I can’t believe I just wrote that title, but here we are. While plenty of people have a lot scarier things to worry about than overzealous ear hair, grooming maintenance is a true concern for those of us who are working from home, doing Zoom calls regularly, and just trying to feel good about ourselves. There are no magic fixes, but I do have some tips on how to keep things as tight as tight can be during a pandemic:
Follow the map: use a trimmer, trimming around your ears and zapping stray nose and eyebrow hairs. Try to stay within the framework of what your barber/hair stylist did during your last cut. You should be able to keep it up fairly well if you do this once or twice a week. Try to avoid over-scaping around your eyebrows, as over-tweezed eyebrows can look like a pair of caterpillars sitting on your head, which I assume is not the look you’re going for.
Whiten up: if you’re home working all day, my guess is you’re consuming your fair share of coffee. With no routine dentist visits in sight, why not do some at-home whitening? I like Snow, as it’s super-convenient. The LED light plugs into your phone, so you can do it while watching tv, folding laundry, etc. While their customer service/communication is lackluster, the product is very effective.
Avoid protein powder: I love my morning smoothie too, but many ingredients in protein powder make your hair grow faster. According to James Joyce, my go-to for all things nerdy and hair, “your hair is the waste receptacle for vitamins and minerals in your body. So the more nutrients you pump in quickly that your body can’t use, the quicker it pushes them out via your hair follicles.” Ingredients to watch for are collagen powder, biotin, gelatin, niacin, folic acid, B12, pantothenic acid and chlorophyll, if you don’t want your hair to grow too quickly.
Wear a hat: Not on your calls, but post-shower. Comb your hair smooth in the direction you want it to dry in, then put on a baseball hat and let it dry that way. That will compact your hair and make it less fluffy looking.
Use the right product: Opt for a light styling cream, not a pommade or gel. James recommends Baxter Styling Cream. Put it on dry hair to help contain the hair and make it look less voluminous.
DIY Cut? I don’t think there’s a cut and dry answer (I know, lame double entendre) on whether or not to tackle the at-home haircut. It depends on who’s doing the cutting and her/his attention to detail and previous experience, your hair type and hairline style, among other factors. That said, I have found some good resources online for how to do it if you want to give it a shot. Worst case is you botch it up, and it grows back in by the time we’re out and about again. This tutorial in particular breaks it down clearly and even makes it look easy.
Get on the calendar: Obviously we don’t know when we’ll be back to life as we know it (and timing depends on your location), but if your salon or barber shop is scheduling or has a reopen date, try to get an appointment on the books. Many salons are already booking appointments following projected reopen dates, and appointments will be more spaced out than before and therefore trickier to get. You can always push it back if need be, but at least you’ll have something for when things do open up.
Until then, stay healthy!
Cheers,
Julie