I am mom of three busy kids all under the age of seven. Admittedly, I spend very little time on a beauty regimen. I recently watched a talented young mother provide an online live makeup tutorial. She patiently explained the multiple products and steps she used to achieve her beautiful end result. While I was enamored by her skills, I was not inspired to sprint to a store to purchase any of the products she used. I am simply too tired.
While spending large amounts of time on makeup and hair styles is not a priority in my life at the moment, I do recognize that there is a relation to how I feel about my appearance and my attitude. During my college days, I discovered wearing a little makeup and some nicer clothes gave me added confidence to tackle finals or presentations.
As a mom, I have had to discover simple and efficient beauty methods to gain added confidence as I go about my days. For years, a little blush and mascara on rushed days was just enough to get me though my day.
My dilemma in my beauty routine has been with my hair. I have really thick hair. My hair is so thick, that hairstylists often repeatedly comment on the thickness as they spend long amounts of time blow drying my hair. I also have just enough curl to drive me crazy. On hot humid days in the south, the curliness can be to my advantage and can be a great hairstyle. On low humidity days, it is just enough to look like a frizzy hot mess, if 20 to 30 minutes is not spent blow drying it straight.
This past spring, my hairstylist gave me a tip that has saved me lots of time. She encouraged me to try dry shampoo. I had never even considered using dry shampoo due to the years I worked as a nurse. Due to physical conditions, some of my patients were not able to physically shower, and we offered them hospital grade dry shampoo. Most of the time, a patient’s hair had a better appearance prior to the hospital dry shampoo.
As I was talking it over with my hairstylist, she mentioned that it had been a few days since she had washed her hair, because she used dry shampoo. She had dark hair similar to mine, and she looked completely normal. I decided to buy a travel size version of tinted dry shampoo. She advised me that I could initially only make it two days prior to needing to wash my hair. Basically, my hair would need to adjust to the new product. In addition, she informed me that because of oil production during the night, the dry shampoo would benefit me the most when sprayed before bedtime to soak up any oil.
Dry shampoo has changed and further simplified my morning routine. I now plan and factor in the days I will likely wash and dry my hair. A little dry shampoo on the busier days frees up more time and allows me to feel better about my appearance. Needless to say, my hairstylist has earned my loyalty.
Writer Bio: Summer Bolte
I spend most of my time and days with my three kids, husband and dog. My kids frequently play near me as I garden, cook, DIY and volunteer. My most unusual paying job has to be feeding fruit flies in a research lab, and my most fullfilling job was being an oncology nurse for seven years.