it sounds like your curly hair was happy with just regular brushing and air drying? Mine was not, and a lot of girls' isn't (particularly those who opt for relaxers). So add in time for brush styling and diffusing (diffusing took an hour). My curls never looked good the next day, so I'd have to re-wet and style (or just put it in a bun). My curls were really picky and finnicky, because my hair is low porosity and fine. So for me, curly hair took way longer than what you're describing. I get a Brazilian blowout every 4 months or so, and for the entire time in between blow drying takes like 5-10 minutes, OR I can actually let it air dry, something I could never do with untreated curly hair. The treatments do cost a lot of money, so that's the trade-off. But the time saved is the biggest factor for me!