probs on this end
 

Naturallista

Well-Known Member
This analogy ok...up to a point. I am relaxed and it is true that as I get closer to touch up time, when I allow my hair to air dry, it crinkles up more, like blue jeans allowed to airdry. I do not have the hardness problem, however. I just make sure I have a light touch after washing and deep conditioning. I will put in a leave in conditioner and seal with a light oil and it dries with no hardness.


I line dry many of my clothes and don't have a problem with hardness because my clothes are lighter fabrics. Heavy thick denim will dry harder. Maybe it is the same with hair - some people have hair that is thicker and stronger and can probably stand up to heat or need the heat to soften. Some people have fine to medium texture hair and just like lighter weight fabrics, can air dry without getting hard. My hair CANNOT tolerate much heat at all.- it wish it could, but it cannot.

I totally agree with this.
 

cch24

New Member
This has nothing to do with hair but I never put my jeans in the dryer because someone told me that would make them shrink! Did they lie to me?
 

texasqt

Well-Known Member
This has nothing to do with hair but I never put my jeans in the dryer because someone told me that would make them shrink! Did they lie to me?

Yes :lachen: The jean material will tighten to its original form but shrinking - you'd have to do more to it than just drying. (Be sure to do what the label says such as tumble dry low heat).

To the OP - I agree and last night's air dry proved it for me. I get less breakage when I go ahead and use my special blow drying techniques after washing vs. air drying for an extended period. I also get better results if I air dry for a limited time vs. overnight. I'm thinking that the moisture I need to keep in my hair is actually evaporating instead of being locked in the longer it take to dry. Using oils and serums make my hair soft to touch but the cuticle isn't as smooth and it tangles leading to breakage.
 

LaFemmeNaturelle

Well-Known Member
This has nothing to do with hair but I never put my jeans in the dryer because someone told me that would make them shrink! Did they lie to me?

Some of my jeans shrink and some dont. I don't put any of my jeans in the dryer except the ones I got from my aunt in europe because for some reason those never shrink. But my jeans used to ALWAYS shrink and I have VERY long legs so I stopped years ago
 

Browndilocks

Browndisha Brownie Sundae
This analogy ok...up to a point. I am relaxed and it is true that as I get closer to touch up time, when I allow my hair to air dry, it crinkles up more, like blue jeans allowed to airdry. I do not have the hardness problem, however. I just make sure I have a light touch after washing and deep conditioning. I will put in a leave in conditioner and seal with a light oil and it dries with no hardness.


I line dry many of my clothes and don't have a problem with hardness because my clothes are lighter fabrics. Heavy thick denim will dry harder. Maybe it is the same with hair - some people have hair that is thicker and stronger and can probably stand up to heat or need the heat to soften. Some people have fine to medium texture hair and just like lighter weight fabrics, can air dry without getting hard. My hair CANNOT tolerate much heat at all.- it wish it could, but it cannot.

That's a great point. Like I said, I'm sure it doesnt work for everyone but it does work for me since my hair is very thick.
 

Nonie

Well-Known Member
OK, I hate to be the party pooper, but I think the difference is just that heat leads to smoothness, not so much softness.

If I wash jeans and then rinse in a softener, they dry soft on the line out in the air as they do in the dryer. In fact, I have had jeans come out of the dryer stiff as a bark because softener wasn't added to the final rinse. The main difference between airdrying and machine drying is in if you put jeans in the dryer, the creases may fall out, especially if you did the final rinse with softener.

Also when you put jeans in a dryer, chances are you add dryer sheets. Dryer sheets do not just take out the static charge but also soften clothes in addition to adding a nice smell.

So IMHO it's not a good analogy. If we're talking about hair being smoother straighter (as if ironed), then that can be a good analogy. Heat smooths things out, rather than softens.

And in case someone thinks it's the same thing, consider hair that is straight but stiff like bristles, it can feel smooth...as it doesn't have any bends, but be hard and rigid. Think of hair that has had too much protein and not enough moisture then is straightened to dry straw. Then there can be hair that is pliable even though straight and that bends easily; hair that has softness in addition to smoothness because of good moisturizing/conditioning before being straightened. The second hair is hair that has not just been in the "dryer" but also was rinsed with "softener" first. The first, hair that just went into the "dryer" straight from the washer, no softener.
 
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♦K.O♦

New Member
I find that air dried jeans last longer than jeans that get tossed into the dryer regularly. Are they smoother? No. But I dont mind wearing them to soften them out (especially since they have some stretch to them).

