Modern Buddy

Hi all, i'm new to scootering and to this forum, but straight up have to ask if anyone has any good solutions to combating helmet hair! I'm having problems turning up to work looking like a matted animal!! Thanks!!

Barrets can help (after you take your helmet off and fluff up your hair). Also a little hair gel sometimes helps. Lean over, put a bit of gel in your hair, muss it up, and stand up again.

I just gel my hair when I get to work.

I just don't look.

Make sure your hair isnt wet when you put it in your helmet. I second barrettes. Arm yourself with a brush and some leave- in mousse, conditioner, smoothing serum or volumizer of some kind for when you get to work. If you have issues with bangs or stray hairs coming out of the front and whipping around getting tangled, search for headbands that are either fabric OR the hard kind with NO TEETH will work if your helmet isn't crazy tight.

Some women wear bandanas, or even silk hair wraps underneath their helmets, swearing it helps. Believe it or not, Harley websites and such will have women's hair accessories- like fancy ponytail holders and such. My biggest problem was the length of my hair tangling on the ride (I have long hair), so what I would do is put my helmet on, then twirl up the excess hair and clip it with a small hair claw so that it couldn't blow around.

Get creative!

Progressive male pattern baldness has been working well for me. I don't really recommend it though.

My hair is short, a little curly on top, and hair gel works well for me. Easy to fluff up the helmet hair. I also keep a little cordless curling iron at work for further touch-up when necessary.

I second waiting until I get in to do the hair.

I keep mine pretty short though, and we're a very casual office.

The person who cut my hair last said that the silk keeps you from drying out and acts as a barrier, so I might eventually get a silk scarf for longer rides. It also keeps things from suffocating your hair follicles.

Silk scarf/bandana! The slickness keeps static down, keeps hair in place, and doesn't add bulk to the helmet.

Just don't take your helmet off. That would solve two issues: helmet hair, and office respect.

I just head into the bathroom, put a bit of water in my hair and finger comb it back into place. My hair is short, though. So that might not work for long hair.

I just bought a foldup pocket brush to go in my backpocket. I'll have to try a silk doorag.

Idk what type of hair you have ChelseaB, but I have very fine, med-length, straight hair and side-swept, to-the-eye-brow length BANGS (the worst when it comes to helmet hair!).. and what I do is this:

1. Make sure my hair is 100% dry before I even think about putting on my helmet. I do not put ANY products in my hair before I put on my helmet, adding products like gel or hair spray may cause your hair to flatten and hold a form that resembles the inside of your helmet.
2. Put a soft bandana ($1 at Walmart) or a wide silk scarf on loosely over hair (NOT under in the back, very important!), overlapping bangs just enough to pass the top inner-edge of the helmet.
3. Put helmet on. If I am wearing my full face I will twirl up the hair that still hangs out the bottom in the back and clip with a small clip* straight down. My hair is long enough that it still blows around a little bit, but it's not all crazy. If I am wearing my half helmet I do the same, but I clip it over my roots in the back and I clip it sideways, it doesn't blow around at all this way.
4. IMPORTANT: If you need to move, or fenagle your helmet a little bit, TAKE IT OFF and START OVER! If you don't you will likely end up with weird crimpy lines about an inch or so from your roots, depending on how tight your helmet is (I did this earlier today when I went to pick up some stuff for lunch, had to re-do my hair before I left for work).
5. Take off helmet upon arrival, remove bandana/scarf, use a little pocket brush to fluff, fix, and put everything back where it's supposed to be. If you are all about hair spray, or you think you might need it, use a light spray of flexible hold, anything thicker or a stronger hold will result in helmet hair wherever you end up after work!

I have yet to go to work and end up with miserable helmet hair.

Also, I almost always have a little bow or flower gator clip** that I can use on either side of my bangs if one side ends up sticking out funny from being blown around with my half helmet.
I also make sure to have a kick-ass red or bright pink lipstick or shiny gloss with me, then if I do get even a mild helmet hair-do, people will be looking at my lips and not my hair!

*this kind, I don't know exactly what they're called, but there are millions of different kinds of hair clips out there.

