Embrace the air-dry: start loving your natural hair

We’re on a mission at UG to get ALL of us to start loving our hair and accepting its natural type and texture. Hair texture is the starting point to great hair and it’s vital to feed, repair, protect and enhance your natural texture for healthy hair that glows.  

It goes without saying that too much heat styling plays havoc on hair causing damage and frizz, so occasionally giving it a break can do wonders for hair health. But we get it, it’s not so easy to completely part ways with the heat tools for good - we are not here to tell you to ditch the heat tools completely! Instead, we want to encourage you to start integrating more air-dry days into your routine, so you start seeing improvements to hair health.

Let's dive into the many benefits of ditching the heat and embracing the air-dry method:

Heat styling tools, such as blow dryers, straighteners, and curling irons may provide the ultimate look but they can wreak havoc on your locks over time even with heat protection. Excessive heat exposure can lead to dryness, breakage, and dullness, stripping your hair of its natural moisture. By ditching the heat tools and incorporating more air-dry days, you give your hair a much-needed break and allow it to regain its health and strength.

Why Air-Drying Hair Isn’t So Bad 

Air-drying is a gentle and natural way to style your hair without subjecting it to the harsh temperatures of heat tools. By allowing your hair to dry naturally with the right styling products, you minimise the risk of damage and embrace its natural texture and shine. Air-drying is also a time-saving option (and who doesn’t need more time?!) that fits seamlessly into any busy lifestyle.

Start Embracing Your Natural Hair Type – Especially Natural Waves, Curls and Coils

Every hair type is unique and understanding your natural texture is key to achieving your best look. For those blessed with curls, air-drying is a game-changer. Instead of fighting against your natural curl pattern with heat styling tools, embrace your curls and you will start noticing a difference. With the right products and techniques, you can enhance your curls' definition and bounce. 

Get The Best Out Of Your Natural Hair With These Top Tips

We know that the struggle is real when it comes to keeping natural hair texture under control. We all have bad hair days, but the good news is that we can help you to fall in love with your hair again. Below we explore ways you can embrace air-drying your natural hair.   

Be Sure to Use the Right Products

A key step to embracing the air-dry is using the right products. 

All hair types will benefit from the NEW Blow out Frizz Styling Crème. Despite the name, it also works really well on air-dried hair with the lightweight formula powered by vegan keratin instantly transforming frizz into silky smooth hair as it dries.  

For fine to medium, naturally wavy hair types, the new Banana Coconut Air Dry NO HEAT Styling Cream adds moisture and tousled texture with medium hold for gorgeous beachy textures without an over-styled, crunchy feel. Enriched with nourishing banana and coconut extracts, this lightweight cream hydrates and conditions your locks, leaving them soft, smooth, and frizz-free. 

For curly hair it’s important to use the correct products when styling your hair. If you prefer your curls to have a little shine and extra bounce, we can help. Our original Curl range is full of bestselling curl must-haves to weatherproof and enhance curls. Curl Jelly is our number one best seller for over two decades. Whatever your curls throw at you - be it frizz or floppiness, Curl Jelly can help. 

Textured and curly hair craves hydration, so use products that are rich in moisture and hydrating properties to help you manage your curls more easily. 

Finally all hair types will benefit from hair masks and treatments. Using a hair mask (we love Urgent Repair Mask) once a week will help lock in moisture, preventing locks from drying out and stopping that dreaded frizzy hair look. 

The importance of the right cut

If you're struggling with your natural hair, going back to basics might help. This means getting a new 'do. Speak to your hairdresser and make sure the cut is really getting the best out of your natural hair. Curly hair for example requires a completely different style of cutting. Regular trims can also help to prevent any split ends and unwanted frizz. 

How to 'wash' your hair correctly

The golden hair washing rule here is that you don't need to wash your hair every day. It's extra effort, it's not really needed, and most importantly, frequent washing can actually cause more damage. 

Curly hair tends to be on the drier side and over washing strips the hair of its natural oils and moisture. Contradictory, we know, but it's true. You only need to shampoo your hair once a week, but make sure it is a nourishing shampoo that is specifically designed for curly hair. 

More importantly, you need to use a deep moisturising conditioner, again one designed for curly hair. Opt for conditioners that you can comb through and be left on for at least 15 minutes before rinsing off. When your hair is moisturised and healthy it makes it so much easier to manage, and you'll no longer dread washing your hair. Have curly hair? find out how to protect your curl pattern

And lastly, have fun with it. You need to work with the hair that you have, don't fight it. Watch YouTube tutorials, scroll through TikTok, and see what your favourite hair icons are doing. Experimenting and discovering you have an amazing natural hair type can be really exciting – you never know, you might love it so much the heat tools are ditched for good!