Summer in New York city pretty much means doing anything and everything to survive the heat and humidity. Not to mention the smells… Walking into a corner Duane Reade for just a blast of AC. Taking the bus over the subway, even though it will take twice as long. And showering twice a day just to stay fresh. While this is all par for the course in this fabulous town, showering twice a day can take a serious toll on your hair if you aren’t careful.
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I have been known to go a day or two between washes. Ok, maybe like five. Don’t judge me! I wish I could get a full week in, but my hair is too thin to pull it off and still look halfway decent. But I have given it the old college try. I’ve pushed my hair from daily shampoos to only every four or five days – both to save my hair from too much damage and also from sheer laziness. But we will say it’s due to “being so busy. Who has time to do their hair…?”
My Dirty Hair Secrets
Before we dive into the tutorial, I want to share some of my favorite products that I have found work really well for my hair. I have super fine, thin hair. It is really easy to weigh down and can get overly greasy with too much extra product.
It is super important for me to take care of what little hair that I have. I’ve been attempting to grow my hair out for my entire life, and I am finally make a little progress. I love using this Moroccanoil Hair Treatment after I get out of the shower. It is meant to be a heat protectant and nourishing treatment all in one. I may just love using it because it smells so incredible, but whatever. It seems to be doing it’s job and I have a lot less breakage and split ins since being consistent about applying it.
The two products I have fallen in love with for plumping up my hair and adding some extra oomf are the Kenra Dry Thickening Spray and the drybar Volumizing Root Lifter. I apply the root lifter just at my scalp after I’ve put the Moroccanoil through my ends. I massage it in and give myself a good head rub. I swear this is a key in keeping my hair from getting greasy too quickly. When I don’t use this, I feel like I need to wash after just a day or two.
The Kenra spray is absolute gold for fine textured hair. Often, my hair is so slippery I can’t get it to hold any kind of style. Bobby pins slip out, hair ties sag and even the best curling wand can’t get my hair to stay. This spray gives my hair that slept in texture. It really does feel dry as soon as it hits your hair and just provides a little va va voom to my limp locks.
And the man of the hour goes to my favorite dry shampoo. I have tried what feels like them all. And while there are some great ones out there, Batiste is hands down the best. It is cheap and absorbs oil much better than other, more expensive brands. They have a variety of colors, making that white cast some leave a non issue for my brunette hair. I just can’t get on board with spending $28 on something that while great, isn’t as awesome as the cheap stuff.
Messy Bun for Thin Hair
Get your dry shampoo game ON, girl.
If you are working with day four or five hair, there is probably some serious product build up. Let’s keep it real. Especially when you are working with thin, fine hair, you have to get rid of that greasy look. My hair starts to look a little slick when I skip this step.
Let it sit for a bit before pretty aggressively rubbing it into your roots. Brush your hair out and make sure everything is smooth with no tangles.
If your hair is feeling a little limp or silky, throw in some texturizing spray, so you have some grip!
Secret Tip: Put your dry shampoo in before you do your makeup, or better yet, spray it on at bedtime! It gives it extra time to absorb as much oil as it can!
Pull it up!
I like to use my brush to work my hair up high onto my head. I like my messy bun to be a little over the top and add even a few more inches to my already gigantic frame. I make sure everything is smoothed out before wrapping a coil hair tie around three or four times. You want it to be pretty tight so you don’t have to worry about it slipping throughout the day.
I swear by these coil hair ties. They are like retro phone cords, but they don’t pull my hair out, stay put and I have yet to have one break.
Start pinning!
Before I get going, my top knot looks pretty neat. Here is when you get to have some fun and mess it up. I take small, 1/2″ pieces and twist, pull, and pin until I like how it looks. It takes some fidgeting and repinning sometimes, but I never try too hard. The less you work it, the better!
Secret Tip: If you have fine hair that slips out regardless of how tight you tie your hair tie, pin up your side and back hairs to avoid fuzz through out the day.
Smooth it out, fluff it up.
Grab your hairspray and give yourself a good once over with a big blast. Smooth down any fly aways. Throw in a few extra bobby pins and give it one more spritz to keep everything in place. You can go in and start pulling a bit of your hair out of the bun slowly to add some volume to your head if you don’t want things too tight to your scalp. Just be gentle and tug from the hairband, not form the front of your head.
Easy Peasy
And that’s it! There is a big difference between the bun I throw in my hair when I am about to clean my house and a messy bun like this that I would actually go out and about with. It takes less than five minutes, but I feel so much more pulled together when I put in a little more effort. It is like the difference between wearing workout clothes and athleisure.
If you have thin hair, what are your go to hairstyles?
Shop the look
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