to blow dry or air dry?

> Which is better for the hair, using a blow dryer or> let it dry naturally? I usually let mine dry> naturally, but I've recently heard it's better to use> a blow dryer. How do you dry your hair?I always let my hair air-dry. Using a blow-drier is definitely bad for your hair - it's so easy to be too rough with it, or to over-dry it, and the heat is also harmful.Besides, the last time I tried to blow-dry my hair completely, it took over an hour, and I gave up before I was done. (That was over a year ago, too - it's longer now.) I don't have that kind of time! It can air-dry while I do other things.Now, certain styles just don't work unless you blow-dry, but for the general health and maintenance of your hair, air-drying is definitely better.Laura Janelswanson@sunflower.bio.indiana.edu

Wild! Every professional I've talked to has said blow-drying is a bad thing. His logic doesn't even make sense - blow-drying is always quicker than air-drying, so how could it help?If you're interested in a true authority's opinion, check out Philip Kingsley's _Hair: And Owner's Handbook_, which is very emphatic about the fact that air drying is better (although not always realistic if you're unwilling to go out with wet hair). It's also obvious to anyone who has studied biochemistry - heat tends to denature proteins (to damage them, to put it simply).Your stylist's statement about hair at mid-back being six years old is absolutely ridiculous, too, unless your hair grows very slowly. The average growth rate of hair is half an inch a month, which is six inches a year. At mid-back, a long hair (one that reaches from the top of your head) might be 18 inches long, roughly. (I base this estimate on the fact that a hair from the top of my head that reaches my waist is just slightly over 2 feet long. I may be off by a little, but not by much.) The math is simple - an 18-inch-long hair has ends that are about 3 years old if your growth rate is average. Even my hair's ends wouldn't be much more than 4 years old for someone of average growth rate.Laura Janelswanson@sunflower.bio.indiana.edu

Thanks Laura Jane. I thought it was crazy, but when you hear something like that from your stylist it makes you wonder. Your definately right about the age of my hair, I'd had it cut pretty short for me 3 years ago. Since I don't get it cut regularly when I do get it cut, I tend to cut off at least 2 inches.Here's another question for you....Do you use salon hair care products or over the counter? Stylists always push their products and I wonder if they are really better.I'm going to get that book. Thanks again. Gina