Much to the chagrin of my hubby, one of the things I hate most in this life is the amount of effort it takes to wash, blow dry, and flat iron my hair. I have extremely thick hair that does its own thing — I actually never know what I’m going to wake up with. When I heard, several years ago, that washing one’s hair every day is not only unnecessary but actually bad for you, I praised the Hair Gods and now hold to that wisdom like it is the Holy Word. My husband washes what little hair he has (by choice, he does have a phenomenal head of hair when grown out a bit) every single day without fail. To that, I say, no way! I stretch it out and go as long as I can between washes, all the while praising the Hair Gods for the invention of dry shampoo. I can’t even imagine what I did before dry shampoo! (Oh yeah — I washed, blow dried, and flat ironed my hair every day!). Not only is it unnecessary, all of that heat styling is so so bad for the hair. My hair has never been healthier since I stopped washing it daily, and finding a few good styling techniques (as well as taking biotin vitamins to keep hair strong and healthy) makes it fun and easy on my “off” days (yes, I actually consider the days I don’t have to wash my hair as my days off!).
Hands down, my favorite second-day hairstyle is the ubiquitous topknot. There are so many ways to do it, but the easiest is simply piling all that hair on the tippy top of your pretty head, tying it with a hair tie, and heading out the door. I usually start with dry shampoo to give the hair a bit of “grip” (and get rid of any second-day greasiness, sorry, I know) and brush it out after a minute or two so hair is smooth. I pile it all up and twist the hair into a bun. Since I am currently growing out my bangs (a process I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy), I have to clip them up fourth-grade style.
The great thing is, you can change the style up as much as you want. You can make a sleek, tight ballerina bun, a la Jennifer Lopez below:
or you can leave a few wispy pieces on the sides/in the back for a “just had a romp in the hay” kind of look (and we won’t tell if you don’t!) like the gorge Julianne Hough:
For those of us with braiding skills to pay the bills, you can even try this braided topknot (Julianne is officially my new Hair Queen):
No matter how you style it, the topknot is an easy way to keep your hair looking great between washes. It’s perfect for days when the snooze button seems like a better option than whipping out the hot tools, and no one has to know your secret.
Yeah.. like the mermaid. 