oh so shallow.. but what the heck to do you do with your hair?

[Jolt]

I have long straight very fine hair that reaches past my tailbone and I keep it in a single braid down my back to ride. When I get to work, I unbraid, brush, fluff and clip it in some kind of bun. There is a shower at work but usually I clean up with baby wipes or at the sink...my hair dries quicky (a hair dryer stashed in a locker would be good though) and in a few minutes you can't tell I rode to work.
Short hair, depending on the style, could be easier to maintain I guess, but my hair doesn't suffer too much from being under a helmet and a little sweaty since its straight and pretty flat anyway-lol! If you had hair that reacted to humidity by getting frizzy you may have more of a problem
I wash my hair in the evening when I get home then and I'm ready to go in the morning.
Good luck!

I have long (all one length) hair as well and I find that it's actually easier to have it look decent after being under a helmet than when it was really short (because when it was short it would get really flat from the helmet). I generally just put it in a low ponytail and it doesn't look much different after riding--if I want to make it look a little nicer I can put it in a bun once at my destination. The other nice thing is that I don't have to keep getting haircuts every six weeks--just the occasional trim to clean up split ends.

[Eden]

I'm also lucky enough to have a shower at work - but I actually grew my hair longer when I started cycling more..... It would get so messy looking when it was short, but longer (I have curly hair too) I can at least put it in a pony tail and not look too bad.

[malkin]

My hair looks pretty stupid all the time whether it's been in a helmet or not.

[Medianox]

I have long (all one length) hair as well and I find that it's actually easier to have it look decent after being under a helmet than when it was really short (because when it was short it would get really flat from the helmet). I generally just put it in a low ponytail and it doesn't look much different after riding--if I want to make it look a little nicer I can put it in a bun once at my destination. The other nice thing is that I don't have to keep getting haircuts every six weeks--just the occasional trim to clean up split ends.

I agree! When I had short hair I was miserable since I had to wash and style it (using a bunch of stuff) to get it to look good...I had to wash it everyday too to get all that gunk out of it just to start over again. There are people that look great with super short hair that doesn't require all that of course, but it just never worked for me. I had chin length hair 4 years ago and I haven't cut it since! It is all one length and I just bun it or braid it and go...it always looks acceptable. Because it is straight and basically flat, being under the helmet doesn't seem to hurt it...it just gets a little damp.

ps...I saw your sig....lol I'm an RN working ICU

[Jen72]

I refuse to remove my helmet when I'm out cycling. My hair looks like crap since it gets soaked with sweat. I'm always amazed when other women take a rest and pull of their helmets and their hair looks halfway decent. I couldn't commute to work on bike unless they did have a shower so I could get completely ready there.

[GLC1968]

I have a shower at work, luckily.

I have had both super short (right now it's less than an inch long) and super long (braid down my back) hair while biking. Personally, I look better with long hair. A helmet does NOTHING to my hair when its long since my hair is both curly and thick. In fact, nothing does much to my hair when it's long, even me! It's got a mind of it's own and I'm just along for the ride. The problem for me was that it was HOT and that my helmet always felt too tight.

Now that my hair is super short, it looks ridiculous when I take off my helmet, but one or two handfuls of water through it and it's passable. It's way cooler feeling though, and I'll take that over how I look any day.

[Crankin]

I also have hair that looks awful when I take the helmet off. Up until last fall, I had a pixie with spiky stuff on the top. When I commuted, I showered and washed my hair before my AM commute and then just re-wet it and applied a bit of gel when I got to work. No shower, just wipes or soap and a wash cloth.
When I quit work, I grew my hair. It was chin length, with bangs falling about half way down my face. In addition to having to have it straightened, i had to use a blow dryer and flat iron, after years of having to do nothing. My hair is not curly in the traditional sense; it's twisty, bendy, wavy, and frizzy. When the cycling season started this year, I tried to deal with it, but despite cycling caps and buffs, I hated it.
So, I cut it off again, but I still have shorter side bangs and a little height on top, not spiked. I can let it dry naturally, but I still have to use the flat iron on my bangs. Otherwise, they curl up in a backwards C. I am *so* tempted to spike it again, but what I have now is much more flattering. I can't commute to my internship this coming school year or the next, but when I get a job after graduation, I do hope to commute again. And when I do, my hair style will have to adapt to my commuting.

[Jolt]

ps...I saw your sig....lol I'm an RN working ICU

In that case, it figures you'd appreciate that kind of humor! I'm an RN as well, currently working on a dementia floor in a nursing home b/c that is all I could find as a new grad last year and I am STILL trying to get into the hospital (I do NOT belong in long-term care!). How do you like the ICU? I am hoping to work cardiac or ER.

[shootingstar]

My dearie tells me, that he hears alot of complaints about helmet hair from some women as it relates to getting more people (including women) to cycle. I do agree with him and others here, that naturally curly hair causes problems.

But doubtful that a guy even thinks about this..at all. And some guys have a real mop of curly hair also.

