If you’re looking for some simple game changers in the world of hair care and style, I beg you to give this a read. Sock buns and dry shampoo. Let’s start with the latter.

Dry Shampoo: I know, I know. People have been raving about dry shampoo for years, but the raves and recommendations always seem to come from the celebrities or my LA friends. Never thought it was really a mainstream, easy to find, cheap to buy, easy to use thing.

Well, I was wrong. One day this week I woke up super late, with less than 20 minutes to shower, get ready, pack a lunch and get to work. My commute to work is super short, but not short enough to make miracles happen. So I hopped in the shower, and in a moment of idiocy said ‘hey, why not save 30 seconds and not wash your hair today?’. Bad idea. Stupid, stupid idea. My hair is very thin, very straight, and I wash it almost every day.

Fortunately for me, my work is on the same block as a CVS, and I spent the last two minutes of my train ride Googling dry shampoo at CVS to find which brands are offered at my local store. I picked up a bottle of Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo for under $6 and it seriously saved the day. Not that I really need to care about looking pretty for my coworkers, but hey. It made me feel better, and now I’ve added this little trick to my repertoire of time saving ways.

Sock Buns: Now let’s talk about another time saving, dirty hair trick. This isn’t a new thing. If you’re on Pinterest you’ve already seen hundreds of photos of sock buns and dozens of DIY sock bun tutorial videos. But have you actually tried it? Yourself. At home. I put this off for weeks, even months, but recently gave it a go after my co-worker tried it and promised me that it really does only take 2 seconds. Okay, so maybe like 2 minutes. But for a flawless hairstyle that seems to stay put for a good whole day, 2 minutes is nothing.

I first tried it with my sister. Her hair is short, and was still somewhat damp, so when I first did her sock bun it seemed perfect. My hair on the other hand is long, and layered, so it proved a bit harder. But the second attempt came out much cleaner, less poofy-er (is that a word?) and now I’ve got a new go-to hair style that again, literally takes 2 minutes. Sure beats my 30+ minute curls!

And here are a few other (slightly more pro) photos of sock buns that I’ve been eying on Pinterest.

Photos on Pinterest here, here, here, here and here.

So those are my newest dirty hair and short on time tricks. What else have I been missing out on? Do tell…