It’s quite surprising to me, but I get a lot of blog traffic from Pinterest pins of my hair … especially the picture featuring my signature man bun. I adopted a low-maintenance style to save time and money in retirement, but it turned out to be a great strategy for pandemic hair.
And, yes, it’s looking like pandemic hair is my forever hair.
Texture
I’ve always had fine hair … a decent amount with plenty of body, but it’s weightless. Like fairy hair. My hair is not thinner due to age – I was born this way. Over the years, I’ve learned to embrace it.
My stylist would prefer I wear it a bit shorter, but she’s benchmarking me against thick hair. I like the way it looks, and extra length means fewer visits to the salon. With fine hair, wearing it longer also gives you more hair to twist around for updos.
Color
It has been 12 years since I dyed my hair. By the way, I managed to have a great career and got promoted with gray hair. It happens. Growing it out is painful, but once you get through it, no more fussing with roots. And everyone goes gray differently. Your color is unique to you. It can’t be replicated from a bottle, and that’s kind of cool.
Cut
Because my hair is fine, I do not have layers or bangs. Bangs just mean less hair, right? I haven’t had it professionally cut since January. Due to the pandemic, I do not intend to visit a salon anytime soon.
My new favorite way to cut is to part it in the middle and make pigtails. Then bring the pigtails to the front, tie them together and press your fingers on a line where you want to cut. I just snip the ends off. From the back, it’s slightly lopsided, but it’s good enough for me, especially since I rarely wear it down. I hope to improve on my salon skills over time.
For the record, I cut Dale’s hair, and it’s also slightly lopsided. Then I had to give my cat what might be referred to as a “sanitary clip.” Also a wee bit crooked, so we’re all in this together!
Care
I wash and condition my hair as little as possible, about twice a week. No styling products. No blow dryer. When it’s wet, I clip it in a bun on the top of my head. Take the clip out before I go to bed, and my hair is full and wavy when I wake up in the morning.
While I use a regular brush, I also use a 100 percent boar-bristle brush to distribute the oils and smooth my hair. The brush also “plumps” up my hair for better updos.
Most of the time I wear it in a bun secured with a silk scrunchie. I have a variety of clips, jaws and barrettes for other updos. I like it slightly unruly and let a few loose strands fall where they may.
For this version of low-maintenance hair, I think you have to like the way you look in short hair, because wearing it up will be your default much of the time. It’s like having short hair but easier in some ways.
Special Occasions
I might use a styling gel or root lifter and blow it dry with a round boar-bristle brush. I only do this once or twice a year.
Your pandemic hair
How is your hair holding up? Roots? Have you decided to buzz it off, grow it longer or go gray? Are you cutting it yourself? Or dare I ask … have you visited a salon?
You do have gorgeous hair. I’ve only colored my hair twice, the last time being 16 years ago. It’s kind of funny because my bangs are almost white, but there’s quite a bit of color in the back. I was planning to cut a couple inches off this spring, but didn’t get to it so now it’s halfway down my back. Since I’m short waisted and my hair grows fast, by the time we get over this enough for me to be comfortable going to a salon, I just might have waist length hair. Mine isn’t weightless so it feels like a blanket sometimes. I need to figure out how to get it into a bun. Haven’t found a clip big enough to hold it all like your photo.
Thank you! I also have dark hair in the back. Check out http://www.franceluxe.com. There’s a menu bar across the top of the page. Hover over Collections and then Browse by Style. Select For Thick Hair. There are some monster clips and such in there that should hold any amount of hair! I think my hair is too fine for hair sticks, but they are also a good option if you can figure out how to use them. Hope you find something that works.
Thanks for the link. Do you get stuff there? I have to say I’m a bit stunned at the prices. $28 for a barrette. Looks like it would hold my hair, but I just can’t see myself spending that kind of money. My frugal side couldn’t handle it.
Yes, they are pricey, but I’ve not seen anything else like it. I find the quality to be excellent. That whitish barrette in my picture is years old.
Your hair is gorgeous color and I love it long. Rock it. I also stopped coloring when i was 40 and now i am 53. My DH has beautiful salt and pepper (more salt) and when we got married I decided to take a chance on looking a bit older and I stopped coloring. During this pandemic I am glad i am low maintenance – except i like having pretty nails. I am about to stop that too probably, I could use the extra money it costs.
I never had pretty nails, so no loss there. Low maintenance rocks!
My dark blonde low-lights are slowly fading away. The hair appointment just before the shutdown carried me through to June. Now I’m getting a cut every 5 wks, no color. That translates into an annual savings of >$700. I’m getting used to the chromed look. More than one of my friends have taken this opportunity to give up the regular coloring. One had visited her 97 yr old mother in hospital only to be told to go home and dye her hair! Donna, you rock your look.
That is amazing that you are saving so much money. I forgot how expensive color is. Some people do hate gray, but I am obviously not among them!
I’m actually in the middle of writing a blog about my own gray hair. What a coincidence!! I have been to my stylist two times since they were allowed to open again. Fortunately, she’s in a one room suite so my exposure is very limited. I have decided to keep mine a little longer from now on, so fewer visits to her. I also love my gray hair. Best decision ever. I have fine hair but lots of it. It bugs me a lot especially when I’m outside. But it’s not long enough to pull up and I don’t look good with it that way anyway. I wash mine only 2-3 times a week. And I shed. Worse than the cats, I think. Now that it’s gray, I see my hairs all over our dark floor!! My stylist says I probably lose 100 hairs a day. Amazing.
Yes, between me and the cat, I have plenty of work to do. Congrats on going gray. I can’t wait to read about it!
I was gray in my early fifties, went that way for awhile nd then colored for a long while. Kept going shorter (my hiar has no body of its own, so really, its lont or short) and decided soloring it once a month was pain in the butt. Never looked back and I’m happy with it, got a set of clippers when theyw ere finable and it works for me. Aside from all the reasons I leave it short (I really hate when hair messes with my glasses) it also means I can take a bedtime shower instead of morning and have no bed head.
Bed head — you say that like it’s a bad thing. Kidding aside, I like your buzz cut. I would totally do that if my circumstances should change.