Everyone wants long, flowing locks like the models in Pantene commercials. In college, however, hair maintenance might be difficult. Dorm residents have more restricted access to bathrooms, and blow drying hair next to a sleeping roommate certainly isn’t ideal. Even off-campus students may struggle with hair care, whether it’s because they don’t have the extra time in the morning or because of the wind on the walk to class that completely messes up hours of hair maintenance.

If you’ve been struggling to get your hair to look exactly the way you want it to, or even if you’re not and just looking for something new, here are some easy hair care tips.

Trying to preserve your hair’s health? Avoid using the top heat setting on your blow dryer. This is often damaging to your hair and can cause it to dry out. The same applies to flat ironing and curling. While you’re blow drying, keep the tool about 6-8 inches away from your hair and aim downwards as this prevents excessive frizz.

To preserve hair thickness, don’t brush it while it’s wet because this is when your strands are the weakest. If you have naturally curly hair and dry brushing is not an option, try using a natural-bristle brush or one that has flexible bristles. By using these, you’ll pull out less strands and keep your hair thick and healthy. “Wet” brushes and Spornette boar bristle brushes are great products to try out if you’re looking to update.

For short hair, keep a cold cream or an anti-frizz spray on you to take care of flyaways throughout the day. Headbands are also a great way to accessorize, whether you have short or long hair. However, a headband usually has what it takes to make your short hair that may not always style the way you want it, feel different than every other day. Try parting your hair deeply on one side and pulling the hair across your forehead as this will create the look of bangs. You can secure the hair with bobby pins, clips, a headband or whatever you prefer.

To keep your hair as healthy as possible, no matter the length, type or color, make sure to keep it clean. As you’ve probably heard, shampooing every day is not always necessary. For those that exercise daily, have very fine hair, or live somewhere excessively humid, shampooing should be a daily routine. For others, going a day to multiple days without shampoo can actually be healthier for hair and cause it to retain more moisture.

Conditioning is important to incorporate into your hair care routine. However, some experts even say that most people do not need to wash their hair every day and instead can wash it every 2-3 days. Ultimately, it all comes down to what you’re comfortable with and what feels best for you.

Hopefully these hair care tips gave you a few ideas on how to keep your mane healthy and gave you some new ideas on how to change it up. Another helpful tip to remember: If your hair doesn’t turn out exactly like you want it, you can always start over. That’s the fun thing about hair; it’s constantly changing.