WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS GRATUITOUS PICTURES OF MY HAIR
People always tell me about what great hair I have. It’s long and blonde and relatively straight, and people say they’re jealous of it a lot. And I tell them to go away. Because no matter how wonderful my hair may look while clean, it has a terrible alter-ego: grease.
My hair gets greasy so fast that it will make your head spin. I have to shower everyday, because otherwise it looks so impossibly greasy. There’s no “oh, it doesn’t look dirty!” It always looks dirty. It just comes down to the varying degrees of dirty. Thank god for the new “messy bun” that allows me to look like a bird has made it’s home in my hair and still be considered “trendy.” Otherwise, I’d die. Because sometimes you just can’t shower every day. The messy bun has saved my life more times than I can count. Throughout high school I wore a bun every day—but it was a thin, kinda messy not so pretty type thing. Then last summer I went on a trip to the UK and stumbled upon a “hair donut” for 1 pound in a Primark. It was love at first sight. Since then, my bun has come to define me. People call me the “girl with the gravity defying bun.” My twitter name is @bigbundarling (follow me).
I can’t even begin to start singing the praises of the sock bun. But I can start by converting everyone else.
INVEST IN ONE OF THOSE SOCK BUN DONUT THINGS.
Or make a sock bun yourself. I know that these are all the rage and that the huge bun sometimes makes you feel stupid, but seriously: it is the best. Not only does this work awesomely on second day hair, but it works especially well for planning dirty hair in advance. Take a shower when you have a chance and stick it up in one of those buns. You look cute and polished the first day, and then you can sleep on it. THE BUN WILL STAY COMPACT. The next day it looks a little messy, but hey, messy buns are in, right? Your hair somehow will not look disgustingly greasy. Check out what I mean below. (Note, these aren’t in chronological order. But one is first day bun, the second is actually third day bun. It was exam week, don’t judge me).
The above video shows you how to make your own sock bun. The woman is a bit…eccentric, but she shows you how good a quick messy sock bun can look. (You can make a sock bun yourself, or buy a mesh donut at one of these places: amazon, Charlotte Russe, etc.)
DONT USE DRY SHAMPOO.
Maybe I’m alone here, but dry shampoo is the worst thing to ever be created. I’m using some right now, and every time I shake my head these weird dust particles fall out of my hair. It also crusted over, so it looks like I’m wearing a helmet. Maybe it’s a matter of not finding the right dry shampoo, but I’ve tried, and I’m sick of it.
Try using perfume and baby powder instead! Perfume dries up some of the grease, and makes your hair smell pretty. Then the baby powder will soak up a lot of the grease. This works particularly well for me, as I am blonde, and it doesn’t show up white in my hair. However, when it’s really dirty, sometimes it makes my hair look faintly grey. Also be sure to blend it in well: if it’s not blended well, you can look like an idiot. (WARNING! BABY POWDER IS MESSY! Check out Melissa’s post here for a testament of how messy baby powder can be.)
BE CONTENT WITH IMPERFECTION.
Occasionally there will come a day when your bun is such a work of pure beauty and genius that you spend the entire day taking pictures of it and cringe when you have to go to sleep. But—especially when dealing with dirty hair—it will often look a little rough and messy. This isn’t bad! This is “in.” Your hair looks good and cute, it looks different, and people will look past the imperfections. There’s also a million and one variations on the sock bun out there for people who get bored with doing the same updo every day. But just be content in your hair (and carry a tiny bottle of baby powder).
