10 Natural Hair Tips That Will Save You Time And Money

Kids are starting school soon. Between work, cooking, housework, working out, the baby running out of formula, teenage son breaking the washing machine with his Jordans, laundry piling up and your boss wanting that report done ASAP everything is happening all at once.

Even those without children often find themselves with crippling social schedules and obligations that need your attention and money right now.

We are all busy people, there is no doubt about that; so it’s only natural that sometimes we need to scale back on some things to create time and money for others.

Natural hair practices can get overwhelming, especially in the beginning when you don’t really have staple products and everything feels like guesswork.

So if you are looking for natural hair tips to save you time and money, you have come to the right place.

1. Product Pimpin’ – I know that sounds a little racy but really, to save time and money buy products that can do double duty.

For example, we tend to have products for every single aspect of our regimens. Something for cleansing, something for conditioning, something for conditioning after you condition, something for styling, the list goes on and on.

An easy way to save is to leave a little bit of your rinse out conditioner in your hair as a leave in conditioner*. One great example is Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa conditioner, some women who use this product as a conditioner have found that it works just as well as a leave in adding moisture and giving their curls life.

Only do this with mostly natural and light conditioners because some conditioners should definitely be rinsed out!

2. Wash Less Often – By no means take this as an invitation to rock dirty hair, but if you can stretch the time between your wash days to be at least six days instead of re-washing every 2 days you will save a lot of time and your conditioner won’t keep on running out.

Let’s face it, we are all busy and with everything we have going on in our lives the thought of washing your hair every couple of days is more of an inconvenience than therapy.

The key to washing less often is to ensure that you moisturize and seal your hair very well the first time. In addition to this, try protective or low manipulation styling for half of the week and then let it all hang out for the last couple of days.

For washing schedules over two weeks we have specific tips for doing so while still retaining length.

3. Protective Style More – This one is a no brainer; the longer your hair is in a protective style the more your hands are free to do other things.

Protective styling is a godsend for women with kids, because Lord knows with school starting we barely have enough time to at least look presentable while dropping them off.

If you are in a protective style then you can just pull off your satin bonnet* in the morning, add some lip balm and go!

Obviously there are more benefits to protective styling but hair on the go for the first day of school seems like the most relevant one at the moment.

4. The Signature Style – We mentioned protective styling above, but in addition to this, just like your signature lippie you should always have a signature hairstyle that is quick and looks great on you no matter what.

Get in front of the mirror and figure out what style that is, whether it is a bun, a roll and tuck or just your favorite scarf. Whatever it is practice until you have it down to an art form. When your haven’t got time to fuss with your hair,  just unleash your go-to style and don’t even worry about it.

5. Deep Condition Short Or Deep Condition Long – Confused? Don’t worry I’ll bring it back. Let me explain, if you are doing a regular deep condition, then cut the time down to thirty minutes maximum.You may already know that heat boosts absorption of conditioners so use some and get that thing done quickly.

On the other side of the coin, if you prefer conditioning for longer periods of time, try an overnight deep condition instead of a daytime one. That way you can take advantage of the time while you are asleep and doing nothing else anyway.

If you use products like henna* that can get pretty messy while you sleep, then start in the morning and call that a hat day. Dig out your beanie hat and go about your business while you let the product sit.

6. Find Your Styling Product And Stick With It – Some of us are borderline disrespectful to our finances when it comes to styling cremes, gels, pomades and edge control potions.

Part of the issue is too many of us want our hair to do something it was not meant to do. If we haven’t said it before, listen up, your hair will only curl if you have a curl pattern. No product will give you curls if you haven’t got them naturally.

If you are looking for a product that will give you S curls when you are typically a Z you will not find it, your hair is built like a Z and therefore unless you chemically change it, it will remain a Z. That said curls are pretty easy to achieve using minimal styling product and plenty of skill.

A great way to save some money is to buy bulk. Pick up a styling product that works for you packed with ingredients that your hair loves. That way you aren’t purchasing and re purchasing small jars of styling miracles that do exactly the same thing as the last 8 you bought.

7. Get Organized – This includes hair tools and hair pins. Have you ever wondered why you can never find a bobby pin when you need one, even though you probably have a thousand of them lying around?

Create a good organization system for your tools and hair stuff, so that you are not re-buying goody bands and packs of bobby pins* every other week. Get separate containers for your valuables so that you know where everything is, color code them if necessary.

8. Keep Your Big Chop Alive – This tip is not for everyone, but if you prefer short hair then you are pretty familiar with the pleasure of using fewer products and saving time in the morning.

Short hair is not only sexy but it is so easy you will literally wonder what to do with yourself in that whole hour you have saved. If short hair is your thing why not visit the barber shop and free yourself.

Even if you are not into the super short hair look, the shorter your hair is the quicker and easier it is to manage. Mo hair mo problems.

9. Eat Well– Sometimes it isn’t just what you put on your hair that matters but rather what you put in your body. We can spend a fortune buying things geared towards hair health but instead of spending $14.00 on a hair repair kit, spend it at the farmers market buying fresh produce that will improve your hair health from the inside out.

If you eat healthy you won’t need that repair kit, you will notice that your hair’s overall health changing and all you did was pay .50 cents for an apple or an avocado.

10. Lose The Fuss – This is the final tip but it might be the most important. Sometimes we get so caught up and focused on hair we lose perspective on other aspects of life that are truly important.

When you fill your life with healthy living options like working out and spending time with your family, you really have no time or space for excessive hair fussiness.

Remove the fuss, and you will save money it just works out that way, don’t ask us for the formula just try it. Start working out outside in fall, get a few friends together and go hiking or for a bike ride, tackle the jungle gym with the kids again, travel with the hubs!

Have some fun doing more with less time or rather, doing more important things. Trust me, your hair does benefit from being left alone sometimes!