The Importance of Drying Your Hair

As humans,  we take everything for granted so we have no idea of the 

importance of drying the hair.  For most of us, the hair  grows without us ever wondering what would happen if it didn’t. Others obsess over it; sometimes to its downfall.   Normally, it is only after it starts to break that we jump into action.

Most folks with dreadlocks are pretty chill.  So chill, they never dry their hair after washing. 

They can go for days with wet hair and be quite okay.  So what is the importance of drying the hair?

When I first started making dreadlocks I had a client who constantly wet the hair.  Not like “throwing water on it often wet”, but “washing it and not making sure it was dry” wet. It left the hair with this musty odour as it was always in a ponytail.

At first,  I could not understand what was the cause.  The client came monthly and seemed to be

doing everything right.  Then, I asked about the wash day routine. It turned out here was where stressing the importance of drying the hair completely was necessary.  The result:  better smelling hair for him and a checkmark in the gathering of experience for me.  These are some things to know:

• Hair eventually smells if you never let it dry completely.
• It becomes knotted.
• If the hair is put in a ponytail or braided, where the hair criss-crosses each other, becomes a thin point.
• There can be breakage when you pull them apart.

You may have noticed that while I spoke on the subject of dreadlocks,  the rules apply for unlocked hair too. The importance of drying your hair applies whether you air dry or blow dry 

 By Paula Barker, Silkie Locks Hair Design