No showers at work

[rubysoho]

Any hints for freshening up if there are no showers at work? Thankfully I work for a park authority so hair in a ponytail is ok but I definitely want to be/feel clean!

[Becky]

I have a shower at work and never use it. It's just too far away from the hot water heater to be useful (unless you want to wait 20 minutes for hot water ).

For most days, just a quick toweling off and some deodorant suffices. If it's really humid out, I might touch up with a baby wipe or two. Just putting on clean clothes makes me feel cleaner.

I keep a stash of all my toiletries and makeup in my desk, so it's easy to have the same "get ready" routine at work that I have at home.

[sfa]

I have a gym at work with showers, but never use it (at least not after cycling to work). I carry a ziplock bag with baby wipes in it and wipe down with them when I change into work clothes.

[Crankin]

Bath cloths. You heat it up in the microwave and it really makes you feel clean. I used to cool down while gathering my hygiene supplies for the bathroom while it heated up. I would wash my face and re-wet/gel my hair with my regular products and then clean off just the sweaty areas with the bath cloth. They are like baby wipes in texture, but bigger. They cost more, so occasionally I would just use a towel and regular soap. Then I would put my make up on and run a brush through my hair. I showered before riding to work, but my route was hilly, so I sweat, despite cool temperatures and not riding that fast.

[rubysoho]

great, thanks!

[Geonz]

Little plasticware leftover-holder thingy with soap and washcloth... and also *try* not to sprint :-)

[rubysoho]

Little plasticware leftover-holder thingy with soap and washcloth... and also *try* not to sprint :-)

Heh.... I will try to heed this. Yesterday was my first time on a nearby bike trail where I actually had people ahead where I could see them. It took a lot of mental effort to suppress the competitive feeling of either trying to keep up or pass the person (I won't kid myself into thinking I am the best, but I still wanted to make the efforts!). I was NOT expecting that because I have been very ... relaxed about biking and not thinking of it as a competitive sport. *sigh*

[Catrin]

What about hair? I've quite short hair and the helmet does a number on my fine hair...

[Crankin]

Well, I cut my hair really short when I started commuting and it was already short. I would just re-wet it and use wax/gel when I got to work and it looked perfect. I had already washed it before leaving. Another thing that helps is wearing a head sweat beanie under your helmet. They make really light weight ones that hold my pixie style in place, requiring minimum restyling.

[Becky]

What about hair? I've quite short hair and the helmet does a number on my fine hair...

I keep a spray bottle with water and a bristle brush in my toiletry kit at work. Spray, brush flat, let air dry, and style with hair goop of choice.

I also wear a wicking beanie under my helmet. It helps to prevent that "sucked through the vents" mohawk that we short-haired chickies get.

ETA: Darn, Crankin beat me to it

[malkin]

My hair sticks up and looks stupid all the time anyway, so it's hardly worse after a helmet.

Wet hands or a little gel can sort you out.

[Kerry1976]

I look at this a little differently....now I can blame my helmet on bad hair days. This is a tool that could come in very handy.....

[Kerry1976]

a recent magazine mentioned Paper Shower as a "shower-free" shower option. Seems a little pricey to me. Has anyone used it?

[Melalvai]

I bring a small dry towel and a clean shirt & bra. I wait 10 minutes, then dry off and put the clean shirt on.

If I don't wait 10 min, I'm still sweating when I put the clean shirt on. May as well not bother.

I find that I don't need water, if I have stopped sweating when I dry off. It's not that I'm lucky to have sweet smelling sweat--honestly I smell like cat piss when I've been sweating. But once the sweat has dried I don't smell, maybe the shirt sucks up all the odor because the shirt sure smells!

[Tri Girl]

Ya know- I have a private shower at work (my office is where the nuns used to live at the school and I have a private bathroom). Anyway- I rarely shower at work. I don't ride fast to work, mostly because mornings are so quiet and calm on the streets and my life is hardly ever threatened on the way in (now on the way home, that's another story).

Anyway, I will do what others have said: I will wait about 10 min. until I've cooled down (turn on my computer, unpack my pannier, etc), then change clothes, brush the hair, use a washcloth if I really need to, and generally freshen up.

This weekend I made my own deodorant (finally scared enough of the link between commercial deodorants and cancer and the natural brands don't keep me from stinking). My homemade deodorant creation works REALLY well- the last two days I have sweated a little on the way to work, but don't stink at ALL (and the odor protection lasts all day long, too).