drying hair ----blow dry or sit under dryer

I have very thick hair and my last perm was almost a month ago. I have decided to become natural, but im confused should I blow dry or sit under a dryer to dry my hair. Should I braid my hair when it is damp with eco styler gel? im really lost.

Today I bought :
Organix hydrating tea tree mint shampoo
eco styler gel olive oil
herbal essence hello hydration moisturizing conditioner
tea tree oil
sulfur 8
castor oil

Are these good items to start off with?

I haven't used the organix shampoo, eco styler, or sulfer 8 and I just ordered castor oil myself but they sound like good products to me. Just give yourself some time and you will get to know what YOUR hair likes.

Personally I try not to put any heat on my hair for the most part so I just let my hair air dry or if I'm in a rush I'll sit under a hooded dryer on low heat until my hair is about 75% dry and then air dry from there. Be careful about regular blow dryers. If you set the heat too high on them, you risk heat damage to your new growth.

I think gel may give you the hold you want, but I don't know if it would harden it too much for you. You would have to try and see. i've never tried braiding with a gel before.

As for the tea tree oil, it's an essential oil and I would suggest you dilute it before using it (if you didn't already know). Here's a good place to start, there's a little paragraph about it at the bottom: http://aromatherapy.suite101.com/article.cfm/tea_tree_essential_oil_profile

I've applied a few drops of tea tree oil to a healing industrial piercing, and my ear got very dry and periodically itched. I assume you want to apply the oil to your scalp, so it should definitely be diluted. Also make sure you are purchasing pure oil, and not synthetic oil, one from the health store would probably be good.

I always style my hair wet and I let it air dry overnight. I don't have a dryer and only time a dryer is used on me is at the stylist. Good luck.

thanks for the advice! I let my hair air dry and it wasn't too bad ! I mixed the tree oil with other oils and water.

You're welcome! A Hood dryer won't be bad for your hair, I'm just way too fidgety to sit still under a dryer for my hair. I'm not sure how often some of the ladies here use theirs. But I would use a blow dryer sparingly as that is direct heat.