How To Make Dirty Hair Look Clean

Your Guide To No-Wash Hair

Your hairstylist wants you to stop shampooing every day, but who is she kidding? It’s not like you roll out of bed with perfect, beachy waves. Or maybe you have a habit of sleeping through your alarm, leaving you about 11 minutes to get ready and get out the door. Luckily, there are solutions to transform every hair type from sad and unwashed to perfectly gorgeous—without starting from scratch.

Photo: © Luca Cannonieri/GoRunway.com

Soak Up Oil and Pump Up Volume

“If hair is oily, or just to give a boost of volume to the roots, use a lifting & texturizing spray gel,” such as Fekkai Coiff Bouffant Lifting & Texturizing Spray Gel ($25, fekkai.com), says Stefanie Francois, Fekkai Stylist at The Mark Hotel in New York. “Turn your head upside down and blow dry, and finish with a light-hold hairspray before flipping your head back up.” A dry shampoo like Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk ($17.99, ulta.com) can also help cut the grease and plump up strands.

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Revive Your Curls

Curly hair can go limp after you sleep on it all night. Wake up your ringlets by spritzing on a reactivating spray, which revives the product already in your hair. Sprays like DevaCurl Mist-er Right ($18.95, devachansalon.com) and Redken Curvaceous Wind Up Reactivating Spray ($18, Redken salons) control frizz and help curls spring back into shape.

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Photo: © Luca Cannonieri/GoRunway.com

Fight Frizz

The best time to de-fuzz is when hair is wet, but if washing isn’t an option, Francois recommends smoothing on a creamy textured finishing product. TIGI Hair Reborn Resurfacing Lusterizer ($30, TIGI salons) smooths away frizz and adds shine with its almost-shimmery finish. “For finer hair, use a lightweight serum,” like Fekkai Silky Straight Ironless Smooth Finish Serum ($25, fekkai.com), the hairstylist says.

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Replenish Moisture

Coarse or dry hair can look dull after a day or two without conditioner. Restore shine by working a hair oil, such as Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil ($38, sephora.com), into strands. If you plan to curl or flat iron your hair, spray sections with Motions Oil Sheen & Conditioning Spray ($3.75, soap.com) before using hot tools.

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Look On The Bright Side

Clean hair isn’t always more desirable. “A blowout is usually better after it settles, whether it is later in the day or the next couple of the days. Hair tends to have more flyaways when freshly washed,” Francois explains. Second (or third, or fourth…) day hair also has more grip, which makes creating looks like these celebrity updos way easier.

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