Put down the shampoo and bring out the hot tools. One of the biggest tips I offer my clients is to NOT wash their hair the morning or night before their event and to show up with “dirty” hair. Why you may be asking? Well, you ever notice how your hair is much easier to style and looks it best on day two?
Hair that is not freshly clean (dirty) is easiest to style because the build-up of your natural oils and leftover hair products acts as almost a grip on the hair, which makes the desired style hold better. So if you ever have trouble with your hair staying curled, trying doing it on day two or three (if you don’t get super oily) to see if that helps make it easier to do and keep in place. That being said, if your scalp gets too oily or dirty, usually day three or four, it can actually make the hairstyle slip and not hold. If you feel your hair is to oily, you would want to use a dry shampoo to soak up the excess oil from the hair and then proceed with styling. If you have fresh, clean hair and still want to style it, you can achieve this grip effect with different products. Products such as dry shampoo, texture powder or spray, and even hairspray can be applied to the hair directly before styling to provide more grip and hold.
My favorite products for adding texture and “grip” to the hair?
My favorite products for adding lots of texture and volume to the hair, while still being manageable, are the Big Sexy Hair Powder Play Powder and Big Sexy Fun Raiser Dry Texture Spray. These products are perfect for adding massive volume to the roots and can also be applied through the rest of the hair for additional volume and hold. They almost feel sticky when you first apply them, but then they just melt and mold onto the hair, making it easy to style. A favorite dry shampoo for those days where you want to just extend the style of hair or don’t feel like washing it is the Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo. An affordable and comparable option are the Batiste Dry Shampoos. My favorite hairspray for adding grip and texture to the hair to make styling easier and longer wearing is the Paul Mitchell Hot Off the Press. Hot of the Press not only provide flexible hold as your styling your hair, but it also is a thermal protect so it protects your hair from any heat damage from hot tools. I then use my holy grail, never let hair leave my chair, absolute must have hairspray Kenra 25 Volumizing Spray to set everything in place so that it lasts all day.
So there you have it. I’m not suggesting to never wash your hair, I’m just suggesting that you don’t do it right before you have a big event or special occasion where you want bigger volume and longer wear.
BONUS TIP: I would also avoid flat ironing your hair the day before you plan on curl styling your hair. Experience has shown that it makes the curls not hold up or last as long because of how smooth it makes the hair.
What I usually do is only wash my hair once to twice a week, but I do shampoo my scalp more often. When I take a bath, I lather the shampoo on both my palms and bend over so my hair hangs, then I shampoo my scalp. Some of your hair may get shampooed but try to limit it as close to your scalp as possible. I find it refreshing, while my hair is easy to style.