I usually do braid-outs. I let my hair air dry, then mist it before doing the braidout. One thing I do is spiral curl my ends afterward to get the exact look I want. It's probably not the best thing to do, but I figure I'm going to eventually cut the ends off anyway, so it works for me.
I have to say, I don't know what I was afraid of all these years. My hair doesn't look bad after an air dry. I actually left my house the other day with it semi-wet and down. But, my attitude has changed too, especially after reading this forum!