I absolutely dread blowdrying my hair in the winter. Partly because I have to do it so frequently—every other morning after washing my hair. In the warmer months, it's totally cool to walk outside with still-damp hair and let it air-dry into fuzzy bends. In the winter, it's a safety hazard. (As a Floridian, I learned that the hard way my first year in New York. My hair quite literally snapped off into icicles.) Other than showering at night and dousing myself in dry shampoo, I was curious if there were any speed-drying tips I could learn from top hairstylists that would get my hair from sopping wet to presentably dry before I even left the house. Here, three hairstyling pros spill their best tips on how to air-dry your hair this winter.

Use A Shammy Towel.

"The best tip for drying hair quickly is to buy a quick-dry towel head wrap. They reduce drying time by half and leave hair much smoother and more manageable. Wrap your hair in a quick-dry head towel for 15 minutes, release, add a little serum, then leave to air-dry 80 percent. Once dry, put your hair into a low tight bun and leave for an hour or two. This will help reduce frizz, add shine and encourage the hair to form soft smooth waves." — hairstylist Christian Wood, whose clients include Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Bryce Dallas Howard, Olivia Munn, and Isla Fisher.

Skip Heavy Stylers Like Creams and Conditioners.

"When air drying the hair, don't use the a heavy product. The reason being is it will leave more moisture in the hair, and it will take your hair twice as long to dry."—hairstylist Cervando Moldonado, whose include Rachel McAdams, Reese Witherspoon, and Naomi Watts.

Get Clean—Really Clean.

"The cleaner your hair the faster it dries. So make sure to really work that shampoo through and rinse, rinse, rinse. Keep the conditioner to just the tips. Also towels like Aquis Lisse Luxe are great to wring your hair out into as they absorb water much faster than conventional towels." —hairstylist Gregory Russell, whose clients include Lily Collins, Miley Cyrus, and Nicole Richie.

Minimize Frizz.

"Any smoothing product will help massively when air-drying. Without out heat to force the cuticle to lay flat and produce shine, the hair will need a little extra help from product. Hair masques like Christophe Robin will give extra shine and smoothness."—Wood

Do The Twist...Set.

"You can always rough-dry the roots of your hair and get your hair about 80% dry, and then do twist set (parting hair and twisting away from face, and then twisting your twists together into a knot for wavy texture. Or also just two braids). Make sure to also use oils on the tips to keep your hair hydrated." —Russell

Headshot of Jenna Rosenstein
Jenna Rosenstein
Beauty Director
Jenna Rosenstein is the Beauty Director at BAZAAR.com. While attending NYU, she held internships at Women’s Wear Daily, Bloomingdale’s, Harper’s BAZAAR (as Glenda’s intern!) and Allure, the latter of which she parlayed into her first job as the Beauty Assistant. She left Allure three years later as the Senior Beauty Editor, spent a few months at Refinery29 in the same title overseeing branded content, before finally landing back at BAZAAR to oversee all digital beauty content. When she's not testing every lipstick known to mankind, getting zapped by new lasers, or interviewing experts and celebrities, you can find Rosenstein re-watching Star Wars movies, reading books about new discoveries in science and health, and playing with her Bombay cat named Maddie.