Help me girls! Helmet hair??

curlyred · Post by **curlyred** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:37 pm

Ok, gotta know. What do you do about helmet hair? I have shoulder length curly hair. I want to ride Piglet to work, but need to look halfway decent at least, so I don't scare off the doctors and nurses when I have to go up on the floor.....

Would putting on a scarf before I don the helmet work? I figured less hairspray would be best, too.

Help me out, here....how do you handle it?

bunny · Post by **bunny** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:44 pm

I have short hair, so I'm no help. I plan on wearing scarf and then applying product and styling when I get to work

madtolive · Post by **madtolive** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:04 pm

combating helmet hair is an exercise in futility. all you can do is succumb. i have short hair too, but the curls have significantly devolved by the time i get to work, so i just take product with me and spruce up as best i can. sometimes more successfully than others.

besides, everyone is going to know you're the lady who rides a scooter. they'll forgive you for helmet hair. comes with the territory, lil miss.

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:26 pm

Mrs. Ericalm (aka GatsbyGirl) usually has to just pull her hair back and do a ponytail or use a flat clip (one of those big barettes). No, it's not the best look for her hair. She makes up for it in scootergirl cute.

For going to work, you may just have to plan on styling and doing product when you arrive. When my hair was a bit shaggier, it required a mirror check before I went into my office. I often had to just live with helmet head. I wound up cutting it shorter after seeing a pic of it from the back.

betsy q. bramble · Post by **betsy q. bramble** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:03 pm

I also have curly hair, and have been wondering about this (I don't have my scooter yet, so no helmet hair yet either). The problem with MY kind of curly hair is that it has to be styled while wet. So doing it at work is a no-go. Is this the same issue for you, curlyred?

I can offer no solution as of yet. All I can offer is solidarity. But a scarf might not be a bad idea - a silk one. I have some faith in this solution as I have also been told silk pillow cases make curly hair less horrifying when you wake up.

curlyred · Post by **curlyred** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:15 pm

Yes, my hair styles best wet. I suppose I could wet it under the sink while I'm at work, put some gel in it and let it air dry. After all, I am currently working thirds. Wet hair won't be as scary as helmet hair.

Of course, the water is cold! Might wake me up, though.

I'll try a silk scarf tonight, and see what happens. I'll tote along a couple of hairclips and pin it up if it looks too awful scary.

I hadn't heard that about silk. Maybe I need a silk pillowcase....

Thanks everybody!

riancurtis · Post by **riancurtis** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:31 pm

i am balding so i buzzed my head with a two guard
FU helmet hair.

hello male pattern baldness

BigColdMartini · Post by **BigColdMartini** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:55 am

My wife has long blonde wavy hair and she just does the pony tail thing when she rides. Seems to work pretty well. Living next to Memphis I've got the obligatory Memphis slick back with side burns so the helmet only improves the look.

Elvis lives!

MikieTaps · Post by **MikieTaps** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:53 am

I dont have to worry about it...

My GF usually wears her hair straight, and ties it into a ponytail type thing for the ride to work... she looks pretty hot when she gets there and takes the helmet off...

and I mean hot hot, not hot hot...

r0sa · Post by **r0sa** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:08 am

i have slightly wavy hair so i usually just put it in a tight, low ponytail but sometimes when i curl my hair, i stuff all of my hair into my helmet (i look like a boy when i do that

) and then when i arrive at the destination, i take my helmet off and VOILA! all this hair comes out

hackett · Post by **hackett** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:19 am

riancurtis wrote:i am balding so i buzzed my head with a two guard
FU helmet hair.
hello male pattern baldness

Get a haircut, hippie.

(I've been using the 1-guard or none to shave my head lately)

runtotorun121 · Post by **runtotorun121** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:34 am

Have you tried playing around with it in different ways when you have been out and about (and not worrying about going in to work)? I have four or five different ways I ponytail/pigtail it, clip it, or otherwise put it up, and then I either have a hairstyle that works both in and out of the helmet or a hairstyle that can come down out of the bands/clips/etc. and look decent. I am in awe of those girls who take off their helmets and just shake out their hair and look like their personal stylist has been following them around with a comb and mirror, but I have never been too much of a primper. Even in high school I preferred riding with wind in my hair rather than be one of those AC girls who was afraid of a little breeze. In our house my husband is the one who looks in a mirror (or other shiny surface) anytime we pass one, and I just shake my head and keep on with whatever I am doing.

