High and Low Maintenance Hairstyles
A: This is a very good question that very few people ever bother to ask. There is no one hard and fast rule as to what defines high/low maintenance hair. Long hair doesn’t always equal high maintenance, and short hair most definitely isn’t always low maintenance.
1. Your style. Styles that are used in creative hairstyle photoshoots tend to be extremely high maintenance. These are the type of hairstyles that have very definite/solid lines along the hairline; like the perfectly straight/curved styles advertised on Schwarzkopf or L’Oréal boards or magazine pictures. You’ll find these styles on people that work in the industry, such as hairdresser students or hairstylists, models, make-up artists, etc.
These are people who either work in a salon or have friends that work in the hairdressing industry. It’s easy/cheaper for these groups of people to maintain their crazy or show-stopping hairstyles. Styles that generally require less maintenance are layered styles, such as short, medium or long layered cuts. This is because the hair still looks great as the layers grow out.
2. Your hair type. Very curly, dry or damaged hair is very high-maintenance hair. If you have very curly hair, choose a hairstyle that makes it possible for you to have “wash and go” days most of the time. Very little people have the time to wash, blow-dry, straighten and style their hair in the morning. Thus choose a hairstyle that can be styled into something stunning when you go out, but can also look good when you don’t have the time to do anything with it.
Very dry or damaged hair will require a lot of maintenance. Thus, this kind of hair is time and money intensive. The easiest type of hair to style is usually healthy or natural straight or wavy hair of medium density and thickness. This kind of hair suits almost any style and required very little maintenance.
3. How much your artificial color differs from the color of your natural hair. If you have dark brown hair and you color your hair to a platinum blonde, you’ll have to color your hair every four weeks. This will obviously be a very maintenance intensive color to uphold and keep looking healthy and shiny. Remember you’ll also need special silver shampoo and conditioner, a deep treatment, a detangling spray, etc. to keep your hair from being too dry or brittle.
In contrast to this; when you color your hair only one or two shades darker/lighter than you natural color, you can go a while without coloring it, and your regrowth won’t be very visible. Colors such as ombre, balayage and fine highlights also help you go longer between visits to the hair colorist, thanks to the color blending qualities of these styles.
©Hairfinder.com
See also:
Low maintenance short hair
Low maintenance pixie cuts
How to make hair color last longer