I’m so excited to share this post with you because it comes so highly requested and it’s such perfect timing with the holidays being here!  And while I’m an avid Dry Bar believer and lover, right now my schedule is so packed and I do anything I can to save time but still have my hair look like I just left the salon.

I realize that everyone’s hair is completely different and what works for me might not work for others, but my hair is pretty thin and fine and has a tendency to fall flat quickly.  I do have extensions which has helped so many of my hair issues (I can’t recommend them enough!), but finding the right products that work for me has been crucial!

When it comes to hair products, I use a pretty minimal amount.  I can’t stand the feeling of hair that’s full of product, but at the same time I want to use things that are going to help my hair look it’s best and hold the style that I spend the time to do.  Straight out of the shower, I spray my hair with It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Treatment plus Keratin and then brush through it with my Wet Brush.  The treatment helps to detangle longer hair and provides a heat protectant for all the styling I’m about to do.  (I don’t spray it onto my roots because my hair gets oily quick and I want to put the littlest amount of product possible there.)  And if you haven’t used a Wet Brush, you need to take yourself to Target right now and treat yourself to one.  There’s nothing like it, especially for long hair, and it’s like less than $10.

Next I apply Bumble & Bumble’s Thickening Full Form Mousse into my roots.  My hair is pretty thin, so volume is the one thing I need the most help with.  The mousse is pretty powerful so I only use the amount shown in the photo above otherwise I notice my hair to feel too product-y.  I rub in in my hands and then apply it straight to the crown of my head.

Now for blow-dry!  Ever since getting extensions, my dry time has tripled (and when I say tripled I mean 5 minutes to 15 minutes 😉) , but the only way I can even get away with only fifteen minutes is using the right tools.  And who likes blowdrying their hair anyways?  Am I the only one who is practically overheating towards the end?  Any longer than fifteen minutes and I’m like, “Okay, wet hair it is!”

After getting extensions I had to figure out something to cut the dry time down; it was taking me almost a half hour at the beginning!  Fromm Beauty had sent me a few brushes a while before and I hadn’t really gotten a chance to try them.  But in my search to figure out how to dry all this new hair quicker (bless you, girls with thick hair!), I grabbed them and have never looked back!  Ever since, I haven’t dried my hair without them and when Fromm reached out to partner this holiday season about how I #skipthesalon, it was a no brainer!  Full disclosure here: I even had to have them send out a new set of brushes because mine have been used so much that they would not look cute in photos 😉.  If that’s not proof of how much I love them, I’m not sure what is!

I start with the square rounder brush to help lift my roots.  This brush is the only one I’ve ever seen like it with the square shape.  It gives you all the benefits and volume of blowdrying with a round brush like they do at the salon, but doesn’t curl your hair under too much and keeps it straight.  I start with my bangs and lift up from the root to add volume, and continue through my whole crown the same way, lifting and drying at the root.

My arsenal of brushes!  I couldn’t get full, holiday ready hair without them, but at the same time can’t get myself to spend a fortune on them either.  None of these are over $20!

This next step is where I cut my dry time most!  I use the Fromm Hot Paddle brush which looks and works just like your typical paddle brush, but has an aluminum plate on the back side.  This plate heats up as you dry and essentially helps you dry from both sides, which is where you save so much time!  Compared to a normal paddle brush, I save at least 10 minutes on my dry time.  And really any time I can save is a bonus, but especially this time of year, whenever I can save time I take it!

And a quick shout out to my T3 blowdryer, because I’m the pickiest hot tools girl and this one has won my heart.  No joke, I have used a Target dryer for years before this one and have purchased at least 5 different expensive ones and returned them because I didn’t like them more than my Conair (haha!).  But this T3 finally got me to ditch it for good!

Once my hair is completely dry, I curl it with this 1 1/4″ Babyliss curling iron that’s under $40.  Since it’s so hard to try to describe how to curl your hair, I included a video below.  [Excuse the poor quality (I’m no YouTuber!), but I felt it would still be helpful for you to see!]

I finish it off by running Moroccan Oil through with my hands and then lightly spraying Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray.  It’s a bit pricey but you only use a little and it lasts for such a long time!

This is my go-to style for everything from holiday parties or just days when I want to look a little more done up.  If my hair isn’t styled like this, it’s either in a ponytail or just straight (I stop at the curling part but do the same blow-dry routine).  My hair will last for a couple of days with just adding dry shampoo to the roots each night (yes! do your dry shampoo at night!) and a couple curls the following mornings, but I’m sure if you hair doesn’t tend to get as oily it would last even longer!

What are your tricks for skipping the salon this time of year?

Thanks so much to Fromm for sponsoring this post!  As always, all opinions are my own.

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