Before I began my hair colour journey about 2 years ago, I used to wash my hair every single day. If I ever skipped a day, my scalp would get itchy, my roots would get oily, and to combat it I would simply throw my hair into a ponytail or a bun. It wasn’t cute, but I was also coming out of my university days and just beginning my new life as a fully employed adult. Fast forward 2 years later and I’ve had the lovely opportunity to work with some of the best hair care professionals in the industry, who have imparted me with the knowledge of an effective hair washing cadence, along with tricks to maintain your locks so that it doesn’t look like you’ve fallen into an oil puddle in between washes.
It’s not only healthy for your hair to wash it less frequently, but you also get so much time back to yourself from not having to wash and style your hair as often. Because let’s be real, ain’t nobody got time to blowdry their hair every single morning (I’d much rather spend that time asleep in bed).
I’ve now managed to train my hair to last at least 4 days without appearing oily, and learned some tricks to keep your hair looking fresh for another 3 days. Seven full days without having to waste your time washing your hair repeatedly? You can thank me now! I’m also teaming up with my bestie, Mel, and OGX just to show you how easy these looks can be styled on both medium and short hair. They not only work on everyone, but also look good on everyone as well too! How much better can that get?!
Day 1 – A Fresh Wash & Blowdry
There’s nothing quite like a fresh wash. My hair is the most behaved on the first day that I wash it and always has the best natural volume. But with the fast paced life that I lead, I’m constantly in and out of my office, running to meetings, attending events, going to previews, and performing pulls. Although I would absolutely love to be able to air-dry my hair each and every single time that I wash it, there are some days where I can’t help but reach for the blow-dryer so that I can run out of the house within 30 minutes of finishing my shower.
On days that I blow dry my hair, I always make the point of using a heat protectant so that the heat doesn’t accelerate the fading of my hair colour. With the amount of heat that I already apply to my hair due to styling with hot tools, it’s just healthier for me to protect it as frequently as possible. Why would anyone say no to some added protection?
I recently began using OGX’s Protecting + Silky Blowout Quick Drying Thermal Spray and not only has it helped to protect my hair from the heat (it covers you up to 450°F), but the added hold helps to maintain any fly-aways and baby hairs that are sometimes the result of a blow dry. Make sure to spray the protectant from root to tip to fully utilize the product to its fullest potential!
Day 2 – Getting Wavey
By Day 2, I would be lying if I said that my hair doesn’t get a little limp overnight. My hair is extremely straight and stubborn, so most of the styling that I do tends to be lost within 24 hours unless I’m giving my hair a little bit of extra oomph. Enter the loose waves. I’ve found that my hair actually looks the best on the second day of waves, but the tight curls on Day 1 really helps to give my hair the much needed volume that it may have lost over night.
When my hair was shorter, I made sure to alternate the direction that my curls went with each section that I picked up (it helps to divide up the pieces so that everything stays separated) , but now that my hair is long enough to not become one giant coil, I like to curl each side of my hair all in the same direction. But regardless of the length, the one thing that I do make sure to do, is to always curl my hair away from my face. I’ve found that it really helps to frame it nicely and to open up your face.
A great finisher for the look is the OGX Bodifying + Fiber Full Sugar High Tousle Spray to really bring out the texture of the curls so that you get that lived-in, second-day curl look without having to wait a full 24 hours for your curls to loosen up.
Day 3 – The Top Knot
Because of the tousle spray, my curls can last up to a full 3 days without a single touch-ups. But that doesn’t mean that my roots can’t use a little bit of a boost. By Day 3, my roots tend to begin to show some signs of oil, and the strands begin to collect together in bunches. To combat that, I make sure to have dry shampoo on hand to soak up all that oil. My go-to hairstyle to hide oily roots? The good-old top knot! Made popular last year, this style is not only trendy, but super practical as well!
To reactivate the volume and to soak up the oil, I liked to separate my hair into sections and spray
OGX’s Argan Oil of Morocco Dry Shampoo into the roots. For additional volume, I add an extra spritz into the root area around my forehead. If the hair on the sides needs some volume as well, give that area some extra love and zhuzh to!
A great way to make sure that the dry shampoo is fully activated is to allow it to soak into your hair for a few minutes before massaging your roots to create the volume. Not only will you get additional texture, but your hair will look as fresh as if it was just washed! Now that’s a secret that I’m willing to share!
Day 4 – The High Ponytail with 90’s Bangs
We’re now on Day 4, and more than halfway through the week. Typically by this point in the week, my hair has deflated a bit and gone limp, so up it goes into a high ponytail. Sometimes my curls last this long, and sometimes they don’t. For the days that it doesn’t, I freshen up the curls a little bit before tying it all up. Most importantly though, are the 2 tendrils of curls on either side of the face. Made popular again by the resurgence of 90’s fashion, the bangs really help to complete the look so that I don’t look like a Hollywood starlet with a facelift. If you’d like to take it a step further, add a scrunchie or handkerchief to the ponytail to bring the look back to 2018.
