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packing for hair

Adelfa

Veteran

Reading MaryA's great packing post made me think of packing and my greatest remaining challenge: packing for my hair.

On its own, my hair dries just plain frizzy. My normal routine to subdue it includes blow dryer, straightener, and curling iron, along with several products (serum, styling spray, styling paste, hair spray). I am definitely a minimalist packer by preference and I really dislike devoting precious room to hair appliances that could more agreeably be used for shoes!

And, may I say, I'm entranced by reports that chic French women know how to take advantage of their hair's natural texture, and hardly do anything with their hair. But I've had everything from a pixie to butt length hair and have never found this type of hair nirvana.

So, I want to ask: do you have unruly hair? Do you do a lot to it to get it to behave? If so, how do you pack for it? Have you found any hair products that combine functions so you don't have to pack as many? And what, oh what, do you do about the appliances?

Can't wait to hear! Thank you.

General

24 replies

Latest reply was from

Liz A.

Veteran

http://www.curlynikki.com/2014.....o-poo.html

Anonymous

I'm a member of the frizzy hair club, too. When I travel, I take all my usual frizz-controlling products in the smallest sizes available, and a small but powerful hairdryer. Plus a hat and lots of elastic bands for pony tails in case all else fails! This means less room for shoes, but oh well. I hate to have a bad hair day, so there you are.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I just pack a large roller brush for blow drying and a quality hair spray. I rely on my hotel or host to provide the blow dryer. That's it. I don't bother with small bottles either (unless it's a carry on). I don't have frizzy hair but I don't have great hair either. I guess I don't care enough. I wish I cared as much about my hair as I do about my clothes.

Greyscale

Veteran

I have curly hair that can get very frizzy. I handle that by wearing it up in a high bun or low ponytail, but it looks pretty boring that way. I've never tried straightening it, so I haven't tried a lot of products. Instead I go the natural curls route which for me ends up very versatile and low-maintenance. (Wash at night with minimal shampoo and a conditioner / leave-in curl gel - shea butter and aloe - dry it overnight in a very high ponytail. Stays nice and curly for 2-3 days, then I put it up or wash it again.)

I have no great theories on straight hair, though. I do think French women shampoo a lot less often than Americans. On the other hand, there are obviously genetic differences in hair, so it's not one size fits all.

And I hear you on wanting to leave plenty of room for shoes! I usually trust hotels to have a hair dryer (though not a nice one with a diffuser) and put hair products in little bottles, but it's such a pain to refill them for every trip.

rachylou

Veteran

This is an excellent thread. I just let my hair look bad...

Marley

Veteran

Oh Adelfa - I sooooo know what you are talking about! I deal with the same issue and it drives me crazy trying to pack all of the products and appliances that I use on my hair. (I use different products on my hair, depending on if it's day 1, day 2, or day 3 since it's been washed - and so I'm dealing with 3 different hair regiments/products/appliances.) Ugh! My hair isn't long enough to pull back and wear in a top-knot or ponytail - and it's not curly enough to just wash-and-go, and I don't look all that great in a hat. Besides, who wants to wear a hat everyday? - and the same hat??? And, if you decide to bring more than one hat - how do you pack them without smushing them???? And, it goes on and on. I have no advice for you at all - but, will be watching this thread to see if anyone else can come up with a magic cure for "packing-for-hair."

Lucy

Veteran

Ha! My dilemma too! The very minimum I can get by with (to look reasonable with, at least!) is shampoo, conditioner, oil, volume spray, dry shampoo, hairspray. Which sounds high maintenance, but with this lot to hand it only takes me a few minutes with the hotel hair dryer. But without - it's a bad hair day/week, and especially noticeable when travelling for work. Makes it super hard to travel only with take on luggage, though.

Astrid

Veteran

Now I'm feeling very lucky about my hair... My pixie cut needs water every morning, but other than that it's fine, no implements needed. If I get up early enough it dries on its own before breakfast. I just need to have a comb to make sure it starts to dry right to start with. As for shampoo and all that stuff - I recently started to just use one olive oil soap for everything, including hair. So far my skin (prone to neurodermatitis breakouts and dandruff in the past) loves it. Absolutely no problems and my hair looks fine. With longer hair it might be more difficult though, I don't know. The soap is also great for shaving, it works just as well as conventional shaving cream and leaves me without irritated skin. I think if I were you I would try to eliminate as much products and implements as possible. You need a haircut that works and you need to stop doing all that stuff with your hair to see what happens. I think many people only need so many products to make the hair look good because they have already tortured their hair with heat and chemicals to start with. Sorry, but that's my opinion. I think those French women you mentioned probably have their natural hair color and they were considerate with their hair for a long time to make it look that way. I once had a horrible dye as a teenager and even with overdyeing my hair was done in. I waited for the roots to grow out a bit then chopped all color off. I haven't dyed it since.

