Backpacking Hair Tips - Keep your hair healthy on the trail
I love backpacking, but sometimes my hair doesn’t. The sun can be quite harsh, the wind causes basically a rats nest, and the lack of conditioning makes it quite frizzy. So, how do you prep your hair for backpacking, what do you do with it while you are out on the trail, and how do you make it happy when you get home? Oh and what about after swimming in that beautiful high mountain lake? I mean you want to swim, but then what do you do with your hair after?
Well my friend, that is why I am writing this post! I want to give you some tips on how I keep my hair happy.
So lets chat about all sorts of Backpacking Hair Tips.
These are things that I do on the regular to keep my hair happy.
“My ultimate tip and if you take one thing away please just be gentle with your hair. Your hair is very susceptible to damage out int he wilderness. It is going to get alot of sun and is going to get tangled easy. With that, if you are rough on your hair it will get damaged and break off. So, be gentle.”
How to prep your hair for backpacking:
Well, this starts with just a good hair routine and keeping your hair happy all year round. The one thing that I make sure to do before I go backpacking is a coconut oil mask (or any sort of hydrating mask that you love). For me coconut oil is easy since I use it on a daily basis in my coffee.
So, how do I do this. Well it is easy.
First of all make sure you are wearing a shirt that you don’t care about because coconut oil will ruin your clothes.
With your hair dry, grab a bit of coconut oil and rub your hands together until the oil melts.
Start at the tips of your hair and just begin to rub the oil nice and evenly through your hair.
Continue this until your hair is nice an saturated with oil.
Tie it in a loose knot on the top of your head. If your hair isn’t long enough to tie it in a knot just pin it up with bobby pins. The key is to keep it loose and off your shoulders.
Rinse out with your normal shampoo after about a half hour.
Boom Done! Your hair is nice and conditioned. This will help with the sun out in the high country.
I typically do this two days or so before my trip.
The day of my backpacking trip I will get up, wash it, and treat it just like another normal day using minimal hair products. Try to stay away from hairspray.
What do you do with your hair while on the trail?
Your hair is like your skin and susceptible to sun damage. You are going to want to be easy with it out on the trail. This will cause it to be dry, brittle, have split ends, and begin to get kinda frizzy.
The best way to protect your hair is to keep it covered. You are going to want to use bandanas, beanies, hats, scarves, and so forth.
If you need some hairstyle ideas for hiking and backpacking I made a full post all about cute hairstyles for backpacking. I obviously love braids! I seem to wear my hair in either pig tail braids or a side braid the majority of the time while I am out on the trail. They are easy, keep your hair protected, and work well with any sort of hat or headband.
Check out the Hiking Hairstyles for Long Hair here
What do you do with your hair for swimming?
Personally for swimming I just let it down. I do not keep it in a braid or a bun. This way when you get out of the water you don’t have to try and get your hair tie out. This way you aren’t ripping it or tugging at it.
After I get out of the water I squeeze out the water, then pat it down with a rag. I used to use a travel hair brush, but I found that I ripped a ton of hair out so now I just run my fingers through my hair to “brush it”. This way you get the majority of the tangles out and still get to keep your hair lol.
Luckily I can do that because I have curly hair, so it just makes my curls a bit thicker.
Again, the whole idea behind not brushing my hair is to just be gentle. When backpacking my hair is dry and brittle. I don’t want to break it off as I love my long hair :)
Then I just let it air dry. Now remember that you are going to have to let it dry or else you are going to have to go to bed with wet hair, so…
Swim with enough time for your hair to dry
Keep it loose in order for it to dry faster. Basically don’t braid it, put on a hat, or put it in a bun or else you are going to have wet hair when you go to bed. That means you will be cold all night.
Now, when I first started backpacking I used to bring hairspray and mousse and that is totally ok if you want. I have just found that I ultimately don’t need them with my new hair routine and the hairstyles that I pick. I also don’t want to carry the weight. If you are thinking about bringing leave in conditioner, hairspray, or dry shampoo just make sure to bring the travel size as everything adds up in weight. After all you have to carry it on your back.
What do you do when you get back?
I wash my hair like normal and keep being gentle with it. This will get all the dirt and grime out of your hair. Then either the same day or the next day do a deep conditioning or hair mask. Again, I just use my own DIY coconut oil mask. It works amazing and really gives my hair the moisture it needs after all the days in the sun.
Alright friends there you have it. How I keep my hair happy while out on the trail. Basically my backpacking hair tips all in one post. If I come up with any others I will continue to add to this post. What are your hair tips? Comment below. I would love to hear what you do and try it out!
Wishing you amazing adventures and happy hair!
Bessie