There’s no doubt about it: low-maintenance hair is in. For many people, that means embracing their natural hair texture and air-drying their hair. One of the most important aspects of styling your natural hair texture is learning how to plop hair. If you’ve never heard of plopping hair before, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to learn how to plop hair, and why you should start!
What Does It Mean to Plop Hair?
Plopping hair means wrapping wet hair in a microfiber towel or a t-shirt to absorb excess moisture. Most hair experts recommend plopping hair after applying a styling product (like a mousse or a gel), but before actually styling your hair.
So why plop hair? It’s thought that wrapping hair while it’s wet will help to quickly absorb extra moisture. This reduces drying time (particularly if you’re air-drying your hair) and reduces frizz.
Air-drying hair is healthier than blow-drying it (even if you use heat protectant), so plopping hair makes air-drying a more speedy process for anyone trying to embrace their natural hair texture and protect the health of their hair. If you’ve always wanted to air-dry your hair but didn’t think you had enough time, plopping your hair may be the answer!
How to Plop Your Hair in Four Steps
So how do you plop your hair? Just follow these four simple steps:
- Start with clean, wet hair. Scrunch out excess water and apply your favorite styler.
- Lay a long-sleeve t-shirt on the bathroom counter or a chair with the sleeves facing you. Hint: you can also use a microfiber hair wrap designed for plopping.
- Bend at the waist and flip your hair over your head so that it is aligned with the body of the t-shirt.
- Wrap the t-shirt around your hair, knotting the sleeves to secure it in place.
And that’s it. It’s that easy! Now leave your hair in the t-shirt or microfiber wrap for 20 minutes to allow it to absorb all the excess moisture.
There are also some special considerations for different hair lengths and textures:
How to Plop Curly Hair
Curly hair is more prone to dryness, so apply a leave-in conditioner or hair oil before applying your styler.
How to Plop Straight Hair
Plopping can give straight hair a nice, natural-looking bend and volume at the crown. Use a lightweight styler like a mousse to plop straight hair.
How to Plop Short Hair
Plopping also works for short hair! Just follow the steps above and use a styler that’s appropriate to your hair type.
How to Plop Long Hair
If you have very long hair, you may need to use a larger t-shirt or microfiber towel in order to wrap your hair effectively.
How to Plop Fine or Thinning Hair
Use a shampoo and conditioner formulated specifically for your hair type that won't weigh your hair down. Also, try adding a hair thickening serum to damp hair.
What To Do After Plopping Hair
Now that you’ve mastered hair plopping, what’s next?
If you wash your hair at night, you can leave the t-shirt on overnight. But if you have less time, your can take your hair down after 20 minutes. Simply untie the t-shirt and shake out your hair.
At this point, you can either air-dry your hair or use a hairdryer to finish drying it. Curly hair types should use a diffuser, while straight hair types can use a concentrator nozzle.
No matter which method you choose, avoid touching your hair with your fingers to prevent frizz from forming
Do you have any tips for plopping your hair that we didn’t cover here? Let us know in the comment section below!