Using a hair dryer is like eating lots of sugar. It’s not great for you, but we are inclined to ignore that since it tastes so good (a.k.a. makes for bouncy hairstyles). We consider in all things carefully (and with a very good heat protectant), so we wouldn’t say you’ll want to retire your hair dryer. But curly hair types might wish to sub just a few blowouts with hair plopping.

Plopping is a heat-free solution to dry curly or textured hair with an old T-shirt. Does it sound sexy? No. Does it look sexy? Also no. But will it save your hair in the long term and in addition create beautifully-defined, smooth curls? Yes. So how does an old T-shirt provide you with your healthiest curls yet? We asked the experts for his or her tackle plopping advantages and the way you possibly can do it yourself at home.

• Leigh Hardges is a hairstylist at Maxine Salon in Chicago.
• Liana Le is a hairstylist at Marie Robinson Salon in Latest York City.

• What’s hair plopping?
• What are the advantages of hair plopping?
• What should I exploit to plop my hair?
• How do I plop my hair?
• Plopping: Continuously Asked Questions

Hair plopping is a heat-free solution to dry curly hair. As a substitute of using a blowdryer, hair is gently “plopped” (or dropped) onto a T-shirt or microfiber towel, which is then tied up on the ends to permit moisture to soak up into the towel. The plopping motion downward onto the towel allows curls to dry of their natural curl pattern.

Any textured hair type can use hair plopping as a solution to gently dry, but Leigh Hardges, a hairstylist at Maxine Salon in Chicago, recommends this method for type 2 and three curls, which have “more challenges in retaining curl on the ends and minimizing frizz.”

Not only is hair plopping a simple solution to gently dry curls, nevertheless it also has a bunch of advantages over traditional drying methods.