Hands up if you thought leaving your hair to dry naturally was good for it? Yes, same here. After all, we've always been told that heat equals bad news for your locks.
But, it turns out we might have been making a big haircare mistake by letting our hair air-dry – at least according to one expert, ghd's Dr Tim Moore.
Speaking at the launch of the cult brand's new platinum+ straighteners, the beauty expert revealed that leaving your hair wet can place pressure on the strands, ultimately weakening them.
Explaining that you "shouldn't leave your hair wet for any extended period of time", Dr Moore told Yahoo:
"The hair is made up of a cortex, which is the area that pulls the shape of your hair, and then cuticles around the side, which are a bit like roof tiles," he said, before adding that strands swell when they're wet, putting pressure on these cuticles.
"The other thing is that when the hair is wet it loses its strength," he continued. "So, the hair is half as strong when it’s wet."
As a result, Dr Moore told Yahoo that you put your hair at risk of broken and split ends if you leave it soaking wet. Especially because freshly washed hair has just been stripped of its natural oils, which apparently makes it even more vulnerable to damage.
So what should you do instead? Well, to keep your hair in tip top condition, he recommends drying it with a hairdryer on a low heat to remove excess moisture, before turning the temperature up to style your locks as they dry.
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Francesca Rice is the Multiplatform Editor of Red, leading on all things digital for the brand. She oversees every section of the site, from Fashion to Wellbeing, and directs Red's digital content strategy across all platforms, including newsletter, social media and video. Francesca has worked as a journalist on the UK's top lifestyle and luxury titles since 2013. She joined Red as Digital Editor in 2021, having previously held senior editorial roles at Hearst UK as Good Housekeeping's Deputy Digital Editor and Prima's Senior Digital Writer. Prior to this, she worked as a News & Features Writer for SheerLuxe, after beginning her journalism career as the Features Assistant at Marie Claire. Francesca has a postgraduate diploma in Multimedia Magazine Journalism from the Press Association and a degree in English Literature from Durham University. Having attended an international school, she is fluent in French and Italian (and occasionally Spanish after a few glasses of rosé). She loves travel, books and pizza so a relaxing holiday in Italy is pretty much her dream scenario.