**These are my favorite, $1.50 from Forever21.

Use "Flo" method: wigs can look nice

Stormswift wrote:Use "Flo" method: wigs can look nice

I almost always wear my hair in a braid when on the bike. I have that fine thin Norse blonde thing going. If I leave it down its a knot when I get home. It was easier when it was waist length ;then I jut tucked it in the jacket. I have usually gotten positive comments on it; not that I am concerned.

Didn't think you would see a guy giving long hair advice ..LOL

Thanks y'all for your informative advice! I can't braid my hair cos its short and i don't really want to shave my head!!! Everyone suggests bandanas and scarves but i find they don't help with the matting... I also came across this in my searches:

http://gizmodo.com/airhead/

Has anyone heard of it?

chelseaB wrote:Thanks y'all for your informative advice! I can't braid my hair cos its short and i don't really want to shave my head!!! Everyone suggests bandanas and scarves but i find they don't help with the matting... I also came across this in my searches:

http://gizmodo.com/airhead/

Has anyone heard of it?

'
Yup. Just this morning!

I'm in contact with the guys who make them. Hoping to review one for ScooterFile but I'll post here, too, of course!

ericalm wrote:

chelseaB wrote:Thanks y'all for your informative advice! I can't braid my hair cos its short and i don't really want to shave my head!!! Everyone suggests bandanas and scarves but i find they don't help with the matting... I also came across this in my searches:

http://gizmodo.com/airhead/

Has anyone heard of it?

'
Yup. Just this morning!

I'm in contact with the guys who make them. Hoping to review one for ScooterFile but I'll post here, too, of course!

Good because I'm terribly curious... my hair has gotten soooo long

Hey Luna about this long?

LunaP wrote:

ericalm wrote:

chelseaB wrote:Thanks y'all for your informative advice! I can't braid my hair cos its short and i don't really want to shave my head!!! Everyone suggests bandanas and scarves but i find they don't help with the matting... I also came across this in my searches:

http://gizmodo.com/airhead/

Has anyone heard of it?

'
Yup. Just this morning!

I'm in contact with the guys who make them. Hoping to review one for ScooterFile but I'll post here, too, of course!

Good because I'm terribly curious... my hair has gotten soooo long

That would be WAY easier than my whole ordeal. Looking forward to the review!

Great! I'll look forward to hearing your review! Thx

TVB wrote:Progressive male pattern baldness has been working well for me. I don't really recommend it though.

~SM

viney266 wrote:I almost always wear my hair in a braid when on the bike. I have that fine thin Norse blonde thing going. If I leave it down its a knot when I get home. It was easier when it was waist length ;then I jut tucked it in the jacket. I have usually gotten positive comments on it; not that I am concerned.

Didn't think you would see a guy giving long hair advice ..LOL

Hey. Guys with long hair have balls. And an extra skill set that most other guys don't have. Props.

agrogod wrote:Hey Luna about this long?

Yes. Lokky will use my hair to sneak into my mum's house to see me while I am convalescing.

Jk.

Haha thankfully no, but I was considering a trim before the accident, and now I bet it's halfway down my back or something. It's up most of the time.
I used to get to the warm months, get mad at it when I would turn on the car's AC, roll up the windows, and... my hair would get caught in the window. Time to do some choppin'. But with a scoot that's no worry...

So does anyone know if those Airheads actually work? Haven't got one yet cause not sure if it would be any help. Anyone tried them?

I'm sceptical. My helmet fits just right. I can't see how there'd be room for this insert, and even if it did fit my issue is the bangs area...the more I put the helmet on and take it off...even if only a couple minutes go by, the more my bangs tend to flatten. I seriously doubt any insert would resolve that.

If you find out otherwise, please post.

Lately, I've taken my ionic hair curler with me to work. Two quick curls of the bangs and I'm good to go.

My hair issue is the opposite...not matting, but crazyoldladystickingupeverywhere once I take the helmet off.

Yesterday I gave up and bought gel. I haven't owned anything other than trial sizes of hairspray since I was 17.

I only plan on using the gel on weekends-when i'm helmet-on, helmet-off all day long.

EDIT: And this is in addition to learning to braid my own hair. Lately I've just been braiding it pretty much every day.

