The first alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m., but it just doesn’t seem to do the trick. Three or four “snooze” hits later, it is 7:45 a.m., and class starts in 15 minutes. Getting up after the first alarm would have provided ample time for hairstyling, but the extra zzz’s were just so much more appealing. At this point, there are just two things to do: leave the apartment with a serious case of bed head, or find a way to hide it.
Between trying to pass classes, working to pay rent and finding time to socialize and date, college students rarely find the time to get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night. It can be especially hard to find the time to do one’s hair in the morning, because doing so usually means sacrificing time that could be spent sleeping.
“If I have to choose hair or sleep, I’ll choose sleep every time,” said Rachel Carter, a film student in Salt Lake Center.
Fortunately, there are quick fixes to hide early morning bed head. Fashion and lifestyle blogger Alexia Saxton shared how she does her hair when she needs a quick fix in the morning.
“My go-to is a side braid,” Saxton said. “I do just a regular side braid or a fishtail braid, and it only takes me about a minute.”
Saxton advised girls to make their braids messy, since that is what is in style right now.
“Braids hide everything. You can braid your hair on the side and throw a headband on, or you can braid your hair and wrap it up on top of your head like a headband,” Carter said. “That style is perfect because the messier the better.”
Alice Judd, a freshman at BYU, found that one solution to bed head hair is a quick shower. However, this can sometimes cause a problem during the cold winter months.
“I’ll just walk out the door with it wet and dripping. Sometimes it freezes on my way to school or work,” Judd said.
Perhaps if a shower is necessary to tame unruly bed head, students should also keep a blow dryer on hand in order to prevent freezing during the wintertime. Grant Brannock, a previous student at the LDS Business College, finds a blow dryer does the trick for him.
“I usually get a haircut once a week, so my sides never grow long enough for me to get bed head, but a firm-hold pomade teamed with a blow dryer really can put those out-of-place hairs back in line,” Brannock said.
For some, braids can help fake good hair when time is lacking. For others, a quick shower is a must. However, many people either don’t know how to braid or don’t even have enough time to shower in the morning. For these people, a simple store-bought product might be the answer.
Saxton said the best product to use in the morning is a dry shampoo, and Judd found that a leave-in conditioner is the answer for her.
“I use leave-in conditioner every morning to keep my hair from drying out or getting staticky during the day,” Judd said.
A good night’s sleep is vital and morning bed head shouldn’t be something students have to worry about. And if all else fails, there’s always hats.
