Fake a Blowout With This 10 Minute Hair Trick

CONFESSION: I am lazy as all get out in the mornings.

It’s not that I don’t like to look nice when I leave the house, because I do, but sometimes mustering the energy to do things like put on pants and brush my hair is just too much to ask. Also: SLEEP. With a busy schedule that has me up as early as 5am most mornings, simplifying my routine is rather like the Never Ending Story at my house.

In 2013, I was working 30 hours a week, plus attending classes for an additional 20 hours weekly and it was tiresome. I began choosing and laying out clothes for my son and I before bed; I packed lunches while I waited for dinner to finish cooking and I even learned how to use my slow cooker. I tried to add my shower to the nighttime routine, but it left me with two (bad) hair options: pony tail or flat-ironed straight and flat.

There had to be a better way!

When it’s all said and done, to wash and dry my hair is to add about 45 minutes to my morning routine – especially if I’m having a full-blown shower and then blow drying my hair to a smooth finish. I can do a lot of things in 45 minutes, but my favourite just so happens to be sleep, so I set out to find a solution. And I found it: hot rollers.

If you have medium to long, straight(ish) hair this trick should work well for you. Depending on how coarse and long your hair is, how well it holds a curl and how long you let the rollers set, your hair should land somewhere between “great volume” and “bouncy curls” on the Awesome Hair Spectrum. And really, anywhere on the Awesome Hair Spectrum is a pretty good place to be.

HAIR PREP (Night Before)

Shampoo and condition hair as per usual. Gently squeeze excess water from hair.
Gently remove any snarls from your hair. Dry hair thoroughly (bonus points if you air dry!).
OPTIONAL: Loosely twist hair into top knot and secure with bobby pins.
Now go about your nighttime routine and get a good sleep. You’ll need to be well rested to receive all the hair compliments coming your way!

FAKE IT ‘TIL YOU MAKE IT! (Morning)

Wake up and groan (ugh, mornings!). Next, Plug in your hot rollers and brush your hair while they heat. Separate your hair into 5 sections: Bottom (2), middle (2) top (1 – strip from “bangs” to crown)

Beginning at the bottom layer of hair, using the smallest rollers, begin rolling hair and clipping to secure. Your largest rollers should go at the very top of your head – that single strip from forehead to crown. This should take about 5-10 minutes, tops.

Caffeinate. Do your makeup. Wake up the kids. Eat breakfast. Whatever - you just need to let the hot rollers work. Once you’re ready to go – or the rollers have cooled – let your hair down one by one, again starting at the bottom.

DO NOT BRUSH YOUR HAIR.

Once all the rollers are out, spritz with hairspray and try to keep your fingers away from your hair for as long as you can. The curls will begin to fall out and soften naturally. If you must expedite the process, gently run your fingers through the curls and shake them out. My curls tend to fall out into bouncy waves within an hour of removing my rollers and my volume lasts all day – and with a little dry shampoo, well into day two!