I been keeping the hair short. Been carrying hair care foam with me or w/e. I go to grab my bag just a few minutes ago, reach in....hair crap all over the inside. Gloves, glasses, netbook case.

Oh well

AWinn6889 wrote:

LunaP wrote:

ericalm wrote:'
Yup. Just this morning!

I'm in contact with the guys who make them. Hoping to review one for ScooterFile but I'll post here, too, of course!

Good because I'm terribly curious... my hair has gotten soooo long

That would be WAY easier than my whole ordeal. Looking forward to the review!

Your ordeal was so very entertaining to read. You've got it down to a science!

Learn to appreciate it. Helmet Hair is the new BedHead!

Ok... I know this doesnt really help but...
My helmet hair problem was solved by getting my head shaved to raise money for Relay For Life (to fight cancer)

If anyone wants to make a small donation to my team (even $5 helps!)
here is a link
http://timwall.com/

I was having problems with a) hair tangling if it was just flying out behind me in a ponytail and b) losing volume because the helmet smashed my roots down. My solution is to have a hair scarf (like this: http://www.amazon.com/Stay-Satin-Nites- ... 860&sr=8-1). I gather my hair up by bending over and letting my hair gather up into the scarf (similar to step 1 on this page: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreadi ... ot-to-plop)

I still have to bring a brush and some bobby pins with me because there's definitely still a chance of some frizz and weird bends after an hour wrapped up in a helmet, but overall it turns out way better than just putting a helmet on over a ponytail.

Helmet hair isn't so much of a problem. Getting zinc oxide off your face... sort of a problem!

That Scooter Guy wrote:Helmet hair isn't so much of a problem. Getting zinc oxide off your face... sort of a problem!

Hahaha it looks like you had been huffing spray paint!

Now THAT'S a happy scooter riding smile. Even with zinc oxide.

My hair isn't long enough to pull back or braid, but I have a ton of it. I kind of go for a retro 60s Sassoon style. Most of the time, if I do it nicely before I put my helmet on, all I have to do when I take it off is to fluff it a bit and I'm good to go. But with the humidity over the last few days, I take my helmet off and it's a wet mess
Not quite sure what to do with it then. At that point fluffing does nothing.

I have long hair and wear a helmet, bicycle or scooter, almost every day. As a result I have permanent helmet hair. People wouldn't recognize me if I didn't have helmet hair so I just live with it.

Helmet hair?
What about 'Jeep hair'?

I let my hair grow longer so as I wouldn't have the 'Hedge Hog' look when I removed my helmet but however, I never thought about 'top down'
Sunday evening, riding it the back seat of my son's Jeep, I wished there were pictures taken, my hair blew up, forward, sideways, you name it it WAS funny!!
I even think more of my hair was in his girlfriend's face and she was sitting in the front.......

chas wrote:

That Scooter Guy wrote:Helmet hair isn't so much of a problem. Getting zinc oxide off your face... sort of a problem!

Hahaha it looks like you had been huffing spray paint!

I was thinking powdered jelly donut

Tazio wrote:I have long hair and wear a helmet, bicycle or scooter, almost every day. As a result I have permanent helmet hair. People wouldn't recognize me if I didn't have helmet hair so I just live with it.

True! I had no idea you have long hair.

First of all- thank you for asking! Since I bought my new scoot and am really planning on riding to work often (20 miles, each way), this has been a huge question in the back of my mind. I'm a librarian, and I still wasn't getting anywhere with my info searches about "helmet hair." This thread has been pretty informative!

Usually, when I ride for fun I have always kept a hairbrush, a barrette and a cool hat in my scooter. It irks me that this means all the pictures of me on fun rides are with my hair in a pony tail or hidden beneath a hat, but oh well- what are you going to do? However, with the thought of sitting at a public desk at work all day (and I work with teenagers- eeks!), I was kind of freaking out.

I would like to try those scarves several people mentioned, but I also think I am going to cut it. I currently have long-ish fine hair, down to the middle of my back. I've been riding for so many years, nothing seems to do the trick. BUT, I've had long hair since meeting my husband and just got the go ahead from him to cut it a bit shorter, so I am pretty excited. And if it doesn't work out? It will always grow back, right?

