If there's one thing I'm very good at, it's trying to make my dirty hair look clean approximately five minutes before running (sprinting) to the bus. It's a smooth process that usually involves half a bottle of dry shampoo, a blow-dry brush and lots of swearing.
So when Leigh Campbell and I were chatting about a nifty-looking hair hack for flat hair on this week's episode of You Beauty, I couldn't wait to put it to the test.
Mostly because it came from the social feed of the incredible Matt Newman — aka Matt Loves Hair.
Watch: Speaking of hair hacks, here are 6 hairstylist tips you never knew you needed. Post continues below.
If you don't already follow him, you simply must.
Not only does he love hair, but he has the BEST hair. So, he must be doing something right.
He's a hairstylist who's based in the US and he regularly shares tips, tricks and reviews across his social media accounts. And goodness, have we talked about how phenomenal his hair is?
And because we love to try a good hack on You Beauty, we ("I") decided to give it a whirl (Leigh refused because she was not about to mess up her freshly cut bob, thank you very much. And we don't blame her).
So, does it actually work? Well, here's what happened.
Hold up. What is the flat hair hack?
Righto, you’ll need four things (write this down, pls) — a headband, hairspray, a hairdryer and a comb.
Firstly, Matt pops a hair band over his head and has it around his neck (like a necklace), ready to pull up. Then, he sprays a regular black comb with hairspray and brushes it through his hairline, focusing on his roots and the crown of his head.
Listen: Prefer to listen to the ep? That's cool! Check it out below.
He then slides the headband on, slicking his hair back, and basically continues spraying the hairline, using that same comb to brush the hairs in place.
He then reaches for a Dyson blow dryer and blasts his hairline using the 'cool' setting, for a couple of minutes, to set everything.
Then, he takes the headband off, parts his hair and... FARRAH FAWCETT IS THAT YOU?
If you're more of a visual kind of gal (fair) and I did a Not Great Job at explaining it (very fair), check out the whole tutorial below:
Okay, but how good does it look?!
In a nutshell, there are six main steps — spray a comb with hairspray, brush it through your hair, pop on a headband, add more hairspray to your hairline, blast with a hairdryer, and take off the headband.
The best part? Once you got the steps down pat, it's super quick and easy.
How did you go with it?
I went with a strong hold hairspray from TRESemmé, which meant my roots felt a little hard/crunchy for my liking BUT I felt like it would last longer this way/didn't look at the packaging when I bought it.
I also used a standard comb, a black stretchy headband and a blow dryer with a 'cold' setting (my trusty VS Sassoon).
As per the instructions, I started with the headband around my neck (so it was easy to pull over my hair), and sprayed the comb with hairspray, before brushing it through my roots.
Please note just how flat, and in desperate need of assistance my hair looks below. Also, my face.
I then pull the headband over my head and felt kinda cute and... OMG REMEMBER HEADBANDS?!
I sprayed my hairline with more hairspray and then hit it with the hairdryer (on the cool setting).
Then for the big reveal!
I took off the headband and used my fingers to fix my part, and...
Thoughts? Feelings?
Oh, come on.
It immediately felt styled and more 'done'. Like my hair wasn't just stuck to my scalp in all it's three-days-since-the-last-wash glory.
Just to rewind, I went from left to right in the space of, like, two minutes:
Pretty impressive, no?
The verdict.
Look, there's a lot more to it than the standard dry shampoo spritz, but you can't deny the volume. Plus, it actually lasted. How good!
I did the hack around 9am and this was me at like 2.30pm:
Not bad!
As someone who regularly has dirty hair and is always in desperate need of a quick fix, I reckon I'd give this a whirl again!
Next time I think I'll opt for a hairspray that isn't so high on the stronghold scale (to avoid the crunchiness). In fact, I might even try a combo of volumising dry shampoo and the headband hack.
Anyway, we love when a hack doesn't go to total s**t!
But if you love to have a giggle at a fail, check out the 10-pump foundation hack, the water and foundation hack and that time I put lube on my face.
Okay, bye, love you xx
Would you give this hair hack a go? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Feature image: Instagram/@erinparsonsmakeup; Mamamia/You Beauty podcast.
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