I have a lot of hair, and like many of us, it’s become wavier over time.
In fact, left to its own devices, the lengths underneath are almost spirals. Now grown to the longest in years, falling well below my decolletage, I’m admittedly often lazy about blow-drying. Getting it straight while fighting the natural texture can sometimes just take too much time and effort, so I’ll concede to the curl and let it air-dry instead.
But this method of styling isn’t an entirely undemanding enterprise: without the right products and technique, the result can be an untamed ball of frizz and fluff.
Thankfully, there’s now a wealth of wave and curl-cultivating potions available to achieve a defined finish, from tousled beachy waves to more structured curls. So, I ask my long-time hairstylist and colourist, Tom Smith, hair health expert and co-founder of Aevum Salon in London’s Bloomsbury, for advice that will work for you as well as me.
Best styling products to air-dry waves and curls at a glance
Does airdrying suit some hair textures better than others?
“Airdrying works best on hair that has some natural movement,” explains Smith. “Waves, curls and coils can all air-dry well, with different approaches needed for each. But very straight hair can collapse and look limp without the structure of a blow-dry.”
Your individual cut and length will also factor into the final result. “Shorter hair often airdries with more volume and fluffiness, while longer hair can benefit from product support to help control the definition and hold,” he adds. “Layers also allow the natural pattern to spring up and give extra definition, resulting in more rounded shapes and root lift. Conversely, one-length cuts tend to weigh waves down, making them looser and flatter.”
How should you choose an airdrying product?
Smith recommends pairing products to your hair's specific density and wave or curl type. “Foams and mousses add light volume and definition to finer hair types,” he says. “Creams and lotions give nourishment and hold to medium or frizz-prone textures while adding detail. Balms or gels help lock in a stronger shape for tighter curls or when humidity is a challenge, but do come with additional weight.”
Tom Smith’s air-drying tips
How I tested
Having long fluctuated between blowing dry my hair straight and leaving it to go naturally wavy, I’ve already tested many air-dry styling products over the years, so there were already a few on my ‘best-in-class’ list. But given my vested interest, I was excited to discover a host more to add to that lineup.
With each, I scrunched the styling product in, then left my lengths alone over two or three hours. Once dry, I could judge how effective each was against how defined versus frizzy the texture was, the amount of volume I could see at the crown and through the ends, plus how well the waves held later that evening and the next day.
Shop now
Living Proof StyleLab Air-Dry Styler
Best: overall
It’s been 20 years since Living Proof was born from a collaboration between a hairstylist and scientists at the revered Massachusetts Institute of Technology, aimed at solving real world hair problems. That includes the frizz-fighters amongst us.
The first thing to note about this airdry lotion is that it’s very fluid and can separate, so shake well before use (there’s a handy sticker on the lid to remind you). The second thing is that it will create amazingly unfluffy, structured but weightless curls that are full of movement even with just a small amount.
Alongside the smoothing technology that blocks humidity from frizzing up dry strands, the combination of clay, polymers and a squalane extract ensures hair’s wave or curl pattern has an enhanced, but smooth shape while remaining flexible for days at a time.
Buy now £27.00, Space NK
Color Wow Dream Coat for Curly Hair
Best for: replacing conditioner
Of all the new-to-me products I tested, this surprised me most - in the best possible way.
Using conditioner is usually non-negotiable for my hair if I want to avoid it devolving into one huge tangle. However, this can be used after shampoo, alone, or after wetting dry hair. Like the other Dream Coat variants - frankly, the gold standard when it comes to smoothness - this uses a blend of polymers that create a weightless and invisible coating around strands, essentially making them waterproof. That means hair won’t frizz up when facing humidity, rain or sweat.
But unlike the others, this curly option isn’t heat-activated. Soak hair with the mist, coating underneath sections too, then leave to dry. My lengths separated into tumbling curls and on the crown it created just-right waves – not too flat but not too curly, falling nicely to frame the face.
Buy now £21.60, Amazon
JVN Air Dry
Best for: longevity
This light cream comes out of the tube easily and spreads through sections without any resistance. As it begins to dry, I can see the wavy texture of my hair start to spring into a more defined shape, and you can feel its working some magic, giving structure while not feeling crispy or crunchy.
In fact, you can still gently run your fingers through your hair without worrying about encouraging it to fluff up. The next day, any residual sense that there’s product in the hair has disappeared, leaving behind soft, flexible and defined curls (or in my case waves) with a little lustre too.
For me, it’s a style that happily lasts for three days without falling flat. I’ve also fallen for the subtle, sophisticated scent – a creamy floral that comes from violet, honey and tangerine.
Buy now £12.00, Space NK
John Frieda Frizz Ease Dream Curls Air Dry Waves Styling Foam
Best for: mousse-lovers
The texture of this foam might be much more aerated than a mousse, but it has enough oomph to hold its structure when you pump it out.
The directions advise scrunching two to three balls into the hair, then adding more depending on length. I started with that amount but distributed them through the lengths first – on top and underneath – then tipped my head over and scrunched in another two pumps. When dry, my hair looked fabulously wavy and felt super-soft and flexible.
