Need a New Morning Routine for School? How to Streamline Your Style

With frizz-free hair, smoother skin, and a brighter smile, you can streamline your morning routine for school to help you get out the door in record time.

The long, balmy days of summer are coming to an end, and suddenly, the hectic reality of the back-to-school dash is dawning. While your kids are rushing around gathering backpacks, notebooks, and lost shoes, you need a few quick solutions to prep yourself for the day ahead. The morning routine for school may not seem to have much wiggle room, but you only need to carve out a few minutes to perfect your signature style. These time-saving tips will keep you looking your best, even on the busiest mornings.

Style While You Sleep

Taking the time to wash, blow-dry, and style your hair can take a huge chunk of your already-tight morning schedule. Why not style your hair while you sleep? By showering at night and combing in your favorite anti-frizz product (Garnier Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum is a great one), you'll get locks that are perfectly prepped for nighttime styling. Just wrap your hair in soft foam rollers and sleep on it. When you wake, take out the rollers and gently finger-comb through for bouncy waves without all of the work.

Short hair? Get rid of bedhead by swapping your cotton pillowcase for a silk one. It lets your locks slide across the surface, so the cuticles are less likely to get roughed up by a good night's sleep.

Creating a Smooth Canvas

Your skin condition dictates how easily your makeup goes on in the morning. If your face is dry and chapped, you may need to spend more time brushing, blending, and applying your makeup. Speed up the process by making sure you wake up with a perfectly smooth canvas each morning. Each night, use a serum like L'Oreal's Age Perfect Cell Renewal Serum to gently smooth out wrinkles and fine lines and speed cell turnover. You'll spend less time hydrating skin, filling lines, and covering imperfections in the morning, so you can get going.

Brightening Up!

You don't have time to whiten your teeth each morning. Still, you don't want to be caught with a dull smile, so try using a product that helps you whiten on the go. The Colgate Optic White Toothbrush helps get rid of surface stains and it comes with a handy pen that you can take anywhere and use to whiten your teeth quickly. Those telltale coffee stains on your teeth are as good as gone.

Four Steps to a Flawless Face

When you prep your hair and skin the night before, getting ready in the morning can be as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4! With double-duty products and a few simple makeup hacks, you'll be looking fresh and flawless in under five minutes.

Step 1: Reach for a multitasking CC cream (short for color-correcting cream). Almay Smart Shade CC Cream offers medium coverage, hydration, and sun protection and brightens with one swipe. Apply this lightweight formula all over your face in the morning.

Step 2: Dab on Maybelline NY Treatment Concealer to brighten the area under your eyes and conceal any blemishes.

Step 3: A cream blush gives you a more natural look than powder, and its sheen lets you skip highlighter. You can even dab a little on your lips.

Step 4: Eyeliner can be tricky to perfect. Instead, use CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Blasting Mascara and gently wiggle the brush back and forth at your lash line to deposit extra pigment there. Then, sweep the brush up through your lashes for a wide-eyed look.

With frizz-free hair, smoother skin, a brighter smile, and a few all-star products, you can streamline your morning routine for school to help you get out the door in record time. Even if you're heading to work right after driving the kids to school, you don't have to spend a ton of time to make sure you look polished and ready for anything. Now, if only streamlining your kids' morning routine was just as simple!

By Jae Curtis