Hey, you. Just in time. In this blog post we’re exploring all about low maintenance hair, and this is your road map to help you navigate.
Lets be honest, life can be full of some amazing experiences. And if you like to be fully immersed in the moment, the last thing you want to worry about is your hair. Whether you are off to college, going on vacation, road trippin’ , building businesses or on a journey of self discovery.
If you want your hair to look like you spent hours on it- without actually having to do so- I’ll let you in on my secrets.
What is Low Maintenance Hair?
Call me lazy (or crazy, haha) but I would rather catch some extra ZZ’s than wake up early to do my hair. The phrase ‘low maintenance’ can get a bad rap, especially in the beauty space. But I’m here to flip the script and tell you what it’s really about.
Beautiful hair is still achievable without you having to sacrifice hours of your day. It’s all about simplicity. Instead of waking up extra early to beautify those locks daily, invest in your hair more now, so you can do less later.
Does that make sense?
Being intentional with your hair rituals means less time and effort on your hair and more time taking in life’s experiences. And who wouldn’t want that?
Low maintenance is a key part of your hair wellness journey. Here are some of the awesome benefits, below!
Benefits of Low Maintenance Hair
- More time to snooze
- Less time to get ready
- Simplified hair wash rituals
- More time & money for things you enjoy
- Less time spent in the salon
- Less money spent on hair
- Improved connection with self image
- Guaranteed good hair days
- Achieve healthy hair quicker
- Reduced styling efforts
Achieving Low Maintenance
Now that you know what you can expect from the low maintenance hair lifestyle including its amazing benefits- here’s how to do so.
1. Embrace Your Natural Hair
Our first stop is a part of planting the seeds for healthy hair. This is the key to your success.
It may sound the easiest, but for me, it was the hardest. I had no idea where to start. I felt like products didn’t enhance my curls, they just made them frizzy or too weighed down. So I thought my hair was better and easier to manage when it was straightened.
But that’s a lot of work. So, instead of resisting the hair I was born with, I challenged myself to explore how to properly care for my specific hair.
2. Find The Right Cut
Contrary to popular belief, short hair doesn’t always mean less maintenance for you. Depending on your hair type and goals, long layers can be a great option. This hair cut is also more forgiving if you can’t always book your trims in advance due to a hectic personal schedule.
And stop getting bangs. Yes, they are cute and stylish, but they will need to be trimmed every few weeks unless you don’t mind hair in your eyes or are willing to cut them yourself.
Opt for a shorter face frame if you like to have piece that fall softly around your face when your hair is pulled up.
3. Choose Low Maintenance Hair Colors
Balayage, dimensional colors, root smudges and glosses are a few of the services I offer to my clients that don’t require salon visits every 4-6 weeks.
You’ll have more flexibility with scheduling your appointments, and you
4. Use Products That Align With Your Hair Goals
This kind of goes hand in hand with embracing your natural hair. And it may even seem redundant to you.
The product is designed to fit your hair. Your hair is not supposed to fit the product. When I first started my journey (years before I made a career out of hair), I made that mistake. I used products that I thought would help me change the texture and turn my curls into waves. Products that my friends were using (who had completely different hair than I do).
Be sure to use products that are free from silicones, PFAs, parabens, and sulfates. While some dry your hair out, others can have long term health effects. Understand your ingredients and know what you are putting on your hair, scalp, and body.
5. Keep Educating Yourself
The hair world is always evolving, just like us, and our hair. Did you know your hair changes its texture every few years? In addition, it changes based on age, hormones, medications, and stress management.
This means you will have to switch out your products every once in a while to keep up with similar results. Maintaining a low maintenance hair lifestyle is the key to going with the ebb and flow of the hair wellness journey.
6. But First, Detox
If you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing a hair detox, let me tell you, you’ve gotta give it a try!
Your hair is an energy magnet that holds on to many things such as product buildup, environmental stressors, hard water minerals and even energy (positive and negative) of past experiences.
This can all show up in our hair as styles that aren’t holding well, scalp producing sebum at a quicker rate, dull/ lackluster hair color, and products not working the way they claim they should.
7. You Need a Shower Filter
Especially if you live in an area with hard water. Hard water can cause buildup along the hair shaft that is known to react chemically with hair color. The buildup can also prevent any moisture or products from penetrating the cuticle and even hair loss.
Having a clean hair canvas will allow you to fairly observe if products are living up to their promise.
8. Experiment With Low Maintenance Hair Rituals
Because we go through different experiences at different points in our life. The hair rituals you used five years ago might look different from what you do to this day.
We’re in the age of self-care. And just because you’re looking for less maintenance doesn’t mean no maintenance is required.
Take the time to care for your crown. Whether you put a hair mask on while doing the dishes or letting your conditioner sit for an extra 2 minutes in the shower. It doesn’t always have to be so complex. These chakra balancing activities help you reconnect with your energy and balance your hair.
9. No Heat-Styles
Save time in the morning by setting your hair in a style before bed. Be sure to do this on damp- not wet- hair. Going to bed with wet hair can lead to fungal scalp conditions.
On damp hair, apply your styler of choice and braid or twist. In the morning, your hair should be mostly dry. Un twist your hair style and benefit from wavy frizz free hair.
Wash and go’s are great if you like to wash your hair in the morning. Just use your styler(s) of choice and let air dry throughout the day.
10. Make Styles Last Longer
Give up washing your hair every day. Try to go one or two days by using style extenders like dry shampoo or texture sprays. Not only does this save you time, but it saves money too by extending the usage window of your products.
Low Maintenance Hair Likes Consistency
If there’s anything you should take away from this post, it’s that the key to achieving low maintenance hair is consistency. Put your energy towards finding something that works for you and your lifestyle.
You can absolutely benefit from more time catching up on sleep, less time & money in the salon, guaranteed good hair days and still be able to express yourself through your hair. All without sacrificing the overall health of your tresses and the time you’d like to invest in other activities.
Connect with yourself and find what resonates. Don’t become so focused on the destination that you forget to develop your spiritual beauty along this journey.
Comment below what is something you like to do to keep your hair low maintenance!
Until next time…