Hot town, summer in the city! With summer officially under way, temperatures are climbing into the 80s, 90s and 100s, and you know what the last thing we need is? A hair dryer blowing hot air in our faces first thing in the morning. Cotton is versatile enough to use in a number of ways, whether you’re wearing it in your hair or using it to create another hair style, so we’ve teamed up with the folks at Cotton to share three ways to use fabric to style your wet hair, no heat involved.
From achieving perfectly tousled waves to a modern updo to the ultimate two-in-one look, follow along to check out our favorite lazy gal styling hacks for staying cool this summer. And if you’re someone who showers at night, you can recreate any of these ‘dos by simply dampening your hair in the morning.
This style is great for when you absolutely need to get out the door quickly but you must wash your hair first and need to be able to rock wet hair in a way that does not totally read as lazy girl at its finest.
DIY Bandana + Knotty Updo
2. Wash and Towel Dry Your Hair: We recommend taking the time to use a super hydrating shampoo and conditioner duo since you will be allowing your hair to air dry. That way you don’t have to worry about flat hair that is too soft. A current favorite is Juice Organics Hair Care Repairing Duo ($17).
3. Place Bandana: Put the bandana around your neck so that it is in position prior to putting your hair up so you don’t mess up your work later on.
4. Apply Styling Cream: Use a quarter-sized amount (less or more depending on your hair length/texture) on the palm of your hands and run throughout your towel dried hair. We used EVOLVh Ultimate Styling Lotion, which is an amazing 5-in-1 styling tool great for adding volume, hold and shine, defrizzing and managing curls.
5. Place Hair Up: You can use your fingers as opposed to a brush for a more playful, less refined finish. Place your hair into a high ponytail and secure with an elastic.
6. Twist + Twist Some More: Split your ponytail into two sections, then twist them all the way to the base of the ponytail.
7. More Twisting!: Once each section is fully twisted, wrap them around the ponytail elastic in opposite directions of one another until you are left with just enough hair that you can tie it off in the back of the bun.
8. Tie and Pin: Tie off the hair in the back of the two-way twisted bun. Use a couple bobby pins to hold everything in place.
Carefully place the bandana from your neck to your head and adjust until it is comfy and cute! Adorbs.
Sleep Your Way to Glamorous Waves
You have a big day tomorrow, and you really don’t want to deal with styling but still want those totally touchable waves. Solution: Prepare the night before! All you need is a strip of cotton jersey, a good night’s rest and these simple steps to get it!
1. Find a Piece of Fabric: Cut a long strip of cotton to tie around your head.
2. Towel Dry + Add Product: You want to make sure your hair is towel dried pretty well. If your hair is too wet, it may not dry all the way by morning. Be sure to add a styling product like a spray gel — we used Garnier Fructis Curl Shaping Spray Gel ($4). Lightly mist throughout your hair and comb through with a fine-tooth comb or brush.
3. Tie It On: Tie the fabric on the top of your head so you don’t have to sleep on a bulky uncomfortable knot. You can tuck the ends underneath the band to help make sure it stays in place while you sleep.
4. Twist: First take a small section of hair (around one to two inches wide) and twist all the way to the ends.
5. Twist + Wrap: Once twisted, wrap the hair up and over the headband. Do this a few times.
6. Keep It Going and Pin!: Now that you’ve added the new section of hair to the already existing twist, begin to twist the hair up and over the headband. You will repeat this until you reach the back center of your head. Then use a bobby pin or two to keep your hair in place.
7. Repeat and Sleep: Do the same process on the other side of your head. Go to sleep! (Or you can really wear this out in the daytime if you are feeling like channeling your inner retro starlet!)
Now it’s time for the big reveal. Simply take out the wrapped hair and remove your headband! Use your fingers to break apart the curls, spray your favorite surf spray to add texture. We used Pink Sea Salt Hair Texture + Volume Spray found in our very own shop! Scrunch your hair a few times and head on out for your productive (and glamorous!) day.
Fabric Ragging to Make Waves
This is a great method that you can either do on towel-dried hair the night before or you can lightly dampen your hair in the morning and do these easy steps to get the best waves in the time it takes you to put your makeup on.
Gather Your Materials
2. Rag It Up: You can take random sections of hair for this — there is really no wrong way! Start by placing the piece of material toward the ends of your hair then roll the hair in an upward direction.
3. Tie ‘Em Off: When you get to the top of your head, tie the material once or twice depending on if your hair is heavy or not. It’s that simple.
4. Check In: Your hair should look something like this when you are done.
Let your hair dry. The timing on this will vary depending on your hair length and texture. Just be sure it is fully dry prior to removing the rags. Then take ’em out!
Use your fingers to gently shake out the curls to make them more bouncy and natural looking.
These are all just guidelines! With these techniques you can totally play with different placement and sizes of your sections to get a completely different finish. Remember to just have fun with it all!
