We’ve all been there: it’s two minutes ‘til you have to leave the house and you haven’t done your hair yet. Hitting snooze — more than once — seemed like a great idea half an hour ago, but now you face fronting up to work with a serious case of bed hair and barely any breakfast. Again.
But what if we told you there were quicker ways to get model-level hair than spending 20 minutes with your curling tongs? The key is in the prep — the more you do in advance, the longer you can sleep in the next day. The best bit? None of these tricks take any longer than brushing your teeth.
1. Don’t overdo the product
Less is truly more. “The best trick and most simple of all, is never, ever overload your tresses with unnecessary styling products,” cautions celebrity hairstylist Anthony Nader, who says the key to ‘runway model hair’ is layering the right products in the right spots.
“If you want root lift, concentrate a spray on the root area only and leaving the mid-lengths and ends,” he says. “If you want to encourage texture throughout your hair, then use a texture spray or light paste and just work through the mid-lengths and ends.”
2. Make wet hair work for you
Because who has time to 1) wash hair 2) dry hair and 3) style hair in the morning? If you face leaving the house with no time to blow dry, follow Nader’s tips: “Slick your freshly washed hair up high and tight in a ponytail at the crown area,” he says. “Once secured at the base, brush the tail knot-free then twist the tail around the base and pin.” Voila — instant polish.
To achieve the same look with dry hair, apply a shine serum or light oil, “then brush dry hair with a smoothing brush for glossy straight locks,” says acclaimed hairstylist Kevin Murphy. “Run your flat iron over hair for a perfectly straight, sleek look.”
3. Return to schoolyard staples
Hair looking flat and lifeless, but no time to take to it with the curler? “You can’t go past a clean ponytail that is secured in at the nape with a dead centre part line,” says Nader. “The tail should just hug the back of your neck and don’t worry about those loose flyways dancing freely around the hairline.”
Work out any kinks, bumps or curls with a quick flash of your hair straightener. We love the Dyson Corrale™ straightener, which uses flexing manganese copper alloy plates to minimise hair damage. Too easy.
4. Maximise your beauty sleep
How’s this for multi-tasking: “sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase as now your strands can smooth out over your pillow instead of feeling like sandpaper,” says Nader. Sleeping on silk regulates the scalp’s oil production – meaning less hair washing – and keeps hair soft and smooth.
Nader’s other top tip for waking up without bed hair? “Tying your hair up and sleeping on it is so fine, but always invest in thicker bands and not those thin elastic ones. The thinner the elastic, the bigger indentation it will leave.”
5. Braid the night before
Here’s a new task for while you Netflix and chill: “Sleep with damp hair in braids or plaits and shake out in the morning to reveal beachy texture,” advises Murphy. “Simply tip your head upside down and apply dry shampoo all over, flip back up and you’re done.”
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