How to Rock Dirty Hair

Did you know that people with thick hair should only be washing their hair 2-3 times a week? Even if you have fine hair, a wash every other day is the right amount. While this may be what’s healthy for your hair, it can sometimes result in undone, messy looking styles. I spoke with Stylist, Jan Marie Arteca who works at the Jeff Chastain Parlor in NYC, about the best ways to wear your hair, well, dirty.

Mistakes: 

One of the biggest mistakes women make when sporting dirty hair? “Wearing a center part,” says Arteca. This kind of part attracts can reveal an oily scalp. Another major mistake that I myself am also guilty of, is not brushing your hair.  I know I think it sometimes makes my hair look messy chic. When in reality, it just looks messy.

Products: 

The obvious product choice for dirty hair is dry shampoo. It can save your hair for a day or two longer. Arteca recommends Serge Normant Dry Shampoo. Texturizing spray also works like Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray.

Style:

“The thicker the hair, the more options you have to style it,” explains Arteca. This ranges from anything from curls to braids. For finer hair, she recommends deep side part ponytails, buns, or any sort of braid. I personally like to pull my hair into a side braid when my hair goes a day or two unwashed. Braids keep my texture from looking greasy and with it to the side I avoid a too-sleek part. Hair accessories are also a major help. A headband can cover up almost the dirtiest of looks.

Also keep in mind that dirtier hair is easier to style than slick clean hair. If you’ve been dying to sport some beach waves, curl it when it’s a day or two dirty and shake out for a waved look that’ll stay in.

The Beauty Loot that Got Me Through NYFW

New York Fashion Week is over and while I had a great time checking out the shows and interviewing glam squads and designers, I'm excited to get back to my normal routine.  You know – actually have a life.  As a reporter, covering fashion week is far less glamourous than you'd think.  It's a 25 hour, eight day week that allows for little to absolutely no sleep due to intense deadlines and non-stop shows.  I guess you can say it's a bitter, sweet week.  Here are the hero products that got me through it without looking like a hot mess. Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, $39

It's the perfect combination of a dry shampoo and a hair spray.  On days when I skipped a shampoo and had to be at a show at 7am (Victoria Beckham on Saturday morning) I spritzed this on my roots and through my hair and it added volume and a bit of workable control. Backstage tons of stylists were using dry shampoo as a styling product, not just to control oil. You'll be hearing more about this in another post.

Kerstin Florian Correcting Eye Rescue Pad, $100 for 5

I stopped by Robert Verdi's Suite in the middle of the week to check out some new product launches and found these eye pads.  I literally put them on right then and there in the middle of the day and like a mask, they helped to soothe fine lines around my eyes and depuff underneath (which at this point was much needed).

Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer, $42

As the days went on I began to get paler and paler.  I normally don't wear any face makeup so I bought this tinted moisturizer in a shade darker than I normally would wear and mixed it in with my moisturizer to dilute it a bit and applied it daily to create a lively appearance.  Otherwise I would have been walking around looking like a corpse.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips, $9.99

I've written about these before and have worn them over and over.  They're real nail polish strips that you stick on your nails and last up to ten days.  I chose a metallic fishnet pattern and decided to rock them because I knew they wouldn't chip during my busy week.