I JUST found a product that works wonders for my helmet hair. It is a hairspray (yes I said it) made by a company called Aussie (or something close to that. It is in a PURPLE can) . It is FREEZE SPRAY. It takes my totally flat dead hair and allows me to jam it into any style I desire. I do have to hurry though because it sets up pretty quickly and then . . . its FROZEN in place. It is way better than the gel I've tried or the Paste stuff that was a little better than the gel as it was a bit stronger hold and added some better volume. But this freeze stuff is perfect forf my needs. It gives he the volume and flexibility (until it Freezes in place) I need to appear as though I never had my helmet on. I do put a bandana in the top of my helmet on the way home because I don't want the hair crap on the inside of my helmet . . . that might be gross!

A FREEZE RAY!!! Shades of Dr. Horrible!

Oh, wait. Never mind....

pugbuddy wrote:A FREEZE RAY!!! Shades of Dr. Horrible!

Oh, wait. Never mind....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Horrib ... Along_Blog

Dracolibris wrote:
I would like to try those scarves several people mentioned, but I also think I am going to cut it. I currently have long-ish fine hair, down to the middle of my back. I've been riding for so many years, nothing seems to do the trick. BUT, I've had long hair since meeting my husband and just got the go ahead from him to cut it a bit shorter, so I am pretty excited. And if it doesn't work out? It will always grow back, right?

You can donate your hair to "Locks for Love" if you haven't cut it already, and then start again if you don't like it short! Like you say, it'll grow back. I am chuckling at your comment about your husband....what is it with guys and long hair on their "wimmen"? Oh yeah, they aren't the ones taking care of it, so of course they love it!

I have really thick hair, and have done the donation thing twice so far. I'm well on my way to a third. I usually braid my hair when I ride, so that works out well. Leaving it in a regular pony tail just gets too tangled. However, when I *do* cut it at some point, I'm sure I'll be back to this thread to check out more short hair suggestions!

Just saw some pics of the back of my head taken during breaks on a long ride day. Yow. I just need to cut that down! I get a little flip action in the back!

OK. So I bit the bullet and got myself an 'Airhead'. It does the job quite well, I was surprised. I'd recommend it, mostly because not only is my hair not so flattened, but all the styling gunk i put in it doesn't end up stuck to the inside of my helmet. Doesn't get so hot and sweaty in there either. Yay!!!

I'm at a loss. I have very curly very long hair that ideally I blowdry and straighten with multiple products and pray that it doesn't frizz up within a few hours (rare) and that's with it tied up in a loop thing on top of my head and a bandana as a headband.

Often in the summer I just don't care and let it air dry, trying to blowdry it would mean by the time I get to the top, the bottom has frizzed up already. Leaving it curly means putting it in a little bun/knot/loop thing on top of my head when it's wet and that's it, can't really touch it. That won't work in a helmet.

So far, I've put it in a low knot at the nape of my neck before putting my helmet on, but by the end of the ride it's a horrible mess.

Seriously at this point I'm considering chopping it to my shoulders. It makes blowdrying it 100x easier and quicker, and I could just leave it down when I put my helmet on. I just can't bite the bullet and chop it off again, very scary. Probably my only option besides the $300+ straightening treatments.

My major concern is that I drive a convertible, and i *NEED* to be able to put my hair in a secure ponytail when the top is down. Sigh. Girl problems

If that airhead doesn't work out you could always follow JDs lead from scrubs and get a "hairmet"!!!

Out of curiosity Kitty, have you thought about wearing a snood? Keeps the hair all bundled up in a neat way without having to throw it into a knot hoping it doesn't freak out. Snoods are an old world style garment specifically for keeping hair bundled. Just don't be surprised if someone asks if you might be jewish.

spr0k3t wrote:Out of curiosity Kitty, have you thought about wearing a snood? Keeps the hair all bundled up in a neat way without having to throw it into a knot hoping it doesn't freak out. Snoods are an old world style garment specifically for keeping hair bundled. Just don't be surprised if someone asks if you might be jewish.

I want to wear the barette-style snoods, but i can't find them anywhere. I got a couple full-head snoods, but they come right off when I try to get the helmet on.

I just found this today. I think I will order it and give it a try!

http://www.womenridersnow.com/pages/sto ... px?id=3758