Hair cleaning on the trail.

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Quixoticgeek

Full Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,483
25
Europe
Ok ladies, lets talk hair and makeup. Ok possessors of long hair of both genders. And not so much of the makeup really...

How do you keep your hair clean and you ideally non tangled?

I have 30" long hair that I normally wash every 4-6 days. When out on the trail where water isn't always available in quantity , how do other long haired bushcrafters keep their hair clean?

I've seen some people mention powders like the "Oscar Blandi Pronto - Dry Shampoo" mentioned as one solution, also things like the dry shampoo/conditioner sheets like sea to summit make.

Has anyone tried theses? How do you keep your hair going on the trail ?

Thanks

Julia

PS anyone suggesting "chop it all off" will be shot, repeat offenders will be shot again :p
 
When I had very long hair(Shaved head now) I used corn starch as a dry shampoo. Pour it on head massage it all through hair ans scalp then brush it out.
Worked forme.
 
Our great grandmothers used a good comb and a damp flannel. That untangles the hair while the flannel wipes it clean; you just do it a section at a time. It doesn't take off all the grease the way modern shampoos do though, and it's inclined to leave the hair shiny, like the old Victorian photographs show, since it gently smooths down all the scales along the hair. It's a great way to condition hair simply using it's own oils.
I found that my scalp became itchy though; so I really needed a brush rather than a comb, but the brush added enough static to my hair that all the curly bits went nuts :sigh: I ended up looking like Medusa :o :rolleyes:
I have friends who don't wash from one month to the next; hair survives very well; those with long hair either plait it or give into dreads. The French braid works well I find since it takes the hair from the crown of the head into the plait rather than starting from the back of the neck.
If you have them in your pack, babywipes work instead of flannels.

cheers,
Toddy
 
I don't have long hair anymore......I don't have any hair anymore to tell the truth, but, when I did I took pretty much the approach that Toddy suggests: Lots of brushing, and washing with just warm water, although I never used a damp flannel I always just wet my hair with warm water and then squeezed it dry with a towel.

Wearing it in a braid helps a lot.

I went for a couple of years following that approach and it worked just fine.

HTH

Stuart.
 
My hair rarely sees shampoo. If I swim in the sea I wash it with either superfatted soap or just conditioner. When out I just spend I time brushing and plaiting it every morning. It helps to sleep with it plaited loosly, a gruffulo doesn't sneak in to my sleeping bag and back comb my hair if it is plaited. I like a rain wash for my hair, undone let it get wet through, my hair feels lovely afterwards.
 
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My hair is down past where my waist would be if I had one of those, I usually wear it in a single braid. I use a solid shampoo from Lush when I'm travelling if my hair gets really grubby but otherwise I just scrub it occasionally in plain water.

Edited, I just uploaded a picture to my profile.
 
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Ok ladies, lets talk hair and makeup. Ok possessors of long hair of both genders. And not so much of the makeup really...

How do you keep your hair clean and you ideally non tangled?

I have 30" long hair that I normally wash every 4-6 days. When out on the trail where water isn't always available in quantity , how do other long haired bushcrafters keep their hair clean?

I've seen some people mention powders like the "Oscar Blandi Pronto - Dry Shampoo" mentioned as one solution, also things like the dry shampoo/conditioner sheets like sea to summit make.

Has anyone tried theses? How do you keep your hair going on the trail ?

Thanks

Julia

PS anyone suggesting "chop it all off" will be shot, repeat offenders will be shot again :p

Water and fingers My hair is to the middle of my back and I have not any products on my hair for about 3 years and my hair looks healthy and clean and No smell.
 
Number one all over, or the "tuppenny all-off" as it was known when god was a boy! All you need then is a spit on a hanky :-)
 
Number one all over, or the "tuppenny all-off" as it was known when god was a boy! All you need then is a spit on a hanky :-)

"PS anyone suggesting "chop it all off" will be shot, repeat offenders will be shot again "

As I said in my original post. Now stand still while I load this cross bow.

J
 
I thought hair 'self cleaned' or at least stopped getting minging after a few weeks? Personally I'd just wash it with a bit of soap or shampoo or pony tail it when its minging.
 
As I said in my original post.

Have you come across soap nuts yet? I've used then for hair, body and clothes :D .

I've quite short hair so the way I wash with soap nuts means my scalp is also taken care of, not sure how folk with long hair generally deal with treating their scalp :dunno:
 
I never use shampoo. The most my longish hair gets is a dousing in water and I find that works well. Out on the trail I wouldn't bother unless you found a water source and then you could give it a quick soaking.
 

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