Sometimes we have to fake stuff – tans, that smile when singing “Happy Birthday” over a stale sheet cake to that co-worker you can’t stand. Sometimes you got to fake it until you make it, or in terms of having a good hair day – fake it until your next salon appointment.

Having a good hair day is like a tiny miracle, and those miracles, unfortunately, do not come very often. Whether you skipped a few wash days, need to get those pesky roots touched up, or hit snooze on the alarm seven times and need to be to work in fifteen minutes, here are some helpful tips to faking your best hair day when, in all reality, your hair is in laughable conditions.

 

  1. DRY SHAMPOO

Remember when you first tried dry shampoo and you were like, “This is the greatest invention since the gel manicure!” Well, it’s because, like the gel, it’s a lifesaver. Where would we be if we didn’t have dry shampoo? We’re spraying our greasy, limp tresses with dry shampoo like it’s cheap sunscreen, faking a good hair day by essentially absorbing the dirt and grease.

 

  1. CREATE THE ILLUSION OF FULLER HAIR WITH A HAIR CLIP

Bad hair days come in all shapes and forms, and sometimes they come in “you just can’t deal today” so that’s where hair clips ride in on their magic rainbows to save the day. The use of hair clips can help make your hair look fuller and give the illusion that it has more volume and weight than it actually does.

Fuller Ponytail Trick: clip a fish clip to the top of your ponytail, tease your hair towards the clip, then remove. This trick makes for a fuller ponytail with a little more height.

 

  1. PUT A DRYER SHEET OVER YOUR HAIRBRUSH TO REDUCE STATIC

This is something you don’t learn in science class but would probably be more useful than all that mole math B.S. in 10th grade chemistry. For bristle brushes, take a dryer sheet and place it on the brush, right through the bristles. Brush your hair like this and static-be-gone!

Another trick: take a toothbrush you are not planning to use anymore and spray it with hairspray. Brush the flyaways and watch them disappear!

 

  1. SPRAY YOUR ROOTS WITH COVER-UP SPRAY

Some people can rock the roots, but for everyone else, let’s get control of our growth before we start looking like Madonna circa “Like A Virgin.” Like dry shampoo, root cover-up spray is like the light at the end of our dark (roots) tunnel. The sprays vary in color shades from light blonde to auburn to black and provide a quick cover-up within seconds. It’s an inexpensive way to hold you over between salon visits.

 

  1. WRAP IT UP IN BUNS OR BRAIDS

Buns & Braids are like the friendship you always wish you had. They make the perfect hair day no matter what the condition of your locks — just ask Princess Leia. A bun & braid hairstyle can be done in as little as two minutes. So those busy mornings when your hair isn’t going with the flow, it’s a job for the B&B. There are different types of buns & braids that you can choose from. The messy bun: high and messy chignon (use a hair donut or a rolled-up sock to get a bigger bun). The bohemian bun: messy and high chignon with a braid coiled at the base. The bow bun: bow-shape chignon atop the head, dividing the bun into two parts to make a bow. If you’re feeling quirky, try the space buns: which is basically high pigtails but wrapped into two coils on each side of your head.

 

  1. UTILIZE HAIR CHALK AND OTHER TEMPORARY COLORS

Hair chalk is a great, quick fix for those bad hair days when you want an easy way to liven up your tresses by dabbing a little lavender or sky blue on your ends. Don’t forget to use hairspray so the color chalk will set. You don’t need to have platinum blonde hair to get great results. Plus, if you change your hair color, no one will notice how greasy and flat it is.

 

  1. GIVE YOUR HAIR A TEASE

There’s an art to teasing. It’s not for everyone but on a bad hair day, teasing can take flat hair to new heights. Literally. First, take a 1″ section of your hair (top of the head to bring up the volume) and hold it straight up. Tease it by brushing the hair downward, section and repeat, smooth with a brush. Try this on each side of the head too for an overall fuller look.

 

  1. CURL THOSE LOCKS

Sometimes you can’t have good hair all by yourself. Sometimes you need to bring in the big guns like the old-trusty curling iron. The barrel size makes a difference in what type of curls you’re looking to achieve – 2″ gentle, relaxed waves, 1.75″ large, loose waves, 1.5″ large, voluminous curls, 1″ – 1.25” full curls, defined waves, and 3/4″ for tighter curls, textured waves. Curls can help your bad day hair look like a great hair day, creating fuller, and healthier looking hair.

 

  1. ACTIVATE YOUR NATURAL WAVES

Keep summer in your hair all year long with a DIY mixture to capture those beach waves anytime. Take an empty spray bottle and fill it will one cup warm water, one tablespoon of coconut oil, one tablespoon of sea salt (this adds grit) and one drop of your choice of essential oil – lavender works great. Combine, shake and apply liberally to the hair. You can add an optional teaspoon of hair gel or conditioner to fight frizz.

 

  1. DE-FUZ YOUR CURLS

A simple solution to keeping your curls intact is mixing leave-in conditioner with gel and apply to curls. The leave-in conditioner hydrates those thirsty curls, while the gel shapes the curls into spirals. Never spend the day with loose, fuzzy, frizzy curls again.

 

  1. WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS GO WITH HATS, HEADBANDS AND SCARVES

It’s okay to give up and just put on a hat. You’re still winning at life. Hats, headbands, and head scarves are an easy and very fashionable way to save yourself from a bad hair day. They keep those annoying bangs we should have never gotten out of our way and keep flyaways at bay. Headbands can be worn single or doubled up, while head scarves are a perfect way to add some print to your monochromatic outfit. There are so many different styles of hats to choose from: fedoras, floppies, beanies, oh my! And remember, there’s never such thing as a bad hat day.