Now hair... who knows? I prefer airdrying, but mainly out of convenience.
 

stelladata

Active Member
Well, drying is a matter of preference and I can understand your reasons for doing it, you've also done a great analogy explaining your point as well!

But, I like to stick to air drying specifically because I end up using my flat iron to straighten my hair and using both is a bit much for me. I havent learned to use rollers yet but as soon as I do, my use of the blow drier and flat iron will minimize greatly!.

Anyway, I find that the less heat you use; the longer your ends survive, I've observed this over time and even experimented with the theory, using heat excessively on my hair damages it.
 

Southernbella.

Well-Known Member
OP, I couldn't agree with you more. When I was relaxed, my hair THRIVED from rollersets. That was the only way I could dry my hair and get it silky. Airdrying and blowdrying caused breakage.

I'm type 4 natural now and I'm trying to get to MBL by the end of the year, so I'm getting ready to start rollersetting again. It won't be easy, but I'm committed.:yep:
 

FlowerHair

Reclaiming my time
Yes, but hair is more like fine silk than a pair of thick jeans. :)

Fine silk should not be dried in the dryer, but left to hang and handled with care.

But to each their own - all hair is not the same and does not react the same. :yep:
 

halee_J

Don't worry be happy
I agree with this analogy somewhat. When I was in highschool and rollerset weekly @ the salon, I saw progress very quickly. But I suck @ rollersets. I'm toying with the idea of ponytail rollersets. Your hair is gorgeous btw.
 

anon123

Well-Known Member
This analogy ok...up to a point. I am relaxed and it is true that as I get closer to touch up time, when I allow my hair to air dry, it crinkles up more, like blue jeans allowed to airdry. I do not have the hardness problem, however. I just make sure I have a light touch after washing and deep conditioning. I will put in a leave in conditioner and seal with a light oil and it dries with no hardness.


I line dry many of my clothes and don't have a problem with hardness because my clothes are lighter fabrics. Heavy thick denim will dry harder. Maybe it is the same with hair - some people have hair that is thicker and stronger and can probably stand up to heat or need the heat to soften. Some people have fine to medium texture hair and just like lighter weight fabrics, can air dry without getting hard. My hair CANNOT tolerate much heat at all.- it wish it could, but it cannot.


Yeah, the analogy doesn't work completely. Also denim is cotton, a plant fiber. Our hair is more like wool, an animal fiber that is curly. And it's generally recommended for wool to air dry by lying flat. That has a lot to do with temperature changes and agitation, though. Wool needs different treatment from cotton because it is hair and has "scales" (I suspect these are cuticle layers) that can lift and mesh with each other and thus felt.

Anyway, for my own hair I agree with the poster who said it's more about stretching the hair than using heat. I am too lazy and clumsy to do a roller set and don't have a good hooded dryer, so I use a blow dryer to stretch my hair. My stretched hair feels softer and smoother (fewer wrinkles) and knots less, so I blow dry.
 
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Browndilocks

Browndisha Brownie Sundae
OK, I hate to be the party pooper, but I think the difference is just that heat leads to smoothness, not so much softness.

If I wash jeans and then rinse in a softener, they dry soft on the line out in the air as they do in the dryer. In fact, I have had jeans come out of the dryer stiff as a bark because softener wasn't added to the final rinse. The main difference between airdrying and machine drying is in if you put jeans in the dryer, the creases may fall out, especially if you did the final rinse with softener.

Also when you put jeans in a dryer, chances are you add dryer sheets. Dryer sheets do not just take out the static charge but also soften clothes in addition to adding a nice smell.

So IMHO it's not a good analogy. If we're talking about hair being smoother straighter (as if ironed), then that can be a good analogy. Heat smooths things out, rather than softens.

And in case someone thinks it's the same thing, consider hair that is straight but stiff like bristles, it can feel smooth...as it doesn't have any bends, but be hard and rigid. Think of hair that has had too much protein and not enough moisture then is straightened to dry straw. Then there can be hair that is pliable even though straight and that bends easily; hair that has softness in addition to smoothness because of good moisturizing/conditioning before being straightened. The second hair is hair that has not just been in the "dryer" but also was rinsed with "softener" first. The first, hair that just went into the "dryer" straight from the washer, no softener.

Nonie girl be quiet! I'm tellin yall what works for me and you over here taking philosophy to the next level! :p

But for real - as mentioned, it's not going to work for everyone but it's a concept that proves positive for me.
 
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