The Power Bun

I don't wash my hair every day. I don't even wash my hair every other day. When I was in high school, I washed and styled my hair using more product than you'd find in a grocery store. It took no less than 45 minutes and my hair was something to behold.

Then I had a child. And I discovered that I could add a day between washings and my hair still looked pretty good. Then I had another child and discovered that I could add one more day and, presuming I kept my blond highlights maintained, my hair still looked good. I've experimented with one more day between washings, but I could only pull that off if I either worked from home or invested in some wide hair bands to cover the oily roots. My hair has always been a huge source of pride for me so my initial non-hairwashing experiment was a huge deal.

Now I've even taken it one step further. I've replaced my long flowing 'do, which, every third day I have exhaustingly, painstakingly blown dry, flat ironed and then curled with my José Eber clipless curling iron, with the easiest, yet still professional in the workplace, 'do ever--the power bun. I know lots of women who sport the work bun when they are having a bad hair day or running late on a given morning. But I've been doing it every single day for two months now. I'm like a pioneer woman, but with a better wardrobe.

I've decided it's the best of all hair worlds. It's attractive and professional. I still get to keep my long hair for days--or date nights with my husband--when I want to actually style it and look superhot. Keeping it long has preserved versatility for all types of non-work activities--ponytail for running, braided pigtails for skiing and half-up 'do or messy bun for weekend errands. And best of all, I no longer need to give my hair a second thought when I'm running around in the morning trying to get ready, throw in a load of laundry, make the bed, respond to the kids' questions, etc. It's like a uniform for your hair.