Washing your hair every single day is just plain exhausting, not to mention sort of bad for your strands. With less washing, however, comes more need to find decent hairstyles for greasy hair to rock on your off days. The explosion of dry shampoo has made pretending your hair is squeaky clean a whole lot easier, but by the third or fourth day without washing, throwing it up in a bun or braid tends to be totally necessary. Strands with a little bit of grit are easier to work with for more intricate styles, so your dirty days are the best time to experiment with new 'dos.
Personally, my hair goes from perfectly acceptable to way too greasy in what seems like a five minutes. Sometimes I'll go to sleep completely confident that I can skip yet another day of showering, only to wake up to a disaster. Seriously, why does my hair always look best when I'm about to fall asleep? This leaves me scrambling for a presentable look in the morning. After much trial and error, I've come across a few styles that I always use whenever I'm too lazy or too pressed for time to hop into the shower and actually wash my hair. All you need are a few bobby pins and about five minutes to spare.
1. The '40s-Inspired Victory Curls
When To Try: For those mornings when the roots of your hair are greasy, but the rest of it is fine, and you've only got a few minutes to spare.
Separate your hair along any part — I normally use a side part, and I think it looks pretty good with this style. Twist the lower half into a tight spiral that extends from the part to just behind your ear. Secure with as many bobby pins as necessary to keep it in place. Then do the same with the larger part, twisting the hair into a secure spiral that sits close to your scalp. Pin both sides securely behind your ears. Use a few bobby pins as you go to hold in it all place.
The Finished Look: A cute retro style that will hide the greasiest parts of your hair while letting you relatively clean lower locks fall around your shoulders. I have longish hair, but this looks adorable on a bob as well.
2. The Double Heidi Braid
When To Try: When you have enough bobby pins handy, and a few minutes to spare, try this quick and easy alpine look.
Make two pigtail braids along a fairly even part. Pin one of them as far as you can extend it over the top of your head.
Continue by pinning the second braid across the top of the first one, making sure to hide the ends behind each other. If your hair isn't long enough to reach the opposite ear, just pin wherever it ends. I usually take out the hair ties, as it just adds more bulk for you to have to hide in the finished product.
Pin securely to your head, and give your hair a little shake to make sure nothing will come loose! If you have bangs, pin them back underneath the closest braid, or pouf them up a little for some volume.
The Finished Look: An adorable updo that will remind you of that clogging class you totally meant to take in college.
3. The Ready-For-Work Sidebun
When To Try: When you need to hide long, dirty hair with minimal work. Perfect for a day spent at the office.
Brush all your hair over to one side of your head. Make it lie as smooth as possible. Then, carefully twist a medium-tight spiral with all of your hair that starts behind your ear, at the nape of your neck.
Lightly let that twist spiral into a bun at the nape of your neck. I let it sit just behind my ear. Then, pin it in place.
The Finished Look: It might take a few times to get really good at this one, but the end result is a classy side bun that will totally make your coworkers jealous of your professional skills. If you have bangs, simply pin them flat or use a small twist (like the victory rolls above) for a more voluminous profile.
4. The Poufy Bun
When To Try: For when your best friend texts you to come out to the bars with her and you've only got 15 minutes to get there before Happy Hour is over.
Sweep up your hair into a tight, smooth ponytail. For this look, bangs work best when they've got a little pouf going on, so style them simply with bobby pin or two on top. Next, tease the hair of your ponytail with a brush until you've got a a fairly large tail going on back there. Then, gently twist the ponytail up into a large bun on the back of your head, and pin into place.
The Finished Look: A very chic messy bun that will make everyone think you just waltzed out of a ballroom, updo daintily and fabulously intact.
Images: Robin Epley
