Dermatologist sets record straight and issues warning about ‘hair mould’ after lazy bedtime habit

A dermatologist has given her two cents after a TikTok claimed not blow-drying your hair after washing it could lead to 'mould' developing.

A social media user experienced virality earlier this month after she uploaded a controversial video to TikTok.

Over a video of her drying her locks, she wrote: “Forever blow drying my hair as soon as I get out of the shower so I don’t get mould.”

The clip, which has amassed 18.2 million views and counting, sparked mass debate in the comments section and spawned articles debating whether or not ‘hair mould’ is a real thing.

Is ‘hair mould’ a real thing?

Thankfully, Heathline reports that there is no scientific evidence that mould can grow on human hair.

However, another type of fungus can grow on the scalp, resulting in eventual hair loss or dandruff.

The site says that some fungi can actually grow directly on your hair, making it smell. So be warned!

What does an expert say about fungus growth and ‘hair mould’?

Dr Aamna Adel, a registered dermatologist, claimed she wanted to ‘set the record straight’ on whether choosing not to dry your hair after washing it can harm your health.

“The first thing that everyone needs to realise is that we, all of us, have a natural yeast and fungus that lives on our skin and our scalp and it’s called Malassezia,” she told her 1.7 million TikTok followers.

Malassezia is a genus of fungi which are part of the normal skin flora, a study published on Frontiers explained.

Considered the ‘most prevalent fungal genus of the healthy skin’, Malassezia colonises on the human skin after birth and is therefore normally tolerated by our immune systems.

However, under appropriate conditions, these yeasts can invade the outermost layer of the epidermis (stratum corneum) and can trigger a scalp inflammatory response causing dandruff, according to a 2021 study.

“One thing about fungus is that it loves nothing more than moisture,” Dr Adel continued.

“So if you are someone who is lazy when it comes to drying your hair after you wash it and you just sleep on damp hair and just leave it for hours and hours on end you are creating the perfect storm.

“The perfect environment for this yeast to basically overgrow and that essentially leads to something called seborrhoeic dermatitis - AKA dandruff.”

The specialist also stated that not drying your hair after washing it can increase your risk of contracting a fungal infection called Tinea capitis, also known as scalp ringworm.

“Trust me, you don’t want that on your scalp,” she confessed. “Because in its worst state it can actually cause your hair to fall out.”

Dr Adel rounded up her informational TikTok by imploring users to always dry their hair after washing their scalp, adding leaving it wet could be ‘teasing fungus’.

“But is it gonna lead to full on mould on your scalp? No,” she said.

Interestingly Dr Adel’s sage advice has divided TikTok users, with one claiming they’ve gone to bed with wet hair ‘for years’ without experiencing any issues.

Another remarked: “Okay, but this is actually really bad for ppl with dry curly hair. We have to let the moisture absorb.”

Someone else said: “Worth the risk if it means I don’t kill my hair from heat damage.”

However, many others have taken the specialist’s advice onboard, with one viewer writing: “I’ve been letting my hair air dry for my whole life because in lazy and I've never gotten anything bad from it but now I'm scared.”

How to correctly blow dry your hair

If you want to take Dr Adel’s advice and begin drying your hair after you wash it then there are a few simple steps you should take.

Head and Shoulders writes you should try not to use high heat settings if possible as this can damage and dry out your hair.

“Ideally, the air stream should feel comfortable on the back of your hand,” the company states.

It’s also recommended you blow dry your hair from at least 20cm away and keep the dryer moving to avoid putting too much heat in one spot.

There are further steps you can take to ensure your hair remains healthy while blow drying, including using a protectant spray and using a round brush for volume.

You can find out more tailored information here.