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Any tips for styling your hair sans hair dryer? I gave mine up as soon as the warm weather hit this year. I haven't seen a noticable drop in the electricity bill yet, but it's been a time saver each morning. With the amount of rain we've been getting, drying my hair is a waste of time, anyway!

As a naturally thin haired person, I'm having trouble coming up with a style with any volume. My current styling regime includes towel drying, brushing, and then "fluffing it all up" in a futile attempt to gain some body. No luck so far. A co-worker of mine waltzes into work each morning with velcro curlers in her hair, and swears that's the way to go. But 1) That's just plain goofy; and 2) I secretly don't like how her hair looks after she pulls the curlers out around 11am. ;)

I know its not necessarily environmentally friendly but in the winter, I'm unwilling to get up early to allow time for my hair to dry so it doesn't freeze outside and I don't get sick. I never use my hair dryer in the warmer months though.

I have used a hair dryer maybe three times in my life, and at least one of those times was in a hotel (the others were with the gift of a hair dryer that the significant other gave me, which is no longer in our apartment and has found its way into my mother's hair routine). I've just never found them convenient and would sooner deal with wet hair than the twenty minutes it takes for me to dry mine. I guess now instead of just plain laziness I can say I'm being eco-friendly ;)

Speakaboo: I've also got very thin (salon term: "fine") hair and have found that an easy way to get volume is by washing it the night before, right before bed, and going to bed with it wrapped in a towel. It may simply be the way my hair hangs normally is "improved" by sleeping on it wet, but it's worth a shot =)

I have thin, flyaway hair, and what I do is squeeze it a bit with a towel so it doesn't drip too badly, then let it air-dry before I comb it out with a coarse-toothed comb. It comes out with more illusory volume than any other method I've tried, with far less work and with less damage to my hair.

Air-drying does take time -- about two to three hours even for my hair. Back when I still worked, I used to hop in the shower right after I got home and do it then. Which provided a nice transition, as it turned out.

Speakaboo/SexyAnteater, I wash my hair at night and just sort of arrange it above my head when I go to bed. I've never dried my hair... every time I try, it's back to doing its old thing in five minutes. The humidity here does not help. Ditto for sprays and gels. They just don't help enough in the first place.

I don't think it's too terrible to keep hairdrying in cold weather, because it doubles to keep you warm and keeps you from turning up the heat.

My hair needs a fresh wash and a blow dry in the morning to not look awful. But it only really needs the dryer for the finishing touches.

The current strategy is to wash my hair, towel dry well, and go eat breakfast. After about 20 minutes my hair has dried some and only takes about 5 minutes to style with the dryer. A full blow dry takes about 20 minutes, so this doesn't add much time.

I have really thick, coarse hair, so I have found that using a microfiber towel overnight actually helps me get more sleek, smooth hair. But I live in Northern California so on cold nights I can't do this!

I'm with whytephoenix. I guess I'm lucky enough to have straight-as-a-bone-no-matter-what-I-do hair and a low-maintenance attitude towards hair/fashion, but it works well for me to shower at night. I love going to bed clean, and it cuts my old morning routine in half. If I tossed and turned at nightand my hair is messy, I just throw it in a pony tail.

My hair's curly-ish (go figure) and I find a couple of things have helped in my lifetime of hair-drier hatred. 1) Never sleep on it wet, half of it'll look fab but the rest will look like a shrubery. 2) Don't wash it every day. It'll take some time to get used to, but totally worth it. Mine only needs washing once every three days despite a daily trip to the gym. 3) learn to love ponytails and other updos.

These have worked for my fine and curley-ish hair. Number 3 should work for everyone, though.

I use the blow-dryer on weekdays, but I only dry my hair half-way...i typically don't use it on the weekends at all....

I only started using a hairdryer a few years ago, when I discovered a fast dry made my hair smoother and less frizzy. Before that I did a lot of washing before bed, braiding hair when wet and letting it dry for a day or so and then undoing it for a day of silky, wavy hair. Then I got a "professional suit job" and had to dry it every day. Then I started washing (and drying every day).

Then I became a SAHM and started washing every 3 days and wearing a pony tail mostly (no hair drying). However, after about 8 months of this I started to fall into a frumph, so instead I got a sexy new short cut, and now I can dry my hair in 3 minutes flat. I still wash it every 3 days, hair drying on some and air drying on others. Everything in moderation!

Glad to hear so many of you have gone the no-dryer route! I have short hair that has a "natural" wave to it...which really amounts to a swooping cowlick.

To smooth it out, I cheat and use conditioner and a little smoothing gel. But, now I'm trying to eliminate all chemicals in the home, so it's back to square one with the smoothing gels, etc.

As for volume, I like to do a rock-star-style head spin before my hair is totally dry. That seems to give it a little boost instead of drying flat down. It's also pretty entertaining for our dog.

Thanks for all the tips on living sans-dryer!

Those microfiber towels are fantastic - I have two that I switch up. After awhile, you may find that your hair adapts to not being blow dried and looks better. I haven't used a hair dryer at home in... oh, ages. I always lose them or break them when I move (without fail, every. single. time.) and a few moves ago I just gave up on buying new ones. My hair looked weird for awhile, but now it has never looked better!

Plus, it's not really a green reason to give it up, but your hair will be much, much healthier soon.

You are all either brave, nuts, or hippies.

I am 110% in favor of greener practices, but this is one I *absolutely cannot and will not* give up. I have EXTREMELY THICK, long, heavy, stick straight black hair that takes hours to air dry. I can't live life that way. Plus, I like to style it lots of different ways and do fun things with it, so not having a blow dryer is out of the question.

However, we do not own a TV, haven't used paper towels in years, drive a hybrid, and I even use cloth menstrual pads. My hair dryer is a tiny one, and I try to let it air dry as long as time will allow in order to cut down on the dryer time. So, I try.

I have extremely thick, extremely long, heavy hair as well, and I don't own a hair dryer. I don't own a curling iron either, but that's because my hair has a natural curl and picks up waves from the braid that I often have my hair in. I wash my hair every other day. I towel it, and let it down to air dry for the next few hours as I go about my daily routine.

I wear my hair up in all sorts of clips and buns and down in ponytails or braids. Or just loose and free. And none of it requires a hair dryer.

I started working at home in the past few months, and gave up the hair dryer. I never much liked using it anyway. I think the answer to this question starts with your hair dresser. I too, have very fine hair, and there isn't much of it. I found a hairdresser that really knows her hair. She can tell the direction your hair grows in and cut it appropriately so that you don't have to do as much to get it to look nice. Next time you go to your hair stylist, tell them what your aims are (no hair dryer or curling iron) and ask for suggestions.

I also forgo normal conditioner in the summer for a light, leave-in one, and that cuts down on hair poof.

when I know I am not going anywhere important I usually forego the hair dryer but just put a little bit of mousse in my hair. My hair is naturally very wavy some people think I curl it when they see it in its natural state as opposed to the usually blow dried and with a little more volume. ;)