I recently sat down with my stylist - literally, in her chair as we do - and rather than taking out my Kindle and indulging in 30 minutes of relaxation with a book, I opted to take out my notebook and pen and conduct an interview.
“Rachel, oh queen of blow-outs, how can I get my blow out to last 5 days so that I can get up and go every day of my long weekend trip?”
How to make a blow-out last for 5 days
Patience and practice
If you’re used to washing your hair every day, you’re not going to like Rachel’s first tip. The most important way to ensuring your blow-out will last is to train your hair. That means that it is going to take a while for your hair to not expect a shampoo. It also means that breaking your shampoo-a-day habit is going to take some grueling patience, because you probably won’t like your hair on day two and three, right away.
Training your hair doesn’t work right away, either. You’ll need to start by washing your hair every-other-day for a few weeks. Once you’re comfortable with that, move into every-three days, and so forth. Once you’ve made it through 3-days on your own, your hair may be ready for a five-day stretch.
Also, try changing your shampoo every few weeks. Your hair has gotten used to your good-ol’ standby and is, likely, beginning to build up resistance to the magic of your shampoo. By changing it every few weeks, or using a different shampoo one day a week, you’re helping your hair to be more healthy.
Go deep with a Deep Conditioning
For many reasons, I never wanted to try a long-term relaxing or straightening treatment, but when Rachel’s associate, Jewels, recommended that I try a deep-conditioning treatment, for about a third of the cost that would with a relaxation treatment, and still give me my curls when I wanted, I figured I’d try. Our salon uses philosophy - shear splendor - deep conditioning hair mask which you can use at home, but I have it done about every 3 months at the salon. The treatment doesn’t just help my hair keeps it’s condition when I’m continuing a 5 day blow-out, but has made a huge difference in my hair quality between treatments.
Days 1 and 2: relax
Relax. Days one and two should require very little work from you and, if you’re lucky, depending on how you sleep, you’ll hardly need to style. I like to keep my hair in a low, loose ponytail and use Emi-Jay Hair Ties because they don’t crimp my hair like a regular elastic. When I shower on Day 2, I use a roomy, cheap shower cap to keep the water out.
Days 3 and 4: Shower without the cap and use a dry shampoo
Days three and four will take a little more attention in the shower. Rachel recommends rolling your hair in big rollers before getting in the shower and letting the water’s mist float around your hair — this means do not put your hair under the water, but allow the steam to penetrate your shower-roller ‘d. When you’ve finished the shower take out the rollers and spray dry shampoo into your hair, especially the crown, if you’re feeling a little greasy. Work the dry shampoo through with your fingers as you work the curls through. The combination of the dry shampoo and the rollers will help to lift your hair’s volume for these two days.
Day 5: Pony day!
All good things must come to an end, and day 5 is definitely the last day to enjoy your blowout. Spray in a little dry shampoo to the scalp, then pull your hair into a pony tail.
How long have you been able to make a blow-out last?
Julie
[…] We’ve been told a zillion times that we’re not supposed to wash our hair every day for so many reasons. In fact, a few months ago, I shared the secrets to going 5-days without washing your hair. […]