Essential Tips for Proper Hair Care on Vacation

Cold weather is coming.

Generally, that is considered a bad thing. But after a season of wearing summer dresses and floppy shoes, I get excited about bringing out my fall clothes: Boots. Sweaters. And Toques.

I love a good toque, whether it be colourful and pointy, or grey and soft and slouchy. But it took me a long time to understand that as cute as the right hat looks on, it can look awful once you take it off.

Staticky, puffy, dented, or just plain weird hair often waits to spring out and greet the day once you take off your cap, but you need to stay warm, so what’s a person to do?

1. Add some texture. Hair with intended tussle and texture will look much better out of the hat than hair you intended to stay smooth and stick straight. Grunge it up a little and make that toque work for you instead of against you.
2. Braids can be your best friend against both the whipping winds and the after-hat do. Just make sure to bring a little spray to tame the flyaways that are inevitable once you remove the cute chapeau, and make the braid a little messy to help the look stay flattering.
3. Quick fixes. A little water will help release any weird kinks that showed up under cover. That being said, make sure your hair is dry before you put the hat on or it will mold to your head in the most unfashionable ways. And a dryer sheet can do wonders for static.
4. Pick the proper hat. Different materials will affect your hair in different ways. Want to avoid static? Stick to wool hats, or cotton or cashmere. Synthetic materials will definitely make the cling worse. And pick a fit that isn’t too tight, and that won’t plaster the hair too closely against the head.

There is no need to choose between warmth and beauty – your hair can look stylish in a hat, or after the hat has been jauntily tossed into the air. Because that’s how you remove hats, yes?