Good luck, and share some photos when you come up with your hot hair styles!

addictionriot · Post by **addictionriot** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:01 am

I have shorter hair and it never looks good anyway so I just wear a hat

curlyred · Post by **curlyred** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:55 am

Ok, this is what I did today...

I put a scarf on my hair and wore my helmet around for 40 min. I took it off and discovered that scarfs do not help.

Now I have a perm, so I thought to myself, "Self....what if you spritzed your helmet head with water, scrunched it up, then sprayed it with some hairspray?". So I tried that and it's not bad! I had to pin up 2 spots with mini hair clips, but it's definitely workable.

So I'll probably try this for work tomorrow night. Provided I get to ride Piglet, as it is currently thunderstorming and is likely to do so again tomorrow. Sigh...

Christy · Post by **Christy** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 3:57 pm

i have almost-waist-length straight hair...I cannot help here. I put my hair in a braid and throw my helmet on. my hair is always flat against my head, so it's no different with the helmet than without.

*shrug* sorry I cannot help.

UrbanBuddy82 · Post by **UrbanBuddy82** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:05 pm

One Word,
HAIRMET.

If any of you watches Scrubs, you'll know what I'm talkin about.

Thanks J.D.

MikieTaps · Post by **MikieTaps** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:32 pm

hackett wrote:
riancurtis wrote:i am balding so i buzzed my head with a two guard
FU helmet hair.
hello male pattern baldness
Get a haircut, hippie.

(I've been using the 1-guard or none to shave my head lately)

You get a hair cut you hippie!!!

I dont use a guard at all... pansies

docutech · Post by **docutech** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:42 pm

MikieTaps wrote:I dont use a guard at all... pansies

I like the feel of raw steel on my scalp as well

hackett · Post by **hackett** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:19 pm

MikieTaps wrote: You get a hair cut you hippie!!!

I dont use a guard at all... pansies

I tried with no guard when I shaved it all off last month... somehow, it just doesn't look quite right on me.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackett/2569034460/" title="Me by hackett, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/256 ... e25df9.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Me" /></a>

I wind up looking like an extra from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Post by **ericalm** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:23 pm

Amazing how even an innocent thread on helmet hair can turn into a pissing contest when the boys get involved.

hackett · Post by **hackett** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:31 pm

I thought I was being self-deprecating.

Post by **ericalm** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:40 pm

hackett wrote:I thought I was being self-deprecating.

Oh, I was being somewhat sarcastic about the playful one-upsmanship going on there. But after a while, it does start to detract from the OP's sincere and as-yet unresolved issue.

Unfortunately, I think what many riders with long hair have decided is that riding is more important than having ideal hair after the ride. You may want to check in at one of the female-dominated forums like Scooter Diva and see if anyone there has suggestions. I'm sure it's been discussed there before.

riancurtis · Post by **riancurtis** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:52 pm

MikieTaps wrote:
hackett wrote:
riancurtis wrote:i am balding so i buzzed my head with a two guard
FU helmet hair.
hello male pattern baldness
Get a haircut, hippie.

(I've been using the 1-guard or none to shave my head lately)
You get a hair cut you hippie!!!

I dont use a guard at all... pansies

you get no props as long as you got that shameful stripe on top of your head, sir.
kill the mohawk just like 1996 did

WHOA!!!
(actually they are SUPER BA)

Post by **ericalm** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:56 pm

riancurtis wrote:kill the mohawk just like 1996 did

1996!?! Ah, I feel old today. Better go ride.

MikieTaps · Post by **MikieTaps** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:58 pm

riancurtis wrote:
WHOA!!!
(actually they are SUPER BA)

Word.

And back to the OP, sorry about the Hijacking...

You can have your thread back now.

jim_0068 · Post by **jim_0068** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:33 pm

Hello

This is jim's g/f...here is what i do (i wear a full face):

I make sure that i wash my hair in the morning and then i blow dry it and i also straighten it with a flat iron. I noticed that because i wear a full face and i just flattened my hair, the full face actually flattens it more and keeps it straighter.

