Hats and hairstyles in the winter - YouLookFab Forum

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Hats and hairstyles in the winter

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

How do you go about the non-flattering effect the hats have on our hairs and hairstyles, especially in the winter? One friend calls woolen hats hair straighteners and I agree. I love my hats, I need my hats, but they do drive me nuts when they ruin my hairstyle.

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15 replies

Latest reply was from Scarlet

Anonymous

Several years ago (cough) when I was a stewardess for British Airways, we had to wear hats as part of our uniform (I think they're still in the same uniform). Once we got on the plane, we had to take them off and of course our hair was stuck flat to our heads. After a while, some of the girls came up with some not-so-orthodox tricks. Keep in mind we were wearing fur felt boaters--these may not help with knit berets.

*to keep your bangs (fringe) from getting flat, stick a small tampon (the kind without the applicator) between your bangs and the hatband

*the avoid all-over flattening, wear a plastic head band (horse-shoe shaped) underneath the hat. The hatband will press on it instead of your hair, giving a little breathing room.

*if you don't have bangs, a pantyliner inside the front of the hatband will absorb make-up and oils and can be changed as needed.

*a word of caution: be careful when you take off your hat!

I guess depending on the depth of the crown, you could even sneak a few velcro curlers into your hair if you have a discreet place to fix your hair after removing it.

Hope this helps!

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

When I wear a hat, I just wear it as part of my outfit all day.

rachylou

Veteran

Ear-warmer bands are a nice alternative. Scarves are also kinder to the hair. But to be honest, I wear hats all year round, and my hair stylist knows I need hair that can style itself.

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

Oh, claire, I am ROFL! I really enjoy reading practical advice, but these tips must be some of the best I've ever read.

chewy, I agree, wearing hat as part of the all day outfit is best, but sometimes it's hat on-off

rachylou, those are great tips but I love my hats

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Claire, LOL! Girls do get inventive where style is concerned!
Ornella, I don't have a solution because I have the same problem. Now when I have a short cut it is easier to wear hats: after I remove it indoors all I have to do is to go over my hair with slightly wet hands to get it up again.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Claire -- really inventive suggestions! I nearly fell off my chair laughing at the mental image of a tampon falling out the front of a flight attendant's hat.

I've got quite thick hair and now that it's short, I have to do stuff to it to keep it from being too poufy. I actually use hats as one method of flattening it down a bit! In my experience, the best solution to hat head is to have short hair. (Whenever my hair is long, the hat flattens down only the top bit, and it looks weird and bad). With short hair, it usually looks BETTER after I take the hat off. If it doesn't, I either (a) quickly put the hat back on and leave it there, or (b) fix it with either a bit of water or a straightening iron, and some styling product.

I never found a solution to hat head with long hair.

Aida

Veteran

I wear chunky knit hats in the winter occasionally, and this year with my hair being so long I'm sticking to berets. They don't flatten my hair at all (and my thin, fine, curly hair flattens something FIERCE when pressed even in the slightest). I love the plastic headband idea Claire, I need to give that one a try!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Claire, you deserve some kind of award for that advice! I can't get the image of the tampon or the panty liner out of my brain! If only the customers knew!!!

Khris, I'm amazed you can wear a hat all day indoors. I would get far too hot in our centrally heated homes/stores, offices. I like the look, but just couldn't do it!

The only thing that has worked for me, Ornella, is short hair! It does flatten with the hat. But either it looks okay flat (sometimes) or I do something more or less like what Sveta describes—run a bit of water through it, or sometimes a touch of product will fix it.

When my hair is medium length, hat hair is a nightmare I just have to suffer with. Because not wearing a hat in our climate is just really, really dumb, falling into the category of dumb fashion things I used to do but am too wise to do anymore.

Heck, back in the day I walked to school in the winter with wet hair!!!!!! And, needless to say, no hat.

Hair froze. Ears froze. Brain must have been frozen to begin with!

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

This is the proof that there is no perfection in this world: hats look better with longer hair but longer hair is flattened more by them; short hair is easier to wear hat with but it does not suit hats that much...

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Interesting point, Sveta. Angie said much the same thing the other day (commenting that dramatic collars work well with short hair; hats with longer hair). But I have always found the reverse. Hats always look better on me, personally, when I have shorter hair. It may have to do with the particular styles of hat that work with my face shape; there are many types of hats that do not suit me at all (short or long hair) but those that do look good seem to work better when the hair is short. Yet another sign that fate had short hair in mind for me from the start, I guess!

I should add the caveat that I do have to be very careful that the hat is a flattering colour for my skintone.

MNsara

Veteran

Oh my gosh, Claire - what images those tips conjure up - rofl!! Necessity is definitely the mother of invention. In that it's been a few years, I wonder how today's cabin attendants cope?

Back to topic - I live where I should wear a hat, but avoid it at all costs just because of the hair problems. Plus it's really likely I'll end up with flat AND static-y hair after wearing a winter hat. It's just not fair!

I do keep a black knit beret in the car (always be prepared!) and when I must wear it I tuck hair inside it for less flattening.

sarah

Veteran

Claire, you win the prize.

Sara and I live where you have no choice but to wear a hat. BUT, I've found that the hood of my puffer coat is much kinder on my hair than my hat is. That said, after I get to work having ridden my bike through the subzero temps with a headband, hat, and bike helmet, I have no choice but to avoid mirrors for the day and just keep a big smile on my face! (Today I was thinking hard about short hair, after my first ride of the fall with a headband).

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

Not simple, is it?

And I've just bought a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e hat - woolen of course. I think I'll post it for keep/return and then we can see what to do about it.

Heather

Veteran

Claire: A) LOL at all of your tricks, B) I love that you were a BA Flight Attendant. Stewardess! Let's do this!

HRH O: I look forward to seeing your lovely hat.

As for my hat advice, I wear a cute hat outdoors in winter for utilitarian purposes and take it off indoors. My hair is long (and usually it goes flat in the first five minutes after styling regardless) so I don't even blink when I remove it.

Scarlet

Veteran

I find a hood less hair-disruptive. I love the British Airways wisdom though Also the headband idea is something I will try now.