Wash & Go Trials On Afro Coily Kinky Hair 10: Garnier Fructis Survivor Gel & Castor/AVG/Curl activator mix

I applied this to my wet hair with a LI mix of a dab of curl activator, Aloe vera gel & castor oil. My definition was on point with application. I even saw some grouped coils on my crown region which almost never coils/clumps for anything!
But man! When it dried, I was not ready for the CRUNCH!! My hair was HARD! 
In the mornings I would spray a glycerin/oil/water mix to re-shape my hair and it always suprisingly moulded back into place easily. I easily got 5day hair with this and could have easily kept going. The only thing is that my hair just didn't feel nice to touch initially. It felt hard to touch and would not scrunch out easily with just any oil. (After a few days it naturally relented it's hold). After this trial I resigned this gel for use only with very heavy leave-in conditioners or as a finisher.

The Drying Series 1: How To Diffuse Afro Coily Kinky Hair.

Or rather, How I diffuse my hair.
One of the most common complaints of ladies trying to wash, style and go is how long the hair takes to dry. With popular products such as KCCC, Ecostyler gel drying times can take a day and a half to dry.
That need not be the case, unless you prefer to stay away from heat entirely.
I tend to diffuse if I need to be somewhere ASAP or sometimes if I just don't want to be stuck with a damp/wet heat for the most part of the day. In this pic tutorial I was using Queen Helen Curl Shaping Creme, a product heavily composed with humectants. For this reason, I decided to diffuse because I just didn't want to be stuck with a wet-head for most of the day, as experienced with humectant heavy stylers in the past.
I use a simple blow-dryer. The particular brand is Kokou. I picked this up from the local hair shop priced around £20 or so.

It's a hair-dryer, it's supposed to have grease marks!

The diffuser attachment I got from a local Sally's. Priced around £10.
I got a large cup, because I liked the idea of covering a larger surface area, as I felt that would take less time.

Attachment orifice

Separate components

Combined components

There really isn't an exact science but more of a strategy in how I choose to dry.
I dry on the warm setting in each section for about 20 seconds. I start with the crown area and work my way round in a spiral fashion around my head leaving my extremities last.

Warm setting control. Black = Cool, Red = Hot

I start and focus mainly at the crown because that usually takes the longest to dry. I don't linger so much around the extremities/edges, because they usually air-dry the quickest.

Diffuser cup further away on warm

Head bent upside down to show starting area.

Direction I diffuse around my head

Why tip your head upside-down? To create more volume on the top and prevent the flat-head-helmet head look. (No offense if that is what you go for.)
Then I use the cool setting to help close the cuticles and encourage better definition. I bring the cup much closer to my hair mimicking a scrunching method.

Diffuser much closer to 'scrunch' on cool.

               

                                                       Results...

Before diffusing (flash)

        Immediately after diffusing (flash)

  In sunlight afterwards (no flash)