Blow drying, especially done on a regular basis, is not good for your hair. It dries out the moisture and makes the hair easily breakable. Sometimes even after occasional blow drying hair loses its shine and seems weaker. Keeping that in mind, it is best to blow dry only when it is absolutely necessary.
One important factor to consider is whether your hair is colored or permed. Both procedures do some damage to hair, so permed and/or colored hair will be affected by blow drying even more. Hair texture matters as well: thick hair can take more abuse while thinner hair will scream for mercy much sooner. So if you have thick hair, neither colored nor permed, you can afford to blow dry it more frequently than a fine-haired colored blonde (or brunette – we’re not trying to pick on blondes here).
Of course, a lot depends on your hair length. Short hair does not take very long to dry on its own, so why even bother blow drying; but those who prefer longer hairstyles sometimes do not have a choice.
There are thermal shampoos and conditioners that claim to reduce damage from blow drying; those are good choices to use when you blow dry, but they cannot be relied on to completely solve the problem. If you are forced to resort to blow drying more often than you believe you should, it is advisable to help your hair restore its natural moisture and shine. There are all kinds of hair masks and other products that treat and restore damaged hair. One particular product that is very good is L’Oreal Ineral Hair Fixer Kit; it has been around for quite a while and earned a good reputation for healing dry ends and restoring healthy hair structure.
Air-drying, while time consuming and inconvenient, is a much healthier choice. You are not subjecting your hair to the abuse of heat that destroys its natural moisture/oil balance.
Laura Lond