With summer nearly here, chances are that you're going to be going out hiking and biking a lot more over the next few months. In an ideal world, we'd all have a chance to do a proper cleanup job after coming back in from the trail. However, aside from a quick hands and face wash, the most visually important part is making sure your hair looks great! Here's some tips to help keep you looking good this summer.
Whether you’re a hiker, biker, or both, chances are you’ve had to deal with hat or helmet hair. There are few things more frustrating than finishing a long day on a trail only to realize you have dinner plans in a few minutes and no time to shower. Of course, there is one hairstyle that exempts you from this problem: the buzz cut. If you have one, count yourself lucky and feel free to ignore this article. For the rest of us, it’s time to strategize. Read on to find out five tips for quickly fixing hat and helmet hair after a day on the trail.
Eliminate Sweat by Drying Your Hair
If you’ve really been exercising, you’ll have probably worked up a sweat on your head. It’s hard to style sweaty hair (especially when your hat or helmet has messed with it) so your best bet is to dry it first. Any cloth will do – a towel, a bandana you’ve stashed in a pocket, or even your t-shirt if it’s not too sweaty. Just be sure to dry your hair carefully from roots to tips, and then survey the damage from there.
Use Your Fingers
Once your hair is more or less dry, it’s time to start styling it. Your fingers are a logical first tool, since they’re already on hand (pardon the pun). Start by targeting that annoying hat or helmet line. By running your fingers through the hair affected by the line (or simply brushing it with your fingers as best as possible, if your hair isn’t long enough to run your fingers through) you should be able to undo a lot of the damage. If the hair on top of your head has also been disturbed, use the same technique there, too.
Try a Comb Combo
If your fingers just aren’t doing the trick, you may need to combine those efforts with a comb. While you’re probably already pretty good at packing for your time in the wilderness, it’s likely you may have forgotten what tools you’ll need upon your return to civilization. Once your hair is dry, a comb will allow you to get rid of any clumps or knots created by your sweat and the movement of your hat or helmet on your head. You might run into problems if you only use the comb, though. Doing this will create neat lines on short hair that may draw attention to any last traces of your hat hair that would fly under the radar otherwise. Instead, use your fingers to blur these lines and make the whole thing look more natural once your comb has tidied things up.
Hair Product Problem-Solving
If you find that your fingers and comb aren’t doing the trick, it may be time to turn to a hair product. Depending on the length and thickness of your hair, you might require styling wax, gel, or spray to fix your hat or helmet hair. All you need to remember is to hand the hair-care reigns over to a tried and tested brand like Schwarzkopf, so you’re not left with any last-minute catastrophes. And, as with most good things, don’t overdo it – getting the job done shouldn’t call for more than a thumbnail-sized portion of the majority of products.
Water Finds a Way
If you didn’t have time or space to pack a hair product, you can always try using water. Though this may seem counterproductive after having dried your hair, the difference is that you will have already eliminated most of the sweat on your head and can now use the wetness purely for styling purposes. It’s important not to wet your entire head, but rather to strategically apply water to the sections where the hat or helmet hair is the worst. Once you’re done, let your hair air-dry and you should be good to go for your post-trail dinner.
