Leaving long hair wet on a 7 year old granddaughter

When I was a child we didn’t have a hairdryer and I used to go swimming one night a week. Long hair - just spread a towel on pillow and went to bed. Never did me any harm!

Lightly towel dry to stop it from dripping and making the clothes damp then leave it.

Hellogirl I had an aunt who was always telling me how my hair would be so lovely if I would just put it into rags every night. She had three sons, but no daughters, so she hankered after someone to prettify. I wasn't convinced that sleeping on lumps of knotted hair and cotton rags night after night was worth it for half an hour of glamour before rain and wind returned it to rats' tails. I am afraid I wasn't the dainty little miss she wished she had. My own mother was more realistic.

Actually, Elegran, I rather liked the ringlet effect, but I don`t think my mother fancied the palaver every night! When I was 8 I went to stay with my auntie, who was a hairdresser, and she cut and permed my hair, the style was called Bubble cut back then, my mother went ABSOLUTELY BONKERS when I arrived back home!

I think you’ve all been had. Don’t forget the kids are on holiday.

Not strange at all, Welbeck Many people thought when I was young that it is bad for your health to go out in the open air with wet hair, and it certainly makes your head feel cold and unpleasant.

We used to get swimming classes with the school, but had to cross town to the public baths in North Street for them. I hated being damp and cold, waiting for the bus home, where the icy wind blew off the sea. Some people were happily buying and eating ice lollies while they waited. Not me.

Hellogirl I wasn't that keen on ringlets, because I knew two girls who had that hairstyle, and they were both Little Miss Prissy Bossyboots. I'm sure you weren't, though!

Well I can beat you all when I was a kid my nan used to put the gas stove on open the oven door and put me on a little stool in front of it to dry my hair ??
No my grandkids don’t use hairdryers

North Road baths, not North Street.

londonia what are your two points ?

Bluebelle I knew three sisters whose mother would have them kneeling down in front of an old-fashioned electric fire with their heads down and hair hanging, swinging it from side to side within inches of the element. I couldn't watch it, even aged 10 I could see how dangerous it was. They seemed to survive.

I think we have lost Londonia. I hope she's not been scared off. Hello , if you are there.
I have never used a hairdryer, except at the hairdressers, on myself or my DC.
I think DD uses one on the DGC.
Hair dries very quickly but it's probably better not to go to bed with wet hair and wake up with strange shaped hair in the morning.
When I was young with long hair, I used to shake it dry.

As long as it’s towel dried and not dripping wet which I’m sure it isn’t, I don’t understand the concern, actually she’s not your child so I wouldn’t be happy if my MIL brought it to me or my Dh attention, I’m intrigued like other posters what your two points are regarding letting hair dry naturally

Better for hair to leave it to dry naturally. It’s also none of your business.

I wish I had lovely straight, shiny hair so that I could leave it to dry naturally.

My Mum used to rub my long hair with a towel until it was nearly dry, comb out the tangles, ouch, and then either plait it or wrap it in torn strips of sheet for ringlets.
We never had a hairdryer, in fact there was no such thing as a handheld dryer.

I’m pretty sure we had a hairdryer, but I can’t remember if my hair was dried with it.
My mother had this thing about over washing hair, so I used to wash it at my friends house with washing up liquid! Yuck

Very sensible, in my view. A hairdryer damages hair.

I’m not going to waste my time answering .....why do OPs ask for advice and not get back ?

Op,

What is very unreasonable is you mentioning it to your d and sil.

This is none of your business and very common practice.

It’s healthier on the hair to air dry it.

It’s also none of your business. Please don’t mention it to them again, or you’ll risk falling out

For my long haired DGD I had a towelling turban which fitted on her head with enough length to cover her hair which was then rolled and twisted up in it. Hard to explain, probably impossible to comprehend! Now my normally short hair is long and straggly I have dug it out of the airing cupboard and use it myself.
After a few minutes the hair is no longer dripping so can hang loose to air dry.
It’s a shame we’ll never get to know the ‘couple of reasons’!

I think if it is dripping wet it's probably not a good idea but to slightly towel dry it and then leave it to dry naturally seems OK to me.

This thread has cast me back to my childhood in the 60’s. My lovely Dad worked in a factory and the men used to pay a small amount every week into a savings club. Then withdraw the cash for special occasions eg holidays, Christmas etc.

My Dad saw a contraption in a shop window and decided to withdraw his club money to buy it for me and my Mum. He arrived home proud as punch with our surprise.

It was a Pifco Princess hairdryer with hood attachment. Basically a hairdryer with a corrugated hose that attached to the hood. The hood resembled a plastic shower cap.

My Mum didn’t want to hurt his feelings and say what a waste of money. So we did our best to use it a few times. The shower cap inflated with hot air and after 3 mins of use the hose overheated. The inside of the cap was unbearably hot.

Did anyone else have one? The hairdryer was ok but the hood attachment was a one hit wonder. I’ve found a photo of it online.

We didn’t have a hair dryer when I was young, no one did. If you wanted dry hair you had to sit near the (coal) fire. The OP seems to have disappeared but I would have liked to know where she was coming from, didn’t get the post at all.

My mum used to brush my hair til it was dry. It was a labour of love which I couldn't really see until I had a daughter with long hair and tried to do it.