The scourge of helmet hair

4132 Views 31 Replies 22 Participants Last post by mmoore, Jun 8, 2007

mmoore

Discussion Starter · Nov 1, 2006

Hey everyone,
I'm looking for any insight you all may have on the dreaded helmet hair. My wonderful wife is now scootering and I love riding with her, but, you know, there's always the hair issue. I say her hair is fine (feh, what do I know?) - it is red and very curly, but can get a bit flat after a long ride. The woman who sold her the Vespa also had curly red hair and suggested 'Fudge', but Jackie thinks it makes her hair stiff.

So... any suggestions?

1 - 20 of 32 Posts

Ducky

· #2 · Nov 1, 2006

If anyone has a cure for helmet hair, I'd like to know too. I've consulted with my hair stylist to no avail - except shave the head :'(

Mostrobelle

· #3 · Nov 1, 2006

I used to have short hair--very short. I loved it. It was cute and fluffy and sassy. But hair like mine when it's short in a helmet...not good. I had to grow it out so that I could wear it up. I wear it up always now--always. And now that my hair is a little longer, I don't go for hair cuts as much as I should, so it's getting pretty long and dry on the ends. You have to be careful not to let the ends whip around in the wind too much or else you'll have a rat's nest back there that no comb will get through. Tie the ends back in a braid or with another rubber band if you can. I found that keeping it off of my forehead keeps the bangs from getting too nasty, so I wear those in a barette or a clip. Stay away from products if your hair is fine and thin like mine. It only gets gunky in the helmet, mixes with the sweat and oil...ick. Clean hair. No product. Tie it back. Condition the heck out of it. Get frequent cuts.

I think Grio has hair kinda like your red-head's, and she does this whole twist n tuck thing and that seems to work OK. I don't know how she does it though, because I get a headache if my hair is wadded up on one portion of my head. Ow....

I'd suggest investing in a few cute caps or just wearing the hair up if she's that self-conscious about it. I worry less about my hair and more about the fact that my outfit is "squeaky" when walking into someplace after I ride. At least she's not in leathers.

I'm just gonna get a boob job so that it takes the attention off of my hair and directs it to my chest. [cheeky] I haven't patented the idea, so I'll let your wife use it if she wants--or if you want. [laugh]

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DuCaTiGiR

· #4 · Nov 1, 2006

I have shoulder length, naturally wavy, thick hair. my stylist (who i vist 4x a year) always says, "damn you have alot of hair." I almost always tie it back in a low pony so the ends don't whip around. The thing I hate when I take my helmet off, i have straight/flat hair, but only where the helmet was.

oh yes, it looks lovely

my solution to this is one of two things:
1. wear it up
2. wear a cap

s4girl

· #5 · Nov 1, 2006

Mostrobelle said:
I'd suggest investing in a few cute caps or just wearing the hair up if she's that self-conscious about it. I worry less about my hair and more about the fact that my outfit is "squeaky" when walking into someplace after I ride. At least she's not in leathers.

I'm just gonna get a boob job so that it takes the attention off of my hair and directs it to my chest. [cheeky] I haven't patented the idea, so I'll let your wife use it if she wants--or if you want. [laugh]

+1 & +1! ;D :

KKT

· #6 · Nov 1, 2006

No No No product in the hair. Gets all icky in the helmet.

I have long wavy/curly hair, which I wear pulled back and braided for riding. Not the greatest look, but at least it looks the same in or out of the helmet. Sometimes I do two braids for that "Heidi" look.

I have found, however, that if I want to look halfway decent lots can be accomplished with a quick visit to the ladies room. Pull out the braid(s), do that bend over at the waist, shaking head upside-down thing while fluffing with damp fingers, apply lipstick, and the flattened hair will recover (at least somewhat) in a few minutes.

+1 on the use of lots of conditioners.

simonster

· #7 · Nov 1, 2006

i'm confident enough in my manhood to reply to this. ;D

- use a "rewettable" product like a pomade. gels, mousses, hairspray, etc. that dries out tends to get really flat and stay that way.
- make sure your hair and product are dry before shoving your head into a helmet. if your hair dried in a decent configuration, there's a better likelihood that it will spring back up into that config.
- use a helmet slik to make sure that your hair isn't all mushed around in weird directions. i use one all the time anyway because it makes it easier to get a properly-fitting (tight) helmet on/off.

when i get off the bike, i fluff my short/spiky hair and i'm usually good to go. although i do usually just say screwit and wear a hat, especially for longer/hotter rides.

