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I feel like society has a pretty strong idea of what it means to be high maintenance. The problem is, if you’re not high maintenance, people tend to assume you’re low maintenance. I don’t really fit into either category.
Instead, I carved out a little lane for myself, and anyone else who wants to join me: medium maintenance.
To me, medium maintenance is a combination of high and low maintenance behaviors that work together to get me where I want to be. Sometimes I spend a lot of time solving a problem once so I don’t have to keep solving it later. Other times, I choose the easiest option because it gets me to the exact same place.
These are the low effort habits that have earned a permanent spot in my routine. To me, low effort means putting myself in a position where I don’t have to keep making the same decisions. I already did the work. Now I just get to enjoy the results.
Air Drying My Hair to Reduce Heat
Part of my routine involves air drying my hair. It’s completely free, requires almost no effort on my part, and cuts down on the amount of time I spend using a hair dryer. I started doing this once my hair became extra long because drying it took forever.
I also like that it reduces the amount of heat my hair is exposed to. Since I already bleach my hair regularly, I don’t feel the need to add unnecessary heat when I don’t have to. It’s one of the simplest decisions I make, but it benefits my hair every single wash day.
To me, this is low effort because I’m removing unnecessary work. My hair gets to the same destination with less active effort from me.
Finding a Hair Tie I Can Trust
I wrote an entire series while trying to find the best hair tie for my hair.
I wanted something that could support my ponytail without snapping, stretching out, or giving me that dreaded hair ache. After months of testing, I landed on Kknekki.
This is low effort because I’m eliminating decision fatigue. I deal with that enough in the rest of my life. At least I nailed this one.
All of the work happened upfront. Now I grab the same hair tie every day without thinking about it. I already solved the problem, so I don’t have to make that decision every morning.
Why I Don’t Wash My Hair Every Day
Along with air drying, I also don’t wash my hair every day.
Once I started bleaching my hair regularly, it simply stopped getting oily as quickly. Washing it less often also helps preserve my color. The less I wash it, the less opportunity there is for that fresh blonde to fade.
Honestly, another reason is that my hair became so long that washing it started feeling like a much bigger commitment. If I washed it, I also had to dry it. By stretching my wash days, I’m reducing how often I expose my hair to heat while also saving myself time.
This is one of those moments where I’m working with my hair instead of against it.
Finding Hair Products I Trust
Ironically, this is probably the most high maintenance part of my routine.
I’ve been blonde for over a decade. During that time, I’ve gone through more products than I can count trying to figure out what actually works for my hair.
Being an Asian woman with naturally dark hair who chooses to stay blonde is pretty specific. I knew I couldn’t be the only one dealing with these problems, which is part of why I started documenting everything here.
Once I find something that works, though, that’s when it becomes low effort. K18’s AirWash has become one of my favorite products between wash days, and Kevin Murphy’s REPAIR.ME is something I consistently reach for when my hair feels especially dry after a blonding appointment.
Once I find something that works, the pressure is gone. I’m still curious about new products, but I’m no longer searching from a place of frustration.
At that point, I stop looking. The decision has already been made. My routine becomes a lot simpler because I trust what I’m using.
Conclusion
The funny thing is that every one of these “low effort” habits required effort to figure out in the first place.
That’s where the medium in medium maintenance comes from. I’m willing to invest a lot of time if it means I won’t have to keep thinking about the same problem later.
Writing this also made me realize something I wasn’t expecting. I actually spend more time thinking about my hair than I thought I did. I don’t see that as a bad thing, though. My hair is important to me. It’s my favorite part of me.
Low effort, to me, isn’t neglect. It isn’t laziness. It’s putting myself in a position where the hard decisions have already been made, so now I get to enjoy the routine instead of constantly trying to improve it.
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