So when i get to the office i go the ladies room and use some hairspray and a comb and just do some touch ups and it looks great.

Hope that helps

weaseltamer · Post by **weaseltamer** » Sun Jun 29, 2008 12:43 am

Christy wrote:i have almost-waist-length straight hair...I cannot help here. I put my hair in a braid and throw my helmet on. my hair is always flat against my head, so it's no different with the helmet than without.

*shrug* sorry I cannot help.

exact same here.

tatoepfer · Post by **tatoepfer** » Sun Jun 29, 2008 3:46 am

I have fine, straight long hair so I struggle w/ the helmet issue big time.

Luckily, I work at a casual office so I usually wear my hair in braids and then wear a scarf like a headband.

heavypetting · Post by **heavypetting** » Sun Jun 29, 2008 6:28 pm

Can't fight helmet hair. You must embrace it. My curly hair goes flat under my full face helmet. I use a vintage scarf as a head band (hair is too short for a pony tail) but the pony tail is the next best option.

If you need fluffier hair for work, you can try going without product until you get to work. When the helmet comes off, use a sea salt hair product like this
http://www.sleekhair.com/9521.html
flip hair, spray at the roots, muss up hair. You can hit it with hairspray after it's fluffed right.
[/url]

Scutellosaurus · Post by **Scutellosaurus** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:13 am

Two pony tails or just loose (with straight, shoulder length hair) work(s) great for me. Scro, however, has become a victim of the dreaded "helmet perm." He insists that I offer a disclaimer that this picture is evidence of an "unusally bad case," but it's still amusing.

Sorry no helpful advice -- but maybe a laugh.

audrey · Post by **audrey** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 2:34 am

I am dealing with similar issues. Riding in 95º humid weather in the south with a FF helmet just makes my hair all wavy and a mess. I have been riding around with a hair clip in my bag. So I just put my hair up in a quick crude french twist when I take off my helmet and live with the fact that hair will look a bit more wild and not so fabulous

. Granted this doesn't really help you out, sorry. You may want to try scooterdiva and see if they have any suggestions.

curlyred · Post by **curlyred** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 7:38 am

Wow, I never dreamed I'd get this kind of response!

I'm definitely going to embrace the helmet hair. I just have to scoot. I did try spritzing my hair wet and spraying it once it dried and that worked out better than expected, so that might be my go-to. If that doesn't work, there's always my trusty hairclip!

OT, but I sure wish it would quit freakin' raining so I can ride Pig to work!

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:54 pm

O, GAWD helmet hair is the bane of my ringlet-curled existence! Sigh. I have found that a bit of styling creme kinda/sorta works out the worst of the frizz when I arrive at my destination. Regular ol' gel, hairspray, & mousse dry out my curls, so I abstain. My current fave is King of the Mods from LUSH, but it's a bit pricey. Good thing just a little dab'll do ya!

cubalibr3 · Post by **cubalibr3** » Thu Nov 09, 2017 5:04 pm

Lol, not sure if people are still reading this thread (I'm new!) but my girlfriend doesn't put anything in her hair while we ride. She'll carry around some of this stuff if she needs to "look good" (for someone else, lol) when we go somewhere.

she does NOT have curly hair though, so I'm not sure what you'd do there.

EricV · Post by **EricV** » Fri Nov 10, 2017 8:47 pm

Big jump from '08 to '17 for this thread.

For anyone that hasn't embraced the helmet hair, or just realistically needs some way to keep hair a bit nicer, a helmet liner works pretty well. Keeps the cornrow effect at bay and helps a little for naturally curly hair to 'bounce back' and not get quite as messy.

I like the ones from LDComfort. They have a cap style and one with a tail and ties that works well for shorty helmets, but not as good under a 3/4 or full face. http://ldcomfort.com/helmet-liner-cap-style.html

sennyty · Post by **sennyty** » Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:42 am

I also have curly long hair and usually make ponytail under hamlet. But before I like to straight hair, it's much more comfortable. I use my straightening brush for it because it gets hot very quick and doesn't damage my hair so much. I use instyler, you can read about it on this blog. But always better to use some hair protection before straightening.

Modern Buddy