We’ve all read the countless articles warning against using a hairdryer on our locks, but letting your hair air-dry could actually be causing serious damage to your tresses. According to Annals of Dermatology, the damage to your hair can be caused by the air-drying technique because the hair strand can swell due to constant, prolonged water exposure. The journal argues that if you continue to allow your hair to sit in wetness and absorb its weight, you can damage its quality and care over time. Side effects from air drying can also include the water causing your hair to weaken from the inside out, leading to breakage and restricted growth. Think this all sounds a bit too crazy to be true? According to a study, which compared the quality of hair blow-dried versus hair that had been left to air-dry, hair samples that were left to dry naturally had “significant damage to the cell membrane complex, the cement that holds cuticle layers together.” Shockingly, the hair samples which had been treated with a low-temperature blast to dry showed little signs of damage to its overall health and appearance. But we also know exposing our hair to heated styling tools can cause massive damage to our quality. So what’s the best balance? Apparently the best way to care for your hair is to towel dry to take the initial wetness out of your locks, followed by a partial blow-dry on a low setting. H/T Brit+Co via Elle Magazine