When does your hair look and feel its best? Is it right after you’ve washed, conditioned, dried, and styled it? Maybe your hair looks better the day after that when your curls have had a chance to relax into soft waves? Or does the third day, when you pull out a signature messy bun, look great on you?

What if you could make every day look like your best hair day, each with its own characteristics and personality. It’s possible, but to do it, you have to learn a little about your hair’s natural attitude each day and how to make the most of it. Then, it’s all about appreciating the day and the style that goes with it.

Why second and third-day hair is better

The primary reason that second and third-day hair is better has nothing to do with styling and has everything to do with hair health. Skipping a shampoo day lets your scalp relax, and it stops working overtime to produce protective oils. Your strands also breathe a sigh of relief and soak up that valuable sebum.

The other reasons you’re going to love your second- and third-day hair are style-specific and easy to embrace.

Dry hairstyles hold better

Depending on your hair length, thickness, and porosity, air drying, and even blow-drying can take hours to complete and sometimes almost a whole day. This is part of the reason a stylist who is doing your hair for a big event will ask you to wash it the day before, they don’t want to work with freshly washed hair.

The natural state is better

By allowing your hair to rest for a day or more, you’re giving your scalp, follicles, and strands time to adjust back to their normal state. Your hair is more apt to cooperate when it’s feeling its groove and doing what it’s supposed to.

Oil helps

Those natural oils are very important to your hair health, and too much washing throws the cycle of oil production completely out of whack. When you embrace the natural oils, your hair becomes easier to sculpt and holds a style better while also creating a natural shine. 

Natural oils can add curl, body, and softness–all things you want.

Extra texture

With the added natural oil, your hair becomes a little “stickier.” This is actually a great thing because then your hair becomes thicker and has more texture. Texture not only looks great, but it holds styles better and keeps them in place longer.

More volume

A little oil clinging to your hair strands instantly adds volume. Your hair is fluffed out and looks lusher and thicker. From braids to buns or loose locks, your hair will appear fuller when it’s a little dirty.

Natural movement

As your hair settles after washing, it works itself back to where it’s comfortable, and natural divisions re-form, curls do what they want, and your hair starts to move naturally, and it looks effortless. 

Not “too perfect”

While freshly washed hair can feel great, freshly styled hair always looks a little too perfect. The too-perfect hair trend is long gone, and people are embracing more natural hair that looks healthy rather than helmet-y. 

By styling second- or third-day hair or just holding onto a style from the first day,  you’re instantly heading down a better path.

What happens between day one and two

So, what’s so magical about second-day hair? Typically, the day after washing and removing natural oils and dirt from your hair, your scalp has recovered and once again produces the proper amount of oil, so your scalp becomes balanced once again. Just enough oil to provide and retain moisture without the build-up that looks flat and heavy.

What’s better is that your second-day hair doesn’t have to be defeated by a first-day product. If you’ve used a botanical haircare product, it will still work with your hair on the second and third day without adding undesirable effects. Synthetic products like hairsprays can’t make this claim, but Hair La Vie’s products can because they give your hair nourishment that continues to fuel them after the first day.

Dry shampoo

If you’re ready to embrace second- and third-day hairstyles, you’re going to love what a good dry shampoo can do. Dry shampoo soaks up excess oils and adds a fresh and clean scent without having to go through the entire wet shampoo process. Not only do they leave your hair looking and smelling fresh again, but they also add great texture that helps create fantastic styles.

Hair La Vie’s Dry Shampoo takes it a step further by using plants and minerals to clean, detoxify, and add the appearance of volume to your hair. It’s an effortless way to give your hair visible texture and depth that will take your regular styles from suitable to stupendous.

Final thoughts

You don’t have to join the no-poo movement to embrace going a day or two without shampooing your hair. In fact, you can totally ignore all of the benefits your hair and scalp get from skipping shampoos and still be totally in love with second-and third-day hair. Why? Because it looks better and behaves better.

When your hair is allowed to relax and settle into its natural state, it has some oils and a little dirt in it. This might not sound good, but it actually is. These things don’t harm your hair, but they do add volume and texture that make your hair easier to style and holds the style longer. You might even find that simply letting your style “rest” overnight transforms it from an overdone look to one of natural glamour.

To make the most of “old hair,” add Hair La Vie’s Dry Shampoo to your routine to remove some of the oil at the scalp level and add freshness. Then take advantage of the visible body and volume that the shampoo created to sculpt, coax, curl, and tame your hair into its best style ever.