Besides nutrition, exercise and vitamin D, what is the first thing to go when you’re working non-stop day through night? You know what I’m talking about. It’s something with which we’re all intimately familiar: The tortured tresses. The listless locks. The misunderstood mop. It’s worse than your worst bad hair day – it’s fee-earning hair.
When the long hours set in, one thing is certain: your once-stylish hairdo is going downhill, fast. Not only do you lack the time in the mornings to blow-dry, straighten, curl, and coiffe, but you don’t even have a spare minute to schedule that desperately-needed haircut. And you can’t just show up unannounced at your hair salon when you finally have a free moment on the weekend. This means one thing and one thing only: a paralyzed state of really, really bad hair.
On behalf of frazzled up-dos everywhere, I consulted my fabulous hair-savvy friend who helped me compile these tips for managing our maladjusted manes: 
- Headbands. The go-to weapon to battle fee-earning hair has always been the headband. Sure we’ve all been wearing these little numbers a tad less after the look became synonymous with Gossip Girl, but let’s face it, nothing can really replace this handy styling tool. Lately, you can’t go out in London without seeing a sequined hippie headband on a few shiny people in the crowd. Recently, however, a not-so-stylish lawyer among us, let’s call her HC, was spotted bringing back her ‘90s headband look only to have writers declare that the headband was officially over! I, for one, am ignoring this news and the headband is going to remain a crucial part of this time-pressed lawyer’s wardrobe.
- Selective washing. If you don’t have time to wash your entire head of hair – concentrate on the crucial parts, like the fringe (your bangs). Fringe does not look good unless it’s fresh so take the extra three minutes to wash the focal point of your hairstyle.
- Velcro rollers. For hair that has fallen flat, start your morning routine by hairspraying your hair, placing a few large velcro rollers, and hairspraying some more. Continue your morning routine. By the time you are ready go, remove the rollers and you’ll have some easy volume.
- Bouffant pony. Take your average ponytail and tease or back comb some volume up top. A quick and easy way to look pulled together.
- Brilliantine. Since we’ve already come to terms with daily air-drying, there is one product that will save you from the accidental wet cat look. Check out Bumble & Bumble’s Brilliantine. It’s hard to describe what this product actually does – no, really, it even says that on the bottle. But one thing is for sure, it works! For that naturally tousled, “I’m so low maintenance” look, Brilliantine does the trick.
- Second-day curls. This is a trick for those days when you have decided to skip breakfast or perhaps you’re taking a cab to work and you have a few extra minutes to style your hair. Simply take your skinny flat iron, twist a strand of hair into it, and instead of pulling flat down, you twist the flat iron (check out this demo). Voila, instant subtle curls!
- Sleep on it. If there is anything lawyers know how to do, it’s to prepare. So, why not prep your hair the night before with Pillow Soft Rollers and wake up with curls? They are soft enough to sleep on without being uncomfortable but perhaps not that attractive if entertaining guests.
Terry Chan is a Canadian lawyer practicing finance law in London. She writes every Friday on style and fashion, perfectly aware that the next big thing is not looking like a lawyer.