My “Second-Day Hair” Crusade
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
"Second-Day Hair" Fail
So I’m kind of a raging skankbot today.
Over the last couple of months, I’ve been trying this new thing where I don’t wash my hair. I’m not saying I don’t wash it EVER! I’m just trying to achieve that mythical and ever elusive “second-day hair.”
Ken Paves (who no matter what jeans she wears, has Jessica Simpson’s hair looking flawless) purports that it’s more than okay to “skip shampooing for a day. Second-day hair often looks fuller and thicker. It’s rare that someone HAS to shampoo daily, unless you exercise or perspire a lot.”
Or if, as has previously been the case for me, you have really long fine hair that just hangs. Because of my hair type I’ve never been able to understand what this “second-day hair” nonsense is all about. So what if it’s better for your hair if it only makes it look worse in the meantime!
But, now that my hair is cut short, I’ve been trying to “train” it to go every other day without shampooing. Thus far, the results have been inconclusive. Some days I end up with a bit more volume and a cute flip at the ends. Other days I look like I’m supplying the grease for the fry station at McDonald’s. Today is one of those days.
Which mean that later this afternoon I’ll be rolling up to a business meeting, looking less like a late 20s professional and more like a college kid who stumbled out of bed in her jammies for an 8 am Geology lecture. There I’ll sit across the conference room from VPs and directors who will probably wonder what the fuck is up with my hair. You and me both, buddy. You and me both. That said, who knows- maybe it’ll work in my favor. Maybe they’ll think I’m destitute or depressed and that they should pay me more so that I can buy shampoo and be happy. Hmmm….
Anyhow, the few things I can impart from my little experiment is that having shorter and/or darker hair is far preferable than long and/or blonde hair. And when trying to style my hair, I’ve found dry shampoos can be helpful, but are certainly not the same as regular shampoos. Also, you have to be careful with them; too much will have you looking like you’re sporting a powdered wig from the days of yore! I’ve tried aerosol hair spray too (with drying alcohol) and that seems to work well enough.
One of these days though, I feel certain that my hair will fall into line, that it will get with the program, and that I will win. I. Will. Win. Dammit. And as long as I don’t end up looking like the smarm king himself up there, Mr. Rob “I-Don’t-Wash-My-Hair-For-Six-Weeks” Pattinson, I’ll count myself successful.
From what I know, shampoo dries out your hair. So, if your hair is a frizzy mess because it’s been chemically treated or is a curly, frizzy mess (say hello to my bedhead!), then skipping a day of shampoo is probably good (it works for me!). But, if you have really healthy hair or untreated hair or not that frizzy or curly hair, then I’m not sure how the skipping a day of shampoo really helps.
i go with second day hair when i straighten mine… only because it takes a while for that process, and i have really dry hair as it is. but come the tail end of day 2, i need a revamp!
i guess they make “hair powder” which, matches your hair color? sometimes i throw some baby powder on the roots in a pinch!
So…I read your blog all the time and I love your honesty and way of saying things. I “lurk” around becuase I am lacking a blog of my own. Anyways…you say you have dark hair…just curious as to what kind of dry shampoo you tried…becuase my hair is dyed very dark brown and when I try this second day hair nonsense…I look fine when I am in my bathroom, then I step out into the light and presto…instant dandruff look…not flattering
SoMi- I keep hearing all this talk about “natural oils” and such and how they’re better than any conditioner you use and yada yada….I don’t know. Maybe there’s something to that. Though I just feel gross mostly.
brookem- I haven’t seen the kind that matches your hair color, but I’m sure that google will help me out! Thanks for the suggestion!
Amy- Thank you for commenting! I hope you’ll read and comment more- always curious as to what my readers are thinking. The dry shampoo I’ve used in the past is from Oscar Blondi and I got it at Sephora.
http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P254307&categoryId=C14100 They also sell it by the registers typically in a smaller “sample” size so you can try it out before shelling out $20 for the regular one. Hope it helps!
I think we need to meet because we a) live by each other and b) have the same hair issues. Ken Paves is full of sh*t. I wash my hair every other day and on 2nd day, it DEFINITELY doesn’t feel the same. Holy sh*t and we’ve used th same dry shampoo. I even put that on my review blog!!
Jessica- We really should! I still can’t believe we live so close to each other. Who knew our neighborhood was such a hotbed for 20 something blogging?
Feeling your pain here. Although I do love a second day for curly hair. You wet it but don’t wash it if that makes sense? With straight hair on that next day I look like I’ve been out on the town for the last 4 nights straight…not cool.
My hair is not greasy. Many people have told me I have great hair. Kristen likes it.