Ducky

· #8 · Nov 1, 2006

sort of +1 to what simonster said. some dry product can be reactivated later with a little water. but that doesn't work for me with long rides - flat hair is what i get

mmoore

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 1, 2006

Mostrobelle said:
I'm just gonna get a boob job so that it takes the attention off of my hair and directs it to my chest. [cheeky] I haven't patented the idea, so I'll let your wife use it if she wants--or if you want. [laugh]

Um, I'm not a fan of the silicone look, so I think we'll pass on that.

But the other suggestions are great. Thanks all!

Jammen

· #10 · Nov 6, 2006

Mostrobelle said:
I'm just gonna get a boob job so that it takes the attention off of my hair and directs it to my chest. [cheeky] I haven't patented the idea, so I'll let your wife use it if she wants--or if you want. [laugh]

Not to completely threadjack, but you should totally go for the boob job. Just think of how well that extra weight topside would work when you're leanin' off. [thumbsup]

(though Enzo may have some concentration issues at that point [laugh])

Mostrobelle

· #11 · Nov 6, 2006

You

Are

Going

to

Die.
>

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Monkey vs Robot

· #12 · Nov 6, 2006

Ooo! Ooo! Ooo! Can I watch?!

I didn't see this on the thread MM (unless I missed it while skimming) but your redhead would look really good with a nice handkerchief tied around her head in between rides. Those are cheap enough that she could buy one to match her gear or several to match her outfit she plans to wear while riding.

ro-monster

· #13 · Nov 7, 2006

I guess she could always do what I did, and learn to consider the helmet hair a badge of honor.

Grrl

· #14 · Nov 13, 2006

www.hairglove.com is my friend... i've had my ultra-suede 8" hair glove since.. 2000 I think. LOVE it!

Still a bit flat, but I consider it par for the course..

ninahale

· #15 · Nov 20, 2006

I have an uber-flat bob so it looks exactly the same after a long ride as it does after I blow-dry it. But my friend Sari http://www.ducatimonster.org/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=12890 has long wavy hair and she usally goes with pigtails and the whole look is great. She's old enough that it's cute without trying to look *cute* if that makes any sense.

barbarabee

· #16 · Nov 27, 2006

I've got the long curly hair thing, and after years of experimentation I have finally found my solution. I do the twist and tuck thing, no hairbands, but instead I use a BUFF (kind of a helmet liner, look it up online if you don't know what it is) to keep it up there. Take the helmet off, whip off the buff, do the whole head shake thing...hair billows down past shoulders, still wavy with no tangles. I feel just like a movie star 8)

Plus, I love how buffs come in all sorts of colors and patterns. I've got several now. And when it's not on your head, you can wrap it around your wrist and feel like an 80s rock star!

darylbowden

· #17 · Dec 7, 2006

Ahh, my area of expertise. Couple options here. Carry a roundbrush with you and brush it out a bit after you get your helmet off. You can recreate volume this way. If the helmet (and the sweat from the ride) make your hair sticky, you can use a dry shampoo. Rene Furterer makes a great one called "naturia" it's about 20 bucks and is a miracle product. You just spray it in your hair (it's aerosol) while teasing your hair with your other hand. It'll help you get some volume back while also degreasing your hair and with the roundbrush you'll be set. Someone posted earlier about a pommade- don't use pommade. Men shouldn't even be using pommade any more. There are far better products out there - clays, waxes, etc that have better hold and don't make your hair look so greasy (unless for some odd reason that's what you want). I find that when I had longer hair (I'm male btw), the helmet actually made my hair look really cool. I use KMS molding paste (only product that KMS makes that's worth a damn) and when the helmet comes off, it kinda gives you some nice texture. Other than that - wear it up or in a ponytail, just be sure to use a real hair tie, not a rubber band. Rubber bands will break your hair in no time flat.

As an aside, if any of you ladies are from LA and need product, I stock the full kerastase, davines and rene furterer lines and will hook you up for %50 off (which is basically my cost) if you need a couple things. I'm not making any money, not trying to promote anything (we've got more clients than we can handle as is), just offering it up for any of you who might need it.

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SheMonster

· #18 · Dec 7, 2006

darylbowden said:
As an aside, if any of you ladies are from LA and need product, I stock the full kerastase, davines and rene furterer lines and will hook you up for %50 off (which is basically my cost) if you need a couple things. I'm not making any money, not trying to promote anything (we've got more clients than we can handle as is), just offering it up for any of you who might need it.

Will you do mail order for those of us not in the LA area?? ;D

darylbowden

· #19 · Dec 7, 2006

Man, now you're stretching it. ;D That's a big PITA, but if you know someone who lives here and doesn't mind dealing with the hassle of shipping for you, I'll extend it to you.

derby

· #20 · Dec 8, 2006

darylbowden said:
(I'm male btw),

good that you clarified. the rest of your post had me worried there, buddy. [cheeky]

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