9 Hair Hacks to Help You Nail Your Morning Routine

Rainy day looks that don't compromise style.

hair hacks on a rainy day

Skill

We think it’s safe to assume that there’s never enough time to get ready in the morning. We’re never not rushing (especially in New York), and in between rolling out of bed and mad-dashing out the door, sometimes things get forgotten in the fray. Torn stockings, uneven eyeliner, an extra hair roller left in your hair—we’ve become walking Velcro patches for the stuff of life. And this is precisely why things like genius hair hacks that cheat us through the details are always a welcome addition to our daily routines.

We’ve taken busy to a whole new level these days as people can barely find the time to actually eat during their lunch breaks, much less squeeze in a mani/pedi, haircut or a facial. Luckily, we got the chance to put our procrastination to work, and have come up with five easy hair hacks to get you through the whole workweek (*confetti!*). These easy hair hacks require little to no effort, and can be done start to finish in less time than it takes you to wait for your coffee. Cheat away!

Hair Hacks to Add to Your Styling Routine

hair hacks with hair clips
Banana and butterfly clips are making a comeback for rainy season. Photo credit: indigitalimages.com

1. Clip It Up

Remember those old school banana clips you loved in High School? Those hair accessories are still in style and clearly they’re very useful. Pack a few clips in your bag (yes, in case one breaks) and tie your hair up into a cool model off duty-inspired updo on a rainy day.

hair hacks wear a hoodie
Throw a hoodie on to save your hair from a wet day. Photo credit: indigitalimages.com

2. Hooded Hair

As of late, we’ve noticed a lot of our most coveted ’90s trends are making a comeback. Take the hoodie for instance. Women are layering hoodies under trench coats, dressing them up with heels, and of course, hiding from the rain with them, too. Plan ahead, if you see a rainy day on the forecast, create your hooded look before hand. After styling your hair, prep with TRESemmé Climate Protection Finishing Spray. With this trendy hooded look, you’re giving your ensemble a fashionable spin. This is how you kill the street style game in the rain.

hair hacks hair tuck
Sometimes a simple tuck is all you need.

3. Hair Tuck

Day-after-day, more women are making the case for the hair tuck trend. During the spring, tuck your ends into a oversized light-weight scarf to prevent it from getting wet. We love this look because it’s obviously much more fashionable than an umbrella.

hair hacks pineapple hair
Tie natural curls into a pineapple updo for a stylish rainy day look. Photo credit: indigitalimages.com

4. Natural Hair Pineapple

The pineapple hairstyle is ideal for wet days. To slow down the shrinkage if your hair does happen to get wet, coat your hair with a styling oil, like Suave Professionals Moroccan Infusion Styling Oil, to repel as much water as possible.

hair hacks on wavy hair
Embrace the weather and embrace your texture. Photo credit: indigitalimages.com

5. Wet and Wavy

If you fancy wearing your hair naturally wavy, let Mother Nature give you a hand. On a rainy day, prep hair with Suave Professionals Texturizing Sea Salt Spray, then head out and let the rain hit your strands. When you’ve reached your destination, give your hair a bit of a scrunch to enhance the texture, shake a bit to separate and use a paper towel to soak up any excess water. Now that’s a good hair hack!

hair hacks for everyday life dry shampoo
Dry shampoo, the modern-day lunchtime reset button. Photo credit: indigitalimages.com

6. The Flip-and-Spritz

We’ll start simple, because Monday: One part dry shampoo, one part ’80s hairflip, and you’re done. Yes, there really is no better open secret to fresh-looking, voluminous hair than flipping your hair over and blasting your roots with a blowdryer (plus, the head rush gives you a much-needed circulation boost at the start of the week). But alas, we all can’t go toting around our hair dryers all day, so let your trusty can of dry shampoo pick up the slack. Position the nozzle around 12” (or a foot) away from your head. “Your arms should form the letter L while spritzing—then you know it’s a good distance,” Bed Head and Unilever hair artist, Bailey Pope, suggests. Afterwards, flip hair back and massage your roots to aerate and create some lift. We like how Dove Refresh+Care Volume & Fullness Dry Shampoo refreshes, gives bounce and absorbs excess oils—so crucial for that midday, icky-feeling slump.

hair hacks for everyday life the looped bun
A unicorn braid can elevate your basic looped-through bun. Photo credit: Dvora

6. The Looped-Through Bun

In the workplace, a late-day bun usually means two things: I’m giving up for today, or I mean business and will make my deadlines. Go for option c—roughly, “I mean business but I also like looking stylish with no effort”—with a topknot that looks tons more complicated than it is. To achieve this look, start by making a high pony but leave a considerable amount of slack at the base. Poke a hole in the slack, and loop the ponytail through it in a front-to-back direction—you should now have a smooth, croissant-shaped bump, and if the ends of your hair slightly peek out through the slack, just tuck ’em in. Fan or pancake the hair on your bump to even it out on each side, resume your work duties like a champ, and know you’re gonna be the cutest one at happy hour drinks with the girls.

hair hacks for everyday life milkmaid braids
Loose tendrils soften up the harshness of Swiss braids. Photo credit: Dvora

7. Milkmaid Braids

Great. Your espresso just kicked in (only took four ventis, NBD) and now you’re stuck with the jitters and with a big working lunch lined up. Channel all that pent up energy into braiding your hair into milkmaid plaits instead. Part hair down the middle—doesn’t have to be perfect, relax—and start by creating a regular three-strand braid on each side, starting behind your ear. Remember to leave a little slack between the base of your pony and the start of your braid. Next, cross one braid across your crown and secure the ends with a bobby pin. Repeat on the other side, crossing the second braid behind the first braid and also tucking ends with a bobby pin. Continue tucking with pins until the braids feel secure. Gently pancake the weaves for a folksier, breezier, oh-I-just-did-this-in-five-minutes-while-on-my-desk look. Which you totes just did.

hair hacks for everyday life half topknot
Bendy, end-of-day ends actually street up the quarter-knot look.

8. Half-Knot with Pencil Twirls

Down to the wire, and you’re not only feeling tapped out, you’re looking it. A half-pony is one of our fave hair hacks because it gives an instant facelift, which is essential on those late, deadline-beating weekdays, and particularly when you need to look reasonably put-together for after-hours plans. Wake yourself up in an instant by first doing the Monday dry shampoo trick on limp hair. Next, loosely gather the top section of your crown into a half-updo (chill out, bumps on your base are okay) and coil it around itself, securing at the base with some pins or a hair tie. Use that end-of-day grit to your advantage by winding sections of hair around your finger or a pencil for loose waves.

hair hacks for everyday life double pony
You can also start with the bottom ponytail, and use the top layers to create a baby bump.

9. Faux Double Pony

You’re late, too many martinis, you’re in a cab, you’ve got exactly four minutes to make that grace period and look like you meant to do so. Get polished in a jiffy by sporting a perky-looking ponytail that will not only help your cause—“Me, hungover?”—but remain fresh, full-looking and actually keep your hair off your face the entire day. First, gather the top part of your hair in a ponytail, as you would in a regular half-pony. Next, brush out your bottom lengths and gather the rest of your ends into a second ponytail that sits close to the first one, so your top ponytail blends into your second ponytail for a thicker, longer effect. Good job!

Looking for more quick hair hacks? Check out plane hair hacks for flying.

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