Personally, my thicker hair needs a texture with little extra weight to help prevent some fuzziness on the crown, but for those with finer hair who benefit from a lightweight styling product that isn’t going to make lengths look lank, this foam will be a real winner.
Buy now £7.99, Superdrug
Hershesons Air Dry Spray
Best for: fine hair
Shake and spritz well through mid-lengths to ends to get a decent coating before air-drying with this salon-created styling spray. The formula comes out as a fine mist that distributes evenly, doesn’t make hair feel tacky and won’t make your strands (or hands) sticky.
Another bonus of the featherlight texture is that it doesn’t drag down finer hair to look lank when it dries. Conversely, the bottle feels quite weighty – a great thing to ensure some serious grip as you pump out the spray. Although my hair looked almost fluffy when it dried (easily fixed with a little finishing cream if needed), there was no crunching or crispiness.
If you’re after soft, gentle waves rather than serious definition, this is the perfectly light-touch styling option.
Buy now £18.00, Hershesons
Larry King A Social Life For Your Hair
Best for: multitasking
Who amongst us doesn’t appreciate the time, space and cost-saving benefits of a beauty buy that can double or even triple up when it comes to results?
This velvety cream certainly ticks multiple boxes. The first – and now cult – launch from the esteemed London salon owner may be billed as a finishing product to tame flyaways while adding shine, but it’s also incredible for encouraging waves and curls into a defined pattern when hair is left to air-dry.
I find a little goes a long way (think pea-size) and glides through mid-lengths to ends thanks to ingredients including jojoba oil and squalane, which are also fantastic for nourishing dryness. It also offers heat protection for when you do pick up a hairdryer or diffuser again, and smells like a sunshine-soaked walk in the British countryside.
Buy now £12.00, Cult Beauty
Bumble & bumble Bb. Seaweed Air Dry Cream
Best for: dry scalps
Bumble offers a range of airdrying creams, but this version is the most hydrating. It also works to nourish scalps that are on the drier side, creating an “optimal scalp environment” without leaving behind any greasy residue, meaning the skin there becomes more balanced and healthier.
A powerhouse trio of kelps and algae are the nutrient-rich heroes here, with the cream formulated so you can massage it into the scalp to get the maximum effect.
It’s lightweight enough to work for fine hair – just add a little extra if your strands are thicker and curly rather than wavy – and the final softness and bounciness that this cream delivers are testament to its hydrating promises.
Buy now £29.00, Lookfantastic
Only Curls Hydrating Curl Cream
Best for: natural ingredients
Everybody with hair that has a wave or curl pattern should have this small, family-run, British curl-centric brand on their radar. Packed with rich natural conditioners, marula oil, shea butter and aloe leaf juice, this lotion feels surprisingly light given how much of a moisturising punch it packs.
You can be generous with the amount you apply from roots to the ends - it won’t make lengths look lank – and it works best when hair is still wet rather than towel-dried. After smoothing through and scrunching in, my waves quickly looked defined as they airdried, but my hair still had plenty of movement and an impressive shine, too.
Vegan, plus free from sulfates and silicone, they also cleverly offer a travel size and a jumbo refill pouch.
Buy now £18.00, Only Curls
Goldwell StyleSign Air-Dry BB Cream
Best for: environmental defence
Just in the way that BB cream for the face fuses skincare benefits like hydration with cosmetic ones such as a more even tone, so this BB cream for hair has been formulated to nourish, protect and smooth all at once.
I used a two pence-sized amount of fluid to easily coat my long lengths, then scrunched through as usual and left hair to air-dry. The results were a gentle amount of hold that allowed waves to fall in a soft ripple, as well as a subtle sheen that’s difficult to achieve on hair that isn’t straight.
But what I found most exciting was my hair’s capability to fend off the sun and drizzle during unpredictable weather, which meant a frizz-free three days. The hero ingredient is marine bamboo that wraps around hair strands to impressively defend against environmental aggressors.
Buy now £18.50, Amazon
Curlsmith Weightless Air Dry Cream
Best for: extra hydration
Because curls often require serious amounts of moisture to help them stay smooth and non-fluffy, this leave-in conditioner-meets-styling cream is labelled to be used as step 3 in your regime, following shampoo and rinse -out conditioner.
But it won’t feel heavy on hair if you prefer to go directly from cleansing, as the formula delivers a mega amount of hydration. Think hyaluronic acid plus babassu oil and castor oils, which parched locks will drink up to become soft, supple and shiny.
While my very wavy locks benefited from the nourishment and definition that the cream gave me, tighter curls right through to coils will particularly see and feel the difference from the first use.
Buy now £10.00, Lookfantastic
Verdict: As a beauty editor of almost three decades, the unique MIT heritage of Living Proof and the science-led formulas it creates has always impressed me, particularly when it comes to smoothing know-how. For the wavy and curly frizz-prone amongst us (and everyone can be frazzled at some point) who want a break from the rigours of heat styling, their StyleLab Air-Dry Styler brings together a brilliant biotech menu of ingredients that deliver a scaffolding for shape and definition, yet still allows hair plenty of movement and doesn’t feel weighty, stiff or crunchy. There’s always going to be a tube of this in my bathroom cabinet.