MaryA

Thank you for the compliment on my packing post (blushing). I have no advice for your hair because my solution was to cut mine into a basic pixie for the trip. I had been growing it out into a more asymmetrical cut but I have one section that has a mind of its own and must be blow-dried into submission. So....I cut it off. Good thing I did, the hairdryer in our hotel in Rome literally burst into flames in my hand! After that my hair was on its own with a small amount of hair paste and smoothing serum. However, I do need quite a few other lotions, etc for very dry skin that still wants to break out. My solution was "goob tubes" and contact lenses cases. It is amazing how much product fits in a contact lens case.

plonkee

For packing purposes, I think the products you can just decant into small bottles as necessary, the appliances are the real space hogs. The very best idea is to get a cut that works without needing any appliances at all - or just a borrowed hairdryer. But that may not be practicable, if I'm doing my hair 'properly' while I'm away I usually just pack straighteners and figure the rest out with that. I either borrow a hairdryer, or let it dry naturally-ish and then use straighteners to do the rest.

Ginger

Veteran

I'm another with frizzy hair. It's just barely wavy. I've never gotten into straightening - I don't have patience for an involved daily routine. Instead, I wash and set my hair once every 4 or 5 days.

1. Wash in the evening.
2. Use Frizz-Ease.
3. Towel-dry hair until damp, then spritz with diluted setting lotion.
4. Set hair in larger (1") pin curls.
5. Hang out in front of the TV with my bonnet dryer for an hour before bed.
6. In the morning, unpin curls, brush out with a titch of pomade for the very ends, and go.

On regular mornings, all I do is brush the curls smooth. I find that the curl tames or camouflages my frizz. The curl relaxes on successive days, too, so by day 5 it's got medium-sized smooth waves and flipped ends that stay flipped. (Whichever direction I want to flip them! Pin curls can be sculpted - it's so much fun.)

When traveling for a short time, I may not need to deal with hair at all; I just adjust the timing of my set so it's fresh when I leave. For longer, I pack a baggie of bobby pins and a small bottle of setting lotion mix, and my curl form. (6" piece of PVC pipe!) It has taken me a while to learn this technique, and refine things like a good set pattern. But my hair holds a curl well, and the 4 or 5 day thing would work fairly well with a curling iron or hot rollers, especially if I used mousse.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Oh, I sympathize! I pretty much acknowledge that I'm rarely going to have a good hair day when I travel unless I'm going to the desert where the humidity is low. Hotels in Europe in particular have really pitiful hair dryers, I've found.

I packed a little hair dryer to take to Cuba because I found out it was unlikely that some of our accommodations would have one. I actually left it behind for the family who owned the casa where I stayed for a few nights as a gift for their future guests to use (we were the first guests in their newly built guest quarters :-). Since I already travel heavy with photo gear, I'm really, really reluctant to take along a hair dryer unless I have to. I used to take a small travel straightening iron, but I rarely use one at home anymore, so I don't bother taking the travel one either. I'm just too lazy to use it.

Oddly enough, I usually find that it's better to wait until I get home to get a fresh haircut than to have it cut before I leave on a trip -- the longer my hair is, the more easily I can put it in a ponytail to let it dry or get it out of my face while being out and about. The good thing is that a lot of my travel is ultracasual (not business meetings) so I'm wearing gear and my hair just does what it does. It was a total fright in the evenings after my showers when I let it air dry out in Iowa for my bike tour (hey, I'm camping, I'm not going to use a hair dryer in 90 degree outdoors even if they provided outlets!).

My best travel hair ever was in Hawaii right after I had a straightening treatment. Total wash-and-go, straight, sleek hair, for the first time in my life ever. It was like seeing how the other half lives. I'm thinking about having that done again. I just have maddeningly inconsistent hair that never looks the same from one day to the next. For no apparent reason, I can use the exact same products and do the exact same thing with my hair on two consecutive days, and one day it will look totally awful and the next it will look amazing. I can't figure it out.

But anyway, getting away from my hair woes and back to the original point... When I travel, I take along sample sizes of my usual products. A little bottle of It's A Ten, shampoo, conditioner, BB styling cream, BB styling spray, and hairspray. If I'm going somewhere where I know there will be shampoo and conditioner in the hotel, I'll leave those out, and sometimes I'll leave the styling cream out if I need to travel ultra light.

Anonymous

I'll second Janet on the It's A 10 products. They are really good with the frizz situation, especially the ones with added keratin. I started using them after my keratin treatment wore off, and I haven't had to get another one. Good stuff!

Cococat

Veteran

My hair is fine and slightly wavy, but I wear a sleek bob so I always travel with my GHD, and my favourite Alchemy shampoo and conditioner in travel size bottles. I usually take just Argan oil and apply it before I dry and a little after. I'm going to Bali in Feb and the humidity is so high there. My hair looks awful no matter what I do.

I've often wondered if a straightening treatment would make things easier for me.

ClaraT

Veteran

I think a lot depends on a) how often you wash your hair and b) can you do a ponytail, bun? The latter is an easy default