Things always look greener on the other side of the fence. How much I wanted to have naturally wavy hair when I was young. Here I am tonight ...at around 6:30 pm after a 10 min. cycle. Earlier today at 7:30 am I went for a 42 kms. cycle, went grocery shopping with my helmet off and on. Then after some computer work at home, then I spent 3 hrs. lifting dusty boxes before evening mini-bike ride.

Meanwhile no shower nor brushing of hair since 7:00 am. --or past 12 hrs. (Helps that I live with dearie who is a cyclist also.)
Will be getting a haircut next wk., hair too "long" for me. My hair has grown 4+ inches since early May.

2nd photo shows my backward cowlick...which causes a natural hair split..according to hair stylist. One thing I strongly recommend to anyone: make sure you find and keep a skilled, precision-cut hairstylist..this is why back of hair looks good with no brushing for many hours and vigorous activity, every hair strand cut in a way to fall naturally into place...even after taking off helmet.

[OakLeaf]

One thing I strongly recommend to anyone: make sure you find and keep a skilled, precision-cut hairstylist.

+ a million!!!!

Like yours, my haircut looks simple, but when I moved I learned the hard way that it takes a lot of skill to cut. I'm on my sixth stylist now, and I've stuck with him despite a lot of problems just because I wanted a break from haircuts that left me in tears (really, I'm not one who cares a lot about my appearance, especially now that I'm not working, but five stylists in a row left me looking truly hideous).

[shootingstar]

Like yours, my haircut looks simple, but when I moved I learned the hard way that it takes a lot of skill to cut. I'm on my sixth stylist now, and I've stuck with him despite a lot of problems just because I wanted a break from haircuts that left me in tears (really, I'm not one who cares a lot about my appearance, especially now that I'm not working, but five stylists in a row left me looking truly hideous).

Hope you find someone in the end, that is super-good, not just good. It's costly to try different stylists and to live with their mistakes for awhile/try to grow out one's hair for the next stylist.

You're right -- a simple-looking style is actually layers all over the head to give it abit of shape and (small) amount of volume. Alot of women I know with dead straight hair just live with the reality of flattish looking hair ...unless they get a perm or spiky/pixie cut. Which is what my cut was this past May. My entire ears were shown, it was that short. Having 1 hair colour and straight hair means that a cutting error where there is millimetre difference on left vs. right hand side of cut, becomes noticeable, even annoying over time.

At beginning, I do specify to hair stylist that it must be a cut that I can manage in less than 5 min., and will grow out still looking decent over 3-4 months (not 6 wks.) with bike helmet use. I bike to the hair salon..and bike slowly back with the helmet on. She knows all this and more so when I show up at the salon in cycling wear. This makes her not deviate too far because of cycling helmet reality. It still works...

[spazzdog]

So, this is the thing I used when I had my motorcycle. It kept the "helmet head" look to a minimum AND kept the inside of the motorcycle helmet clean. It's coolmax so not hot to wear, breathable, wicks the sweat away, etc.

I joking referred to it as my Quaker hat because the one I had had ear flaps.

This one is more a skull cap and you can velcro it in your helmet.

http://www.cbxmanmotorcycles.com/Bro...met-Liner.aspx

[lph]

Here I am tonight ...at around 6:30 pm after a 10 min. cycle. Earlier today at 7:30 am I went for a 42 kms. cycle, went grocery shopping with my helmet off and on. Then after some computer work at home, then I spent 3 hrs. lifting dusty boxes before evening mini-bike ride.

Ok. There is no way in hell my hair would look anything like this good after that. Not that I don't usually look like a hobbit, but at least it's curly all over. After a ride where I sweat it's flat on top, parted in the middle, Art Garfunkle-style curly hair on the rest. No, I'm not posting pics

[Crankin]

I'd be happy if my hair was actually curly. But, to put it bluntly, I have ugly Jewish wavy, frizzy hair. It's OK for me to say that . I do have an excellent stylist. It takes her 45 minutes to cut my hair. But, unless I cut the top off again, which just looks too masculine for me, this is it. I had a perm for like 20 years, so I could deal with it, and then I just wanted to stop having to have a perm. My hair is fine, as long as I have time to let it dry naturally for awhile (30 minutes), quickly blow out the side bangs, and then run the flat iron over them. Once I sweat, it's over.
Naturally, this has not stopped me from riding at all. If I was commuting now, I guess I'd have to have a flat iron at work. But, it still amazes me that some people look as good as they do after riding. Shootingstar, your picture looks like my "before" picture.

[Selkie]

Ok.... After a ride where I sweat it's flat on top, parted in the middle, Art Garfunkle-style curly hair on the rest. No, I'm not posting pics

Oh please, do! "Hello darkness my old friend... " LOL

My hair looks like shite after wearing my helmet---doesn't matter the length and frankly, I don't care. The only person I want to impress is my husband and trust me, he wouldn't notice how it looked (LOL -- it'll be 21 years since we eloped this Saturday). I always wear a buff on my head under my helmet (mops up sweat, keeps me warm in cold weather, etc).

I have fine, curly/wavy hair. Since I started swimming, I cut it short. Think it looks bad after being in a helmet? You should see it after I take off my swim cap following an hour in the pool! That's why I keep a baseball cap in my swim gear bag.