To keep those curls from further wilting throughout the week, lock them in with
OGX’s Smoothing + Shea Sleek Humidity Blocking Hairspray. This is one of my new favourites since you’re not left with a frozen helmet of hair. I very much despise hairsprays that leave my hair feeling crunchy and stiff without any bounce, and this one does exactly the opposite. Not only do my curls last throughout the day, but they can still move freely around as I go about my daily activities.
And the best part? This hairspray is totally humidity proof, so I’ll never have to stress over the thought of wasting my time styling my hair, only for it to go stick straight by the end of the day.
Day 5 – The Bubble Pigtails with 90’s Bangs
Enter Day 5 and my hair is most definitely unruly. There’s no way that I can allow it go be free and not held back by an elastic of some sort. The curls no longer coil together nicely, and no amount of dry shampoo will make it look as fresh as it did on Day 1. Which can only mean that everything will need to be tied up. But instead opting for a single ponytail, the next best option are pigtails! Forget leaving the hair to flow wild, those sad curls are going to be hidden away behind some bubble braids.
This look is easier to achieve than it seems. Simply tie your ponytails on either side of the base of your head and then tie off the ponytail about 3 inches down. Continue this until you run out of hair. Split the first section that you have in half and then flip the ponytail into itself. Repeat this for each section and then spray the entire ponytail with
OGX’s Flexible + Beeswax Texture Hairspray Wax.
To make the braids extra bubbly, pinch pieces of hair from each bubble and tug at them lightly to make the bubbles larger. The Hairspray Wax should help to create texture and volume to this look without you have to pull out too many pieces from each braid.
Day 6 – The Dutch Braid with Side Ponytail
We’re down to the second last day of the week and by now my hair most definitely needs to be either tied up, or controlled somehow. The best way to control a greasy look (or at least I’ve found) is to use braids. Not only are brands stunning, but they do an amazing job at hiding oil, fly-aways, and still look great without having to succumb to the basic ponytail or bun. Without having to completely confine my hair to my head, I like to opt for a one-sided dutch braid coupled together with a side ponytail. Dutch braids are fantastic because they serve a double duty: the inverse braid is a great way to increase the volume and visual thickness of your braid, they also look ridiculously cute as well (at least for an oily hair controlling method).
Even though my hair may have lost most of its volume by this point, it still has a mind of its own and doesn’t like to behave. To keep my braids sleek and to prevent any fly-aways or rogue curls/waves from escaping, I like to reach for
OGX’s Extra Strength + Honey Hold Mega Hairspray and spraying down the hairstyle with a focusi on the braided portion. This way I’m not slicking down my entire head, but just making sure that the braid stays intact.
If my curls have also fallen out, I throw in a few new touch ups to the ends before I tie it off to the side, and voila! The hairstyle is done, my hair doesn’t look like I haven’t washed it in almost a week, and I still manage to get compliments as to how cute my hair looks!
Day 7 – The Milkmaid Braid Crown with 90’s Bangs
You guessed it! The hair cannot be trusted to be let down in any sort of way at all by Day 7. Well, except for the bangs. With a little bit of dry shampoo, the bangs can always look good. But no amount of dry shampoo can contain the oily mess that my entire head is by the end of the week. So to continue from the look that we put together for Day 6, all that you have to do is to create a dutch braid on the other side of your head, and then fold the two ends together at the crown of your head. Simply tuck the ends underneath either braid with some bobby pins and ta-dah! The grease ball mess no longer looks greasy, and you look cute AF!
To seal together this look and to ensure that your braids don’t come apart throughout the day, once again grab your OGX Extra Strength + Honey Hold Mega Hairspray (the same one that I used in Day 6) and spray it over the braided portion of your hairstyle.
I also like to spray some product onto my fingertips and so that I can smooth down any baby hairs or fly-aways that may have gotten loose in the process of braiding. If your wispy bangs have lasted this long, you can also give them a light spritz to ensure that they last up until the end of the 7th day.
And there you have it! My tips and tricks to maintaining the semblance of having perfect hair for an entire week straight, without ever having to wash it once. I’ll be frank when I say that entering into the life of weekly hair washes isn’t an easy one, and that you’ll have to train your scalp to go from washing your hair everyday to washing it only once a week. The oil glands on your scalp realy need the time to adapt to your new shower schedule, and if your body is slow like me, it could take up to 2 whole months before your scalp stabilizes out and slows down its oil production.
Regardless of how long it’ll take to get the point of only washing you hair weekly, it’ll all be worth it in the end. Both for the sake of your time, but for also the health of your hair. I hope that I was able to share some new tricks for anyone who’s goal is to prolong the time between each hair wash. If you have any tricks or products of your own that really help to cut down on the amount of time spent washing your hair, please do share them with me!
Photography Credits: Mel Inspired
This post was sponsored by OGX, however all views are 100% honest and my own.
Ahhh you two are the cutest! I loved all the hairstyles!
x Lisa | lisaautumn.com
Author
Hey Lisa,
So glad that you enjoyed the post! Hope that we were able to provide you with some ideas to keep those oily hair days at bay!