8 Hairstyle Tips For Men & Women To Get Salon-Level Hair With Just Household Items

Hairstyle tips using household items

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For most of us, our hair is pretty much the cornerstone of our appearance. It’s only natural that splurging on hair products and salon visits equate to having enviable hair, but us Singaporeans are more than welcoming when it comes to saving time and money on these. It turns out you can use household items to get the job done without having to head out to a salon. Here are 8 hairstyle tips that’ll give you effortless hairdos as you head out after a day from working-from-home. 

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1. Use a bath towel to curl your hair

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You can perform this hack with both damp and dry hair

While hair curlers are usually the default option to get those bouncy curls, it turns out you can actually style your hair without styling tools, a.k.a. a simple bath towel. Since you’ll be at home working anyway, no one’s going to judge you for having a towel secured to your hair throughout the day.

What you’ll need: A bath towel and 2 hair ties.

How it works:

1. Roll the towel as thin as you possibly can.
2. Place the rolled towel onto the middle of your head and separate your hair into 2 sections.
3. In a criss-cross motion, twirl your hair around the towel until your hair wraps fully around the towel.
4. Secure the ends of your hair to the towel with a hair tie.
5. Repeat for the other side of your hair, leave it overnight or around 5 hours and voila, you’ve got a wavy set of curls!

Pro-tip: You can also use socks or strips of aluminium foil to get tighter curls.

The result: naturally wavy hair throughout the day.

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2. Get that Zayn Malik dangling strand with a fork

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Men, rejoice. While we can’t have ex-One Direction heartthrob Zayn Malik’s sultry vocals, it’s quite easy to replicate the popstar’s iconic loose strand hairstyle. You just need a little bit of help from one of the prongs of a trusty fork. 

What you’ll need: A fork, pomade of your choice and a hairdryer.

How it works:

1. Splash a bit of water on dry hair and blow dry it using the hairdryer, constantly ruffling your hair in an upward motion.
2. Use some pomade to style your hair to whichever side you’d like, making sure it stays in place.
3. When the hair product has set, use one of the fork’s prongs to pick off a loose strand of hair that’ll dangle over your forehead. 
4. Twirl that loose strand of hair around one of your fingers to shape it.

Pro-tip: Use a generous amount of hairspray so your hair doesn’t flop haphazardly when you’re out!

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3. Wedge a pencil into your hair to elevate your ponytail

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Having your hair in a ponytail is a go-to hairstyle that’s classic and stylish, especially in Singapore’s heat. But it’s a common peeve for ponytails to eventually droop after a couple of hours, especially if you have hair that’s too fine or thick. It turns out all you need is a small pencil to keep your ponytail voluminous and perched atop your head.

What you’ll need: A short pencil and a hair tie. Also works with a pen cap. 

How it works:

1. Tie your hair into a regular ponytail, then fasten it securely using the hair tie.
2. Wedge the blunt end of the small pencil into the middle of the ponytail. 
3. Hide the pencil beneath the top layer of your ponytail.

Pro-tip: Use the 2 ponytail trick to get extra volume and length. Tie the top half of your hair and do the same for the bottom half. Drape the top ponytail over the bottom one.

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4. Tame frizzy hair using a toothbrush

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Picture this: You’ve just meticulously styled your hair when you notice some pesky flyaways jutting out from the edges of your head. To prevent these frizzy hairs from dampening the glamour of your coif, use a toothbrush-hairspray combo to keep them down.

What you’ll need: A toothbrush and a can of hairspray.

How it works:

1. Apply some hairspray onto the bristles of the toothbrush
2. Brush flyaway strands using the toothbrush. The closely-packed bristles will evenly distribute the hairspray onto your hair, tucking loose strands away neatly.

Pro-tip: If you don’t have hairspray or wax on hand, you can also use hand lotion for flyaways.

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5. Give your hair volume with a DIY sea salt spray

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If some beachy waves or natural volume is what you want, then a sea salt spray is what you need. Providing a different look from your regular pomade or wax styles, this 4-ingredient DIY sea salt spray recipe helps you get that casually suave hairdo without having to buy one off the shelves.

What you’ll need: 

• 1 tbsp of sea salt 
• 1 tbsp of melted coconut oil 
• 1 tbsp of leave-in hair conditioner 
• 1 cup of warm water 
• 1 mixing bowl 
• 1 spray bottle

How it works:

1. Pour the sea salt and water into the bottle, giving it a good shake until the salt dissolves.
2. Mix coconut oil and leave-in conditioner in a separate bowl, then add it to the salt water concoction.
3. Shake it all up to mix. 

To style, spray the product 3-4 times into your hair, using your hands to massage the product evenly through the roots. From there, style it in an upwards motion or however you’d like and let the product set in.

Pro-tip: You can add in about 4 drops of an essential oil of your choice – like lavender or mint – to give the spray a hint of fragrance.

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6. Get rid of greasiness with homemade dry shampoo

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Rumour has it that shampooing your hair too frequently can cause issues like a flaky scalp and dry hair. That’s why some people stagger their shampoo routine, washing their hair only once every 2-3 days. 

On those no-wash days though, dry shampoo is a convenient go-to solution to absorb oil on the scalp. With just 2 ingredients, this DIY recipe could be your trump card on days where you’re rushing out after a long day of work or when you simply have no time to wash your hair.

What you’ll need: 

• 2 tbsp of cornstarch 
• 2 tbsp of cocoa powder
• 1 small bowl for mixing

How it works:

1. Add in 1 tbsp of cornstarch into the mixing bowl.
2. Add in a ¼ tbsp of cocoa powder into the bowl and mix. Add more cocoa till the mixture of powders is of a similar shade as your hair colour.
3. Use a brush to spread the mixture onto the greasier parts of your scalp. 
4. Use your fingers to massage and blend the powder into the hair and you’re done!

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7. Use coconut oil to protect your hair when touching up roots

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Many of us are no stranger to changing up our usual look by dabbling with different hair colours every now and then. But coloured hair requires maintenance, especially when your roots start to grow out and the colour difference can stick out like a sore thumb. 

To effortlessly touch up your roots at home, use coconut oil as a protective layer so you don’t colour anything other than your roots. By acting as a protective layer, it doesn’t let any dye trickle over from your roots and affect the rest of your hair.

What you’ll need: 1 bottle of coconut oil

How it works:

1. Pour a palm full of coconut oil onto your hands. 
2. Massage the oil into your middle and ends of your hair to form the coconut oil shield.
3. Touch up your roots without fear of dye seeping over to the rest of your hair.

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8. Protect your hairline and roots with lip balm

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Another fear we have when colouring our hair at home is dye trickling down our foreheads and staining our skin. To avoid looking like a crayon ran amok on our head, apply a protective layer of lip balm across the circumference of your hairline and you’ll be safe.

What you’ll need: A stick of lip balm and hair dye colouring.

How it works: 

1. Trace the lip balm across the circumference of your head, including your hairline, sideburns and the back of your hair. 
2. When you apply the hair dye, the layer of lip balm will prevent the dye from staining your scalp.

Pro-tip: Add a high-gloss sheen to dyed hair with an olive & coconut oil mask.

You can use this hair mask with a DIY hair dye product like Hoyu’s Men’s Bigen or Cielo Cream for women to get a radiant sheen.

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Maintain healthy hair colour with Hoyu

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One of the most common hairstyle tips you’ll hear is to always conduct a skin allergy test on a small portion of hair before using any hair dye product

As we age, grey hair is a horror story that eventually comes true for many of us. Even if we’re young at heart, adding a splash of colour or touching up silver streaks can do wonders for our self-confidence. 

If you’re looking to conveniently touch up grey hair without messing up the bathroom, check out the Men’s Bigen ($17.90) and Cielo Cream ($17.90) by Hoyu, one of Japan’s top hair colour brands. These are convenient home colour products for men and women respectively. 

The products come with a bottle of hair dye and a comb, which is all you need for your next dye sesh. The bottles’ double nozzle design squirts out 2 different non-drip creams that mix themselves when you’re combing the product through your hair, so there’s minimal prep you need to do beforehand.

The comb allows you to meticulously apply it along even your roots, hairline and sideburns.

The colouring process is quick too. Simply apply the product and let it sit – the Men’s Bigen only requires 5 minutes while the Cielo Cream requires just 15 minutes. Rinse it off with shampoo and conditioner and you’ve successfully guised those pesky gray patches.

Best part is, unlike single-use hair dyes out there, a single bottle can be used multiple times, making it a convenient, money-saving option. Fresh cream will be dispensed even after the first use, so your future touch-ups are all sorted with just 1 bottle.

You can get your hair colouring fix from your local Watsons, Guardian, FairPrice, Cold Storage and even e-commerce sites like Shopee Mall and Qoo10. Here are some upcoming deals to take note of, in conjunction with Japan’s “Good Couple Day” on 22nd November, where married couples celebrate their love.

• 1st – 30th November 2020, FairPrice Xtra: Purchase $30 worth of Men’s Bigen and Cielo Cream to get a free Promaster Color Care gift set (shampoo & treatment) for free.
• 5th November – 2nd December 2020, Watsons: Buy any 2 Men’s Bigen or Cielo Cream products in the same receipt and enter a lucky draw to win a pair of Samsung Galaxy S20 mobile phones, a pair of Apple Watches, or 2 pairs of Sony earbuds.

At the end of the day, we all just want an easy hair ritual that effortlessly gives us the perfect hairdo before our next outing. So bear these hair hacks and products in mind and you’ll never have to compromise on punctuality and looking good ever again.

Find out more about Hoyu’s products here

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This post was brought to you by Hoyu.
Photography by Nadia Loewito.