Working from home comes with its perks. One we’ve discovered over the last few months is being able to emerge from your morning shower without having to immediately reach for a hairdryer. Instead, you can sit at your work station with damp hair and let it air dry with zero heat.

While we’re constantly told about the damaging effects heat styling can have on our hair, it’s easy to believe that air drying is the best thing for your hair – but it can actually weaken your hair, too.

When your hair comes into contact with water it swells and becomes weak. Not only does this put pressure on the proteins that keep your hair intact, it can make your hair stretch, which leads to snapping and breakage.

“Hair can absorb up to 30% of its own weight in water,” explains Adam Reed, hairstylist and ghd UK ambassador. “The longer it stays wet, the more the cortex swells and cracks, permanently damaging hair.”

Of course, that’s not to say that blowdrying your hair doesn’t come with its own downsides. 

Heat styling can cause moisture loss. “Our hair’s elasticity and strength are largely reliant on its water content, so this can cause dryness, brittleness and breakage,” says Anabel Kingsley, consultant trichologist and brand president at Philip Kingsley. 

“At its most severe, heated styling tools can cause ‘bubble hair’ – a condition that occurs when your hair becomes filled with tiny air bubbles. Very hot blow dryers over 175 degrees and straighteners over 125 degrees can cause moisture within the hair shaft to rapidly steam and expand, creating tiny air pockets within the hair fibre.

“If this happens, you will notice the formation of little bulges or ‘bubbles’ along your hair shaft. Where these bubbles form, hair is very weak and fragile. Unfortunately, you cannot reverse bubble hair.”

While both methods come with their own disadvantages, there are steps you can take to ensure your hair is protected and the integrity of the hair shaft isn’t compromised. Here, we round-up our favourite hair drying products…

Main image: Getty

If you’re an avid Stylist fan, you’ll know it’s not always possible to find an issue of our magazine. Often they’re gone before you head into work (they disappear fast!), or you live in a part of the UK where you can’t get your hands on a copy. Add to this the fact that millions of us are not commuting right now, and we wanted to ensure you don’t miss out on the magazine any longer.

Which is why we’re delighted to let you know that Stylist magazine is now available in a digital format, both for Apple and Android users, allowing you to download the full magazine directly to your smartphone or tablet, wherever you may be.

Pricing for our digital magazine starts at just 99p for a single issue, or £21.99 for a full year’s subscription –that’s less than 50p a week! Simply click on the link to activate your Stylist app download from either the Apple store or Google Play and enjoy!