My Go-To Hair (2 Ways) When I Only have 10 Minutes to Get Ready

As I mentioned earlier in the week, this year I’m really working on regaining balance in my life and taking better care of myself. To assist with that, I’ve developed a routine that kind of helps me keep my morning sanity, so I don’t have to worry much about what to wear, how to do my hair, etc, etc. And I’m pleased to report, so far, so good!

The concept is a little like a capsule wardrobe, only its mainly for my hair, as crazy as that may sound. Curious to know exactly what I’ve been doing to save time in the mornings? Good news! I’ve partnered with Aveeno to share the two hair tutorials that have cut my getting ready time nearly in half, so I can focus on more important things, like the perfect shade of lilac for food photos. Kidding! Sort of.

The daily gist goes something like this… Every week day, I give myself a couple of options. The idea is I keep the choices limited… So, I have two go-to hair dos on rotation, that each take less than 10 minutes to recreate. I switch between the two, depending on my mood / what I have to do at work that day. Then, I throw on my ‘work uniform’ (which I’ll explain in another post), put on a little makeup, and head out the door. My mornings are SO much easier since implementing these simplified beauty habits.

Get my (product free) 5 minute bun tutorial and 10 minute wavy hair DIY…

Before sharing the hair tutorials, I wanted to share a little somethin’, somethin’. I put Aveeno’s new Pure Renewal Shampoo and Conditioner to the test to see how it would fair against my dry and (often times) paint-ridden hair before putting together these hair tutorials.

The Infused ACTIVE NATURALS®Seaweed Extract and naturally derived cleansers lift away impurities and help rebalance moisture levels. Which basically means your hair will be left looking shiny, healthy, and full. At least that what it says on the label. So, I gave it a try!

Here’s the side by side before and after of how my hair looked the day before I used Aveeno Pure Renewal and then the day after just one use…

I was surprised that after (literally) one use, my hair felt much silkier, had more shine, and seemed cleaner / less oily. And I didn’t do ANYTHING different, other than switch out the shampoo and conditioner I was using. No joke! Definitely made a believer out of me.

Which brings me to the hair tutorials…

5 Minute Bun

I actually have two types of buns that I do…a messy version and a more put-together version. The messy one is really hard to explain, even though its insanely easy. So let’s just stick with the more done up version, since that’s the one I get the most questions about…

Start by putting your hair up into a very high ponytail and secure with a hair tie. Next, twist the ponytail as shown in the photo. Once twisted all the way to the end, start wrapping the twisted hair around the base of the ponytail. Continue wrapping until you reach the end of your hair. Then, bobby pin the hair to secure it. I usually use two bobby pins (one on each side of the bun). If you have super thick hair, you may need more than two bobby pins.

10 Minute Wavy Hair

On days that I feel like wearing my hair down, which I’ll admit is usually only like once a week, since I like to keep my hair out of my face when I’m working, I just do a simple wavy curl. Its SO easy and pretty quick too, as long as you have a decent curling wand. Just grab a section of hair and wrap it around the wand (away from your face), hold it for 5-10 seconds, release it, and grab a new section of hair. Repeat. I start underneath and then work my way up to the top parts of hair, usually.

Once all your hair has been loosely curled, run your finger through to further loosen thing up and give you more of a wavy, relaxed look (as opposed to curls).

Photography by Rachel Brewer

Anyway, those are a couple of the things I do to start things out on the right foot each day, without any stress. Hope it’s helpful in some way.

I’m also super curious to know if you have any tips for bringing balance / sanity to each day. Have any suggestions you care to share?

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This post is in partnership with Aveeno. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Paper & Stitch running.