I broke up with my diffuser

Amour_Nicole

After many long years together my diffuser and I are calling a quits. It just doesn't work for me anymore. I used to diffuse my curls all the time because I couldn't stand walking around with wet hair for hours. (Oddly enough I only started diffusing after college. Before then I would always air dry) but recently I started air drying again because it's much healthier. I've stuck it out for a month already. But yesterday I tried diffusing just to see what the difference was. It was not good. I used the same products and techniques as when I air dry but diffusing gave me weird roots, my hair started to frizz a lot as the day wore on and it wasn't shiny anymore. Could it be the products or is my hair just done with heat?

EverydayCurls

Although diffusing is better than typical blowdrying, it is still heat so it can damage your hair. If leaving your hair wet bothers you, I would try plopping overnight with wet hair so that it dries overnight without frizzing. I do that every day because my hair takes 8+ hours to air dry so if I shower in the morning it's wet all day.

BotticelliBrit

I don't tend to diffuse a lot myself, as I find a get a little more frizz and my hair shrinks up like WOW. It doesn't look bad though.

When I diffuse, I only ever do it on cool and use no heat. You mentioned you're using heat, so do you do it in a high / normal heat, or do you do it on more of a 'warm' setting? Could be you just need to do it on warm or cool, if you don't already

DaniGirl88

I never got the hang of diffusing. It always made my hair frizzier than normal and I didn't like the results. I should try the plopping overnight thing though, that sounds like a great alternative! My trouble is keeping the scarf/wrap on my head while I sleep.....

Morgan_Adcock

I usually wash my hair at night, and let it air dry as I sleep. However, I like having the option of being able to wash my hair in the morning or during the day, and not having it be wet for hours, which is what happens with my low porosity hair. I pixiecurl or use the Jessicurl method FWIW. So, when my old Revlon hairdryer died, I decided to look at higher end dryers.

Some of the factors I considered were: less noise at a lower pitch, balance and weight, a ceramic heater for penetrating infra-red heat (which dries faster at lower temperatures), separate heat and air speed settings for versatility, and nano-silver technology for cleaner hair. I chose the SuperSolano 3500 Lite, and got a folding diffuser for it. After getting it, I decided the super long cord was an added bonus.

New dryer has three heat settings. What I didn't realize, until a while after I got it, is that they're cool, warm, and very warm (not hot, still comfortable to my skin), so I can use all three. It takes less time to dry my hair (even without the warmest setting, which is more like the medium setting on the old dryer). When I'm done, my hair is glossy, frizz free, and very resilient feeling, not at all dried out. I wasn't drying my hair past 85-90% dry anyway, so that it didn't get over dried, and the moisture in it could equalize with the moisture in the air, causing less frizz. I like that I still get plenty of bounce. (Once I really accepted my curl, I stopped worrying about jump/shrinkage, and like that my hair can look different lengths depending on weather, how long it's been since I washed it, etc.)

But that's me.

EverydayCurls

DaniGirl88 wrote: »

I never got the hang of diffusing. It always made my hair frizzier than normal and I didn't like the results. I should try the plopping overnight thing though, that sounds like a great alternative! My trouble is keeping the scarf/wrap on my head while I sleep.....

My hair almost always ends up falling out of the plop, but it still ends up looking nice because the way I put my hair into the plop, once it falls out I end up sleeping on the layer no one sees, so even if it ends up frizzing, only I can tell. You can always try when you don't have to go anywhere the next day just in case.

CGSince2002

Amour_Nicole wrote: »

After many long years together my diffuser and I are calling a quits. It just doesn't work for me anymore. I used to diffuse my curls all the time because I couldn't stand walking around with wet hair for hours. (Oddly enough I only started diffusing after college. Before then I would always air dry) but recently I started air drying again because it's much healthier. I've stuck it out for a month already. But yesterday I tried diffusing just to see what the difference was. It was not good. I used the same products and techniques as when I air dry but diffusing gave me weird roots, my hair started to frizz a lot as the day wore on and it wasn't shiny anymore. Could it be the products or is my hair just done with heat?

You didn't explain how you diffuse, like what temperature you use and for how long, those details can certainly make a difference. Also if you start diffusing right away or wait a while. Normally I do it right after applying the gel or LI (skipping the gel) but a time or two I felt the need to wait before starting because not everything I use reacts the same to diffusing if I start right away, then I only do it for a few minutes, when I've been in a hurry and need to do it longer I invariably end with frizz or stringy curls in some spots.

I do use high heat to start but all I have right now is a travel-size blower which is not as strong as a full-size one, then I go to warm, moving from one section to another until I've covered all my head.

Reservechic

When you blowdry your hair with a diffuser, it is delivering direct high heat to your hair. Anytime you use direct heat on your hair,whether it be one time or over an extended period of time, there is always the chance that it can cause heat damage. However, without a picture of your hsir to see, it would be premature of me to even go any further with that.

Ever since i went curly, i have only diffused my hair once. I did not care for the finished results. And, i have never gone back to doing so. I find that airdrying works best for my curls, so that is what i stick with. However, there are others thst prefer to diffuse their hair dry, and they have never had problems with such. You simply go with what works best for your curls.

I do understand that you gave your hair a break from diffusing it for a month,and things were going well. Yesterday, when you chose to go back to diffusing your curls, i cannot for sure say that it is your diffuser that caused you to experience weird roots, frizz, and a lack of shine to your hair. If your curent blowdryer with diffuser is not giving you satisfactory results at this time, then i would recommending either seeking out another one, one that offers greater benefits than the one you currently have. Or, you can go back to airdrying your hair.

lolo918

I watched an Anthony Dickey youtube video earlier, and tried using my diffuser his way. It involves just holding the hair over the hair dryer at a speed of flow that doesn't muss the hair. I did like the results of not having wet hair but I don't have a concentrator nozzle or the patience to do the stretching method he does when hair is mostly dry for tightly curly hair. I didn't notice my hair shrinking any more or less than normal.

AngelaE8654

Amour_Nicole wrote: »

After many long years together my diffuser and I are calling a quits. It just doesn't work for me anymore. I used to diffuse my curls all the time because I couldn't stand walking around with wet hair for hours. (Oddly enough I only started diffusing after college. Before then I would always air dry) but recently I started air drying again because it's much healthier. I've stuck it out for a month already. But yesterday I tried diffusing just to see what the difference was. It was not good. I used the same products and techniques as when I air dry but diffusing gave me weird roots, my hair started to frizz a lot as the day wore on and it wasn't shiny anymore. Could it be the products or is my hair just done with heat?

Yep. Same here. I also stopped using my diffuser and went to only air drying hair (except for my small amount of bangs which take about 90 seconds to dry). I, too, used my diffuser yesterday after not using it for a time and was not happy with how my hair looked. So no more diffuser for me, either.