Last week was crazy busy, with two trips out of town and a big family visit, so on Wednesday, knowing that I wouldn’t have much time later in the week to tend to my hair, I blew it out and hoped I’d be able to get by for a few days using just a dry shampoo.
It was a decent enough plan, and it got me through a few days, but then I decided to sneak in a run…
BAM! Just like that, I had janky roots.
And a greasy scalp. Greasy, stinky, oily, and all kinds of gross. 🙂
I fully intended to wash my hair before heading to my BFF’s son’s baptism on Saturday, but as usual, time escaped me, and I ended up with only 20 minutes to dress and get out the door.
Dang! Not enough time for me to wash and style my hair.
I was about to reluctantly turn to the dry shampoo again (I know…) to spruce up my roots and absorb some of the oil, put my hair up in a ponytail and throw on a hat, but I didn’t have a hat that matched my dress.
Drat! With the clock ticking down to the start of the ceremony, I discovered this blowout beauty improv trick.
I got ready to hop in the shower, but before jumping in, I quickly sectioned off my hair, leaving my bangs and the hair framing my face free, and putting the rest of it up in a ponytail.
Then, to keep it dry, I wrapped up the ponytail and the volume in the back in a towel and secured it with bobby pins (you could probably also use a shower cap for this step).
In the shower, I shampooed and conditioned my scalp, bangs and the hair around my face, but I avoided the hair tucked up under the towel.
When I finished, I removed the towel and ponytail and sprayed some dry shampoo on the roots around the area that stayed dry in the shower. Then, I used my T3 to straighten and dry my bangs and the wet hair framing my face.
Total time: about three minutes. And I was good enough to go.
It’s weird, but even though I knew that most of my hair was still dirty, cleaning the front area made me feel about 100 times better. 🙂
Sure, it can’t compare to a thorough shampooing, conditioning and blowout, but when I don’t have a full 30 minutes to deal with my ‘do, it could be worse.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Tracy says
See, things like this make me miss my longer hair! With short hair, I find I need to wash it every day otherwise it just doesn’t look right. The back gets all sticky uppy!
Carmela says
Necessity is the mother of invention or awesome beauty secrets! 🙂 I’ve been putting my hair in a top knot most days I can’t spare time to wash it as I don’t really have the patience to deal with dry shampoo (haven’t found any that’s HG material). This might come in handy on those days. Thanks for sharing, Karen! 🙂
Nikita says
What dry shampoo do you use?
I haven’t found one yet that works well with dark hair, I usually end up with a white cast that won’t come out 😛
Yelena says
nikita, i had the same problom. try oscar blandi volumizing dry shampoo (its in a brown can) and it is colorless. 😉
Cristina says
Hi Yelena: Where can I find it?
Yelena says
sephora and ulta both have it but i went to sephora last week and saw a full size bottle + a free travel size bottle for I think $15 or $25. totally worth it if u ask me. 🙂
Chris25 says
This is a neat trick. I have oily hair that gets kinda stinky, so I would have to wash my whole head no matter what. :/
Trisha says
Cool idea! I’m totally going to try that.
Hafsa says
ooh nice! I love this, will def try this! If anything, I hate the mental feeling of dirty hair, amazing how just cleaning a little bit makes you feel “clean” ie not self conscious!
Lorena says
I LOVE that trick! I’ve been doing that for years! I’ve recently discovered dry shampoos though so that makes it even better. Now that I think of it, I might just do that tomorrow morning. My hair is soooo long and takes 15+ minutes just to blow dry it! Thanks for this post, now I’ll get to sleep in an extra 30 minutes tomorrow morning! =)
Rainy Days & Lattes says
Great tip! I hate having gross hair, especially when time consumed!
Nina says
i really really wish i could do this. but im OCD and the idea of not washing my hair in the morning makes me sweat. :-/
i know i shouldnt but i wash my hair almost everyday ….
Kali says
Great tip! Have you ever tried Wen cleansing conditioner? It’s a little pricey, but, man, it is amazing!
Sofia says
Haha! I do do this trick sometimes too, its really good. Theres another lazier version where you can wash the bangs only, and then very quickly dry it all into place!
Jasmine says
I do this too! And as long as your bangs look good, the rest doesn’t matter haha
Erica says
I’ve been doing this for years too! Long hair, short hair, it saves me. I only wash my hair every 4-5 days, & dry shampoo only does so much.
For a fantastic dry shampoo, try Batiste. I have dark hair (& had it black for years) & it doesn’t leave a powder if you use a boar bristle brush (which is great for your hair anyways.)
Kim says
Just another reason I’m envious of you gals with thick hair. If I don’t wash my hair everyday, it looks (and feels) like I’m wearing a greased Himalayan cat on my head. And that’s only a slight exaggeration. 🙂
April says
Karen – This is my go-to trick as well! I used to wash every other day, now I can easily go three full days during the work week and often pull a fourth on the weekends with this little trick.
Alia says
I’ve started doing the same thing lately, although I skip the towel and just section off the bulk of my hair, rub shampoo into my roots and rinse it out in the sink instead of the shower. Such a neat trick – can’t believe it took me 30 years to figure it out!
Kayla says
Love this idea!
LOLARIS says
LOL! Me and my sister have been doing this for years!! Although I now I don’t anymore because I have short ‘do and not washing my hair will resulting in totally limp hair.