Best Dryer For Dreads

It's that time of year again for me that when I wash my dreads, it takes longer and longer to just let them dry and I hate going to sleep with a wet head. First, it makes me cold all night. Second, I'm afraid that mold will eventually set in because of how long my locs stay wet.

So, I was wondering if anyone uses a soft dryer cap, one of those hard sit under things, or what exactly they use and what works best for them. I am open to all suggestions at this point as just pointing a hair dryer at my head for over an hour doesn't really seem to be doing the trick, either LOL

Thanks!

Tia

updated by @tia: 01/13/15 09:40:55PM

My dreads are still new and aren't mature at all.. but whenever I wash I wring my hair out as best I can... then I wrap it in a towel for about 10 min or longer. Then I use a basic hair dryer (one I've had for over 8 years.. lol) I put my head upside down and dry the roots for about 5-10 minutes.. then I let my hair air dry for a bit, and then I flip my head upside down again and dry the ends for about 5-10 minutes.. then air dry some more and dry again as needed.
I like to use the hair dryer, then let it air dry for a bit so I'm not just sitting there under the hair dryer for an hour like you said lol

i use a regular blow drywr but dont sit there pointing it at your head for an hour just do short bursts when u get a chill like 1 minute every 10-20 minutes let air drying do the most just use the blow dryer as a suppliment

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I too have my hair dry in a few hours in summer time, but in the winter time, it can still have some moisture up to 24 hours later. I wring and towel dry, then leave it to the air. I'm just wondering would dehumidifying my room make them dry considerably faster? or would it not be worth the effort?

Melony, My hair dryer is about as old as yours (If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it, eh? lol) I do my drying the same way you are describing with the setting on Cool on my dryer. I just feel like there has to be an alternative to it. Not to mention I'm sick right now, so I'm being a definite baby about the whole thing HAHA!

SE, that's not really an option for me as it does take my locs a long time to dry and they are still really short and not really very thick (my hair is thick, but my locs are not too big). I posted this yesterday around this time after washing my hair and today they are just finally dry at this point. I don't want to have to point a high heat dryer at my head at all, that's why I'm looking for an alternative for something with low heat and airflow that will work.

Marcellus, I'm really not sure if a dehumidifier would work either. If you have one on hand, try it and let us know how it works, if you need to buy one, I wouldn't bother. I would think since it's a dry heat coming from the furnace (if you're using a furnace) in winter that our dreads would dry faster. I live right next to Lake Superior in Michigan so in summer it is high humidity here and they dry pretty fast at that time. I guess best case scenario for that would be a wood stove. When I lived using one of those, it was hot dry heat all winter. My locs aren't even shoulder lengths at this point, I can't imagine how hard they will be to dry at your length lol

Pick a day of the week where you can shower in the morning, where you won't have to tie your hair back right away. There isn't really any better alternatives to drying besides what was already suggested. I have short locks also. I began getting (mild) mold in my hair because I would rinse my hair every night after the gym and sleep in it. I just suggest washing once a week, so I use a shower cap now. I do wash my fringe more because it gets greasy from my forehead.

I don't know if she was serious, but someone in a forum once mentioned using a sham-wow towel. Haha

Have you tried using a microfiber towel? They're awesome at wicking away a lot of moisture from dreads! I wring as much water as I can out of my dreads after washing and then wrap in a microfiber towel. I leave it until the towel is wet, and then alternate between air drying, using a hair dryer, occasionally wringing out extra water with a regular towel (only because I own just 1 microfiber). But yeah that regimen works pretty well for me, and I've got fairly long thick mature dreads. Unfortunately I don't think there's gonna be a faster way than what everyone has been posting. Good luck!!

Sham-Wow?! haha If she does use it and it works, she got a good one then because the ones The Hubs' boss bought him work for crap :D

I haven't tried a microfiber towel. My routine is about the same as yours though. I wring out my dreads in usually about six sections and then I have a few other hand towels that I wrap around them and squeeze more water out until the towels are soaked. After that I proceed to alternate the hair dryer and air dry for the next few hours but they are still highly damp at that point...

I have the problem that I am always cold no matter what I do (Thyroid condition side effect) and the damp head is not fun and neither is the hair dryer. I'm starting to wonder though if I were to use a portable heater like I have in the past to keep warm, if it might work like or better than a hair dryer... Hmmmmmmmmmm