I Followed Taylor Swift's Exact Hair Regimine

Love her or hate her, nearly everyone can agree that our 1989 songstress has grown from a cute-but-gawky teen into a statuesque bombshell since hitting our radar way back in 2007. She's received a lot of attention for her romantic partners, but I personally think Taylor Swift's hair routine deserves center stage. Since chopping off her famous curls into a seriously sophisticated lob, Taylor has remained uncharacteristically shy about sharing her hair secrets, but it's obvious that she looks good... and she knows it.

In the past, Swift has said that her hair is naturally curly, and that, other than Kerastase Bain Apres-Soleil Shampoo, she doesn't use any styling products. Like Taylor, I have thick, wavy, blonde (hers is natural, mine is not) hair. Unlike Taylor, I rely on a bevy of serums, sprays, and potions to keep it from turning into a giant, dry mess. I have half empty bottles and jugs in nearly every room of my apartment because I can't imagine my frizz holding a style for longer than an hour without some kind of help. Normally, Kim Kardashian's hair routine is much more my speed; I only wash my hair once a week and then rely on my heat tools and dry shampoos to keep my secret. Still, I'm intrigued. Ditching all those hair products would save me a lot of money, not to mention freeing up valuable vanity (and medicine cabinet, closet, bedside drawer...) space! So, what would happen if I followed Taylor Swift's hair regimen for a week? Will it turn soft and carefree or just be a big ole mess?

Day 1: Shampoo and Blowout

I already had an appointment scheduled to get my roots done, so I thought I'd keep it and get a blowout. I'm sure this isn't breaking the rules since I think it's fair to assume that a professional is doing Taylor's hair a few times a week. I ask my stylist, Patrice Vinci if she believes that Taylor only uses shampoo, "Well, her hair is naturally curly but it also looks very fine so it's possible!" I sputter, "But not even a conditioner? Really?!" Patrice explains that with such fine hair too much product could make her hair too slippery to hold a style, "But you? You need a conditioner!" We finish with a smooth, full body blowout and for the first time since I was 15, not a drop of styling product touches my head.

Day 2: Festival Tresses

I wake up to slightly less smooth hair than I'm used to after a blowout. But it's nothing that my giant paddle brush can't handle; five minutes later it's back to a silky bounce. I'm going to Boston Calling music festival today, and since it's quite chilly, I'm more concerned with being windswept than my dry ends. I get a few compliments on my hair so maybe there really is something to this no product experiment.

Day 3: Work and A Cookout

My hair is, unsurprisingly, flat and tangled this morning. I comb it out and have to resist the urge to grab my dry shampoo to lift my roots. Instead, I turn on "Shake It Off," flip my head over and back brush to give it some body. I take another page from Taylor's book and side part my hair, holding it in place with a bobby pin. After such a humid day, my hair is a little too big and frizzy, so I wash it with a Kerastase shampoo I picked up on the way home and eschew conditioner.

Day 4: To Flat Iron or Not To Flat Iron?

I towel dried my hair last night but without any products, my hair is extra fluffy so some heat is going to be needed. Normally, I coat my hair in thermal protection serums and I'm terrified to take a flat iron to my hair without it. I can even smell the burning, fried hair in my imagination. I use the lowest heat setting but decide a few minutes in that it might be a good day to try one of Taylor's bouncy ponytails with some waves thrown in for good measure.

Day 5: Fairytale Curls?

My hair is absurdly dry and unmanageable today. I shampoo with Kerastase again but this time I leave it in for a few minutes before rinsing it out in the hope that it will somehow reduce frizz. I have some extra time this morning, so I heat up my curling iron while blow drying my hair. Without any of my usual products, I have to section my thick hair and use a round brush to get it smooth enough to even attempt to curl. By mid-afternoon, my ringlets have pretty much fallen into a humid mess. I honestly have no idea how Taylor could keep her hair looking nice and curly without even a touch of hair spray. Unless someone is standing behind her with a hot curling iron ready to go... which, now that I think about it, is probably the case.

Day 6: Fake A Lob

Taylor has been rocking a shorter do over the past year so I decide to embrace it by faking a long bob. Many, many bobby pins later, some finger twisting of loose tendrils, and I feel more like Taylor than I have all week.

Day 7:

I thought I could make it to midnight, but I just can't. I'm in the shower and my neglected tub of deep conditioner is calling out to me! A minimalist approach to hair product might work for Taylor Swift but it doesn't work for me. In fact, I feel like I've spent way more time and energy on my hair this week than I normally would in a month! I did learn that I could probably get away with just one styling product (other than shampoo) but I really, really need conditioner.

Images: Kevin Winter/Getty Images (1), Giphy (1), Kara Weymouth (7)