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by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy
Hair can be short and sassy or long and flowing. No matter what hairstyle, however, bad hair days happen. Before covering wayward locks with a hat, try a few quick fixes and learn how to prevent future bad hair days.
How To Minimize Bad Hair Days
If naturally curly hair frizzes with every fluctuation in temperature, don’t fight it. Apply mousse or hair gel and run fingers through the frizz. Give curls free reign and go for a wild, untamed look.
Lank hair that refuses to have life or body can be swept up in a classic chignon or pulled up with a hair clip. Try working gel through hair and then twist upward and hold in place with a clip or barrette. Use barrettes to pull back hair flying every which way or go for a simple, classic ponytail. Long hair that won’t behave can be braided. Let braids hang free or pin them in place like a crown in a timeless style.
Try leave-in conditioner sprays to bring order to tangled locks. Many different brands are on the market and can be spritzed over hair before styling.
A Little Bad Hair Prevention Goes A Long Way
The best way to deal with bad hair days is prevention. Learn how to ward off less-than-perfect dos by doing what salon professionals suggest.
Avoid product misuse. Remember that a little goes a long way – whether that little is shampoo, conditioner, mousse, hair spray or gel. Applying too much of a good thing can lead to lifeless, lank hair that lacks body and refuses to be styled. Don’t use more products than necessary either. Experiment with various products to determine which yield the best results. If hair spray is used to hold hair in place, use a light hand and avoid the look of “helmet hair”.
Few women need multiple hair products. If in doubt what might work best on hair, ask a salon stylist or hair professional for suggestions.
Another way to prevention hair disasters is never to trim hair. No matter how bad or how much a cut has grown out, resist temptation and leave cutting to a professional. Self-trims are disastrous and often cause additional hair issues. One sprig out of place turns into multiple strands sticking straight up.
If a perm didn’t take or turned bad, don’t despair. Visit a hairdresser and have the too tight perm relaxed. Or, savvy gals that know how to use the proper products can pick up hair relaxers and soften the frizz at home.
Re-coloring is the best option for a color that didn’t turn out as planned. If to-die-for blonde hair turned greenish or the shade of brown isn’t what it should be, don’t attempt a self-fix. Have hair re-colored and done right by a trusted hairdresser or the nearest salon.
Tame wild hair with mousse or gel. Invest in a good curling iron to create salon type styling. Some irons come with multiple attachments that include various size curling irons and hot curling brushes. Hot curlers are another option. Steam heated curlers are often found on television and movie sets because they provide fast results. Other hot curlers include heated sticks that wrap hair around and then fasten or choose traditional curlers. All can create a head of luscious curls in minutes.
Limit hair dryer time. Blow dryers can make hair dry and brittle. Use cool cycles if available and air dry as much as possible.
Spice up any looks with temporary hair colors than rinse out with the next shampoo. Some temporary hair shades even come in hot shades like pink, violet, orange and green for a punk look that won’t last. Streak hair with wild colors. Look for glitter gels, too.
The best prevention for bad hair days is to start with a style that can be easily recreated at home. Don’t opt for an impractical style or for a do that will be almost impossible to reproduce during morning crunch time. Make sure that a cut or style suits individual looks and listen to the stylist. Tips from a hair professional can be vital toward maintaining a particular style.
Remember that heads are three-dimensional. Don’t judge how well hair looks by what can be seen in the mirror. Envision how the entire head of hair will look and how hard or easy to maintain a style may be.
Bad hair days happen to everyone but the effects can be minimized with a few tricks. Most bad hair days can even be prevented with pre-planning, a good hair cut, the right products, and a plan. When in doubt, ask a stylist for advice and remember that even bad hair days don’t last more than twenty-four hours!
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