Whether it's perfectly manicured nails, razor-sharp eye-liner or putting on your favourite smart suit, we usually have a morning ritual that sees us focus on one particular thing that gives us a confident boost for the day. That is after that half an hour of yoga to wake you up (of course darling)!
For me, it is of course my hair. I need it to look on point or I just can't face the world with my head held as high. Whether I've decided for a natural curly look or something altogether straighter; there needs to be an effort made whilst still looking effortless. So what's a busy girl to do?!
Now I do like to rise as early as I can but there is a limit as to how far I'll go for the sake of my hair. A 4am wash, blow and style just isn't going to happen outside of my own wedding day so I've had to get a little bit more creative with how I achieve salon worthy hair before 8am.
Now I am certainly no stranger to rollers of all kinds and been known to potter around the house in them. I've even tried the ones you sleep in - something you too can try if you generally don't enjoy sleep. But I have never really tried any overnight 'no-heat' styling techniques. Probably as a result of growing up in the straight-hair obsessed '90s where you had to flatten your hair within an inch of its life with whatever tools available to you. Let's face it, we've all laid our head on the ironing board at some point in that decade.
Being of mixed race, I have naturally curly hair but as anyone who has curly hair will know, this kind of hair can get very frizzy and unruly. The curls don't always work together and often change their form throughout the day without warning. Plus, heat is incredibly damaging, especially when used every day, so for the sake of my future thickness, I really needed to try something new; the no-heat overnight hairstyle.
A quick look on Pinterest will throw up many versions of this style but the principal is largely the same; using slightly damp hair, section and twist your hair into small spirals to form china bumps, using bobby pins if necessary to secure them. I have shoulder length hair so this normally takes me around 15-20 minutes to complete. I usually dampen each section with conditioner or a detangler spray and leave to dry overnight, using my fingers to separate the curls in the morning. And...that's it!
I know, its seems far too simple to be true but the results are genuinely impressive and altogether more natural than any wand or blow out could produce. It seems that old-fashioned beauty techniques really are sometimes the best, no matter how well we try and match it. And as the autumn approaches with its cooler weather and darker mornings, I welcome any approach to grooming that gives me better results with little preparation.