It happens to the best of us: Having the best intentions, but just not enough time in the day to wash your hair. For moments like those you need an arsenal of non-obvious ways to hide your dirty hair. Maybe you thought you'd wash it in the morning but then your alarm clock never went off, or you got side-tracked with a hundred and one other tasks before you had a chance to hop in the shower. Whatever the reason, now you're running late and working with limp locks that not even dry shampoo can help you with.
Dirty hair days are a bad predicament to be in. They makes you want to throw a baseball hat on top of your head and skulk unnoticed for the rest of the day. While that's a totally viable option (and has been used by yours truly a time or two), there are other options that don't involve an old, boring hat. All it takes is an extra minute or two in the morning and you'll end up with looks that'll make your forget your strands had fresher days. Here are seven non-obvious ways to hide a skipped-shampoo day. Keep them close and your mornings will be saved.
1. Use Your Head Wraps
Hide that third-day-hair by tucking it into a low French twist or pony and wrapping a pretty silk scarf on top. According to beauty blogger Lilith Moon, there are so many different ways you can style this: You can tie the scarf into a floppy bow, or leave it as a giant knot. You can open the scarf and wrap it to the side of your head like a fancy flapper, or you can turn it into a wide headband.
2. Floppy Hats Are Your Best Friends
Say your hair is unsalvageable, no matter how many dry shampoo or clever braiding ideas you use. For moments like those, opt for a stylish hat and be on your way. If you go with something a little more on-trend than a baseball hat or beanie, it'll be a little less obvious. For example, I have an arsenal of wide brim hats in all sorts of colors, so it looks like the accessory is just part of my outfit rather than a cover up for dirty tresses.
3. Milkmaid Braids Will Help
Kind of like the hat, these braids crossing across the top of your head will help you hide slightly unfresh hair. And — bonus — braids are easier to style and become more textured when dirty hair is involved. According to lifestyle blogger Emma Chapman, the style only takes about five minutes to do and is super easy. All you have to do is put your hair into pig tails and braid each tail. Then, pull the braids slightly apart (this is where the slight greasiness helps!) to make them seem slightly fuller, and criss-cross them against each other on top of your head. Easy.
4. Half-Up Top-Knots
This is a great 'do for skipped-shower mornings because it looks even better when texture is involved. Just dry-shampoo your bangs and the top of your head to hide any visible patches of greasiness, and then use that texture to scoop up half of your hair into a top knot. When I do this, I like to use my fingers rather than a brush so I can get that slightly messy, finger-combed look when I tie the bun. I find myself making this my go-to look because the top-knot hides the problem areas of dirty hair, but the loose, wavy portion gives off the illusion of a hairstyle that takes some effort. Win, win!
5. Braid It
There are so many braiding options you can do during these trying hair days. Do you have bangs? Sweep them into a side braid a la Lauren Conrad circa The Hills. Pull your hair back into a textured braid, or sweep it to the side and weave a fishtail from your hairline to the tip of your pony. Or, according to beauty blogger and hair-braiding wizard Amber Fillerup, spice up a regular ponytail during greasy hair days with thick Dutch braids going down either side of your head. A dutch braid is just an inversed french braid, and she suggests pulling the braid slightly apart to make it thicker and hide more of the top and side of your head, where the greasy hair is most noticeable.
6. Pull a Brigitte Bardot
Covering up dirty hair can be easy, but covering it up in a way that no one notices it's dirty — well, that's the tricky part. One great look that'll look intentional and not at all like you ran out of time to run some soap and water that morning is the Brigitte Bardot look. It has all the elements you need: A headband at your hairline to hide the most greasy-prone area, a whole lot of teasing to add texture, and a ton of hairspray and dry shampoo to keep the whole operation standing.
According to beauty blogger Laura Gummerman, "One of Brigitte's greatest attributes is that she can style so many 'easy going' traits into a classic and sexy look. I love how she makes even a simple headband seem like a glamorous choice, and it's one of her looks that I like to recreate the most." If you can look glamorous while dirty, then sign me up. According to Laura, all you have to do is tease your hair back, cinch in a bumpit to assure your volume stays strong through out the day, slide your black headband into place, and then hairspray into oblivion. Easy, and knock-out worthy.
7. Go '50s
This look always reminds me of a 1950's suburban mom hanging up laundry on a clothesline, and I love it. The head wrap will act much in the same way as a hat where it'll hide the bulk of your hair, eliminating any sightings of greasy hair. According to blogger Latonya Staubs, "I usually wear my wraps in two different styles. One style showcases my hair out in the front with a bow tie, and the other style has all of my hair tucked in the wrap, creating a knot on top. On a good hair day I'll wear the bow look, and on a bad hair day I'll wear the knot look. Both are pretty perfect in my opinion, though!"
According to Staubs, all you have to do is take a scarf and wrap it starting from the back of your head, pulling the two sides forward. Then, using your other hand, pull the fabric from your wrap up and over the crown of your head. Once you have the scarf covering the top of your head, cross the two larger pieces of fabric together and tie them into a bow. Simple and stylish.
See? It's as easy as that. Who even needs to shower anymore, am I right?
