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.