Knowing how your hair should be dried is essential in order to maintain its health and vitality. While some people may very well prefer to leave their hair to dry naturally, others are blow-dry addicts and others leave the house on a windy day with wet hair - kind of like me when I'm in a rush =]

This hub will teach you how to dry your hair properly, both naturally and using a blow-dryer.

 When leaving your hair to dry naturally, there are several things you must do. The first thing is to make sure that all of the excess water is removed from your hair. This involves squeezing it out, and then carefully and quickly towel drying your hair, so that your hair takes less time to dry while its out in the elements.

You may wish to use a spray-on heat protector or leave-in moisturiser in order to protect your hair as it dries and throughout the day. Simply spritz your product of choice onto your damp hair and give it a good srunch or comb through.

When combing wet hair, it is always advisable to use a detangling or wide-toothed comb - never a fine-tooth comb or even worse, a brush. This is because wet hair swells as it becomes wet and loses its elasticity, leaving it very much more prone to breaking and other damage as you comb the hair. There are also a variety of spray-on detangling lotions available on the market, such as Pantene Pro V's Detangling Moisturiser.

 For those of you who enjoy regularly blow-drying your hair, you may find that without proper care and knowledge, your hair can become damaged and brittle over time. In order to effectively and properly blow-dry your hair, you first need to squeeze out all the excess water, which will greatly decrease the time that your hair has heat applied to it for.

Next, you'll need to apply at least a heat protector to your hair, and if you are planning on doing any further styling, this is where you can take a few shortcuts. If curly hair is what you aim for, use a curl activator, or if you want a sleek and straight finish, a straightening and smoothing balm such as Urban Culture's Straight As will definitely decrease your styling time.

After detangling the hair, tilt your head upside-down and blow-dry your hair, combing it with your fingers until it is fairly dry. Tilt your head back up the right way and continue to blow-dry your hair using a rounded thermal brush from such as place as Vidal Sassoon. When blow-drying your hair, it is essential to remember to use a blow-dryer with a nozzle to effectively direct the heat, and to always point it down, positioning the nozzle about 15cm (6") from your hair. This helps to decrease fly-aways and heat damage.