this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2025
61 points (98.4% liked)

Casual Conversation

1598 readers
18 users here now

Share a story, ask a question, or start a conversation about (almost) anything you desire. Maybe you'll make some friends in the process.


RULES

  1. Be respectful: no harassment, hate speech, bigotry, and/or trolling.
  2. Encourage conversation in your OP. This means including heavily implicative subject matter when you can and also engaging in your thread when possible.
  3. Avoid controversial topics (e.g. politics or societal debates).
  4. Stay calm: Don’t post angry or to vent or complain. We are a place where everyone can forget about their everyday or not so everyday worries for a moment. Venting, complaining, or posting from a place of anger or resentment doesn't fit the atmosphere we try to foster at all. Feel free to post those on !goodoffmychest@lemmy.world
  5. Keep it clean and SFW
  6. No solicitation such as ads, promotional content, spam, surveys etc.

Casual conversation communities:

Related discussion-focused communities

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Made a massive difference when I started pat drying my hair, it became more softer and smoother instead of roughly and vigorously rub drying my hair, making my hair dry... I feel like this should be common sense but apparently not to me since I found out about this just recently πŸ˜…

top 34 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 47 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Seems like that would massively depend on the length of your hair.

Up to a point, yeah.

It's about the cuticle of the hair, so once it's short enough you don't notice the "roughness". It's still there, but less significant. But past maybe a half inch, you'd feel it by touch usually

[–] harambe69@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 3 days ago

I just shaved my head. No hair, no problems.

My daughter learned that lesson when she was around 3 years old, the first time we let her shower by herself. She washed her long hair with her wash cloth. It was a miserable night for everyone that night.

But yes, I love discovering something that you feel is something you should have already known. I had a realization in my 30s that maybe not everyone gets little sores all over their body all the time... I changed my body wash and the problem went away. I feel like most people would have known that was a problem much sooner.

[–] Varyk@sh.itjust.works 17 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Do you mean pat the water off the top layer of hair and then leave the rest of your hair damp?

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 14 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Bold of you to assume anyone has thick and healthy enough hair to have layers

[–] Varyk@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 days ago

I've seen them!

[–] Rinn@awful.systems 2 points 3 days ago

You'll also likely benefit from drying it using an old 100% cotton t-shirt instead of a normal towel, for much the same reason (less friction).

[–] gustofwind@lemmy.world 14 points 5 days ago (4 children)

Yep.

Another tip is you might be shampooing too often but this will depend on your hair type. I have curly hair and shampooing more than once a week kills my hair.

[–] Secret_Music@piefed.blahaj.zone 10 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Also what I've found is that different brands can make a difference, even if they've both got the same gimmick eg. for dry hair etc.

Sometimes a particular brand just agrees with you less than another one and it can help trying different ones for the one that works best.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 2 points 4 days ago

I recently developed psoriasis and it especially affects my scalp, so I bought a shampoo aimed at people like me. I've been shocked to find that I can use it only once or twice a week and my hair doesn't get all greasy. It's amazing. Wish I'd had this shampoo ages ago, nevermind the psoriasis.

[–] doctordevice@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I don't think it's just the hair type but also your oil production. I also have curly hair and it's completely untameable if I don't shower & get it wet, but it's very oily and unpleasant if I shower and don't shampoo it.

There might be a middle ground available with other hair products but I can't stand the feeling of product left in my hair so I've left myself with only one real option.

[–] Canadian_anarchist@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Have you tried dry shampoo? It helps to extend the time between hair washing.

[–] doctordevice@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 days ago

I have, but I can't stand the feeling of any left-in product. It's an autism sensory thing for me. Tbh I'm not even sure how well it works for me, I couldn't stand how it felt so I washed it out.

Again, fully a me problem. I know curly haired folk have products that can help but I just can't stand feeling anything in my hair.

[–] GraniteM@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

I've found that my hair responds best to using the absolute smallest amount of shampoo I can get out of the bottle, like literally a single drop the size of the tip of my pinky. More than that and I get dried out. I've tried using none at all and the oils in my hair start forming into more complex polymers and it gets unpleasant.

[–] moonshadow@slrpnk.net -1 points 4 days ago

I quit washing my hair entirely, after a greasy couple months adjustment it's nicer than any shampoo/conditioner combo I've tried. It's almost like our bodies are self-regulating miracles or something :p

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

roughly and vigorously rub drying my hair

my male-radar is going off strong here.

As a woman, I wrap my long wet hair in a towel and let it dry like that. Or in the summer I just go outside & play & my hair is soon dry.

[–] Lazylazycat@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm a woman with long hair, and the texture of my hair got infinitely better when I stopped wrapping it in a towel. I just squeegee it and then pat it very gently so it's not dripping, then let it totally air dry. My hair is so soft now, no frizz.

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That's good advice. My hair is indeed frizzy with my current method🀭 I will try to put more effort into it like you suggest for better results.

[–] Lazylazycat@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

I hope it works for you! And to be honest, it feels like less effort because all you're doing is basically just leaving it alone πŸ˜†

[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 10 points 5 days ago
[–] Okokimup@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You just reminded me to order conditioner, a task I haven't been able to remember outside of the shower for several months now. So thank you.

[–] Rachelhazideas@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

Hi, it's been 4 hours since you commented so I just wanted to remind you to order conditioner in case you haven't yet.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 6 points 5 days ago

...unless you to dry hair below the top layer.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 4 days ago

i do it because of atopic dermatitis, which would irritate my skin its the same for the rest of my skin.

[–] BootLoop@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago

I rub it aggressively with a towel but it's all falling out anyways so 🀷

[–] scytale@piefed.zip 5 points 5 days ago

Try blowdrying your hair. Just use the low setting. It will make your hair softer and have more volume. I heard it’s also better than leaving your hair damp.

[–] regdog@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

What is the difference between pat drying and rub drying?

[–] klemptor@startrek.website 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Friction can lead to breakage

[–] regdog@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Is that an actual problem? My barbers always told me that I have very thick hair, so I never thought about how rubbing might affect it.

I guess that that is more of a problem when you have thin hair, right?

[–] klemptor@startrek.website 4 points 4 days ago

It depends what you mean by "thick" and "thin." If by "thick" you mean that the individual hair strands are coarse rather than fine, then yes, that kind of hair can be more resistant to this kind of damage. But if by "thick" you mean you have a lot of hair (high density) as opposed to sparser hair (low density), that doesn't mean much one way or another because it's the coarseness/fineness of the hairs that really matters.

Either way, it makes sense to be gentle with your hair if you're interested in having it look nice.

[–] gustofwind@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

Even thick hair will dry more pleasantly not being rubbed

[–] BurgerBaron@piefed.social 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Pat drying the body helps too if you have dry skin. Removes less oil which you lack in, don't rub what little natural oil you do produce off. Hot shower bad too. Don't open pores.

If you suffer from dandruff and no product has ever helped or only made things worse: try no products at all. People won't believe it works but watch as nobody notices and your lovers compliment your hair all the same totally unaware because you smell and look just fine without putting $40 of GLORP MEGA MOISTURE NOW WITH DEMON TEARS XXXTREME in your hair.

I've been told this is the less damaging way, but I think it also depends on your hair's thickness. If it can stand the violent rubbing, then you can do that. If all you have left is a few fragile thin hairs, I'd protect them as best as I can...