#141-145. Sporting 4-Day Dirty Hair.
Even on day one, I was sporting a horrific "shark bang," one of many bad hair terms I've coined.On the night I mustered up the courage to sing in an improv show, I met a bodacious blonde named Elizabeth. She's one of those chicks who can rock the whole vintage pinup girl look and it doesn't seem one bit costume-y. I complimented Elizabeth on her victory rolls (or whatever that hairstyle is called). She was all "Oh, this ol' thing... I literally haven't washed my hair in four days. Actually... you should try that for your blog."There are plenty of women in my life who can go two, three, even seven-plus days without shampooing. Sure, they might wet their hair, but they don't wash it. I, on the other hand, must lather up daily. When I try to squeak out a second day, I start obsessing over my bangs mid-morning, which are the first things to split into piece-y sections that lay every-which-way-but-acceptably (I've dubbed this look "shark bang" and I am sporting it the photo at the top. I hate shark bang!). Once I start obsessing about my hair's dirtiness, I start touching it. When I touch it, it only gets greasier. At this point, I start wishing I'd thrown a stocking cap in my purse. By the end of the day, I can barely wait to get home to either wash my hair or put it in a top knot.I believe my hair goes from fabulous to stringy-gross in 20 hours. I keep hearing I shouldn't wash it daily because it strips your tresses of their natural goodness. And yes, you non-daily hair washers RAVE about the awesome texture their hair takes on after a few days. I want to know that feeling! I've just always been too scared to try it. I think it stems back to this one time in 7th grade when I went two days without washing my hair. I will never forget this because Mike Graham, who I had a total crush on, turned around during Ms. Meyer's algebra class and told me: "Your hair looks weird today... did you put too much 'stuff' in it?" No, in fact that is just its natural filth. I've feared two days sans washing ever since.I'd given up on my dream of unwashed hair. Then, three miraculous things happened.
#1. I received this Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Nettle sample in my Birchbox.
Think of it as a water-free way to soak up the nasties in your dirty hair.
Magic in a can.
#2. I rediscovered DevaCurl.
It's a really bad name for great sulfate-, silicone- and paraben-free hair products that turn a frizzy curly mess into fabulousness.
DevaCurl... get it, use it, love it.
#3. I was in humid Miami for five days for SoBe Wine & Food Fest.
This basically meant that no matter what, my hair would look like shit. So, armed with my dry shampoo and my DevaCurl conditioner, styling gel, and their "Set It Free Moisture Lock Spray," I washed my hair on Friday and left it until Monday night.Day one (pictured above, #141) was nothing special, aside from the fact that my hair curled like crazy and I had shark bang.
Mw with my friend/coworker/partner in crime, Dusti. She only has to wash her hair once a year or something.The real challenge started on day two (#142). I took a shower that morning (conditioner only), then used the DevaCurl gel. I dried my bangs like normal. They felt completely different-- thicker, heavier and actually easier to work with. I think it's literally due to the salty air and I kind of liked it. Once my hair dried, I gave it a dusting of dry shampoo to soak up any oil. As you can see from the photo above, my hair looked about the same as the night before (except less shark bang).Even at midnight, it was still holding up (see photo below)! PS that's Robert Irvine. I've never seen his show... shhh. This look did require one additional item: a cheesy comb (like the one you got on school photo day), which reminded me of something Michael J. Fox would've stored in the back pocket of his Levi's circa 1984. Whatever, they helped keep the bangs in place. An indispensable tool!
I might shave my head if this experiment ends poorly... you never know.As my office's unofficial event photographer, I always have pictures of everyone but myself at these crazy food festival work weekends. Hence, this my only photo of Day 3 (#143), courtesy of my friend Doug Quint's (aka Big Gay Ice Cream) Instagram feed. Follow him and you will not regret it! You can't really see my hairstyle, but you can see that the roots don't look grody at all. Dry shampoo, I love ye.
Pucker up, unicorn.And here she is, the Day 4 'do (#145):
Surprisingly, my hair has volume! My bangs gave up completely and joined the rest of my hair, but I'd say no bangs are better than shark bangs. I have those lovely, piece-y, defined curls people rave about! I think a lot of this success can be attributed to mother nature (salt, humidity, sand), but I also think it had a lot to do with me pushing through my day two fears. I felt so confident in my dirty hair, I offered to go to our hotel's lobby & get coffee for my coworker/friend/bunkmate Dusti and myself with bed head! I didn't even put on make up or a bra (#145... I can't stand not wearing a bra! It weirds me out. I feel like everyone is just looking at my boobs. It makes me so uncomfortable and I don't know how you hippies do it!). I just went out in public, au natural, with dirty-ass hair. It was liberating.And what's crazy is that I haven't washed my hair on two consecutive days since. I am a changed woman. Thanks for the challenge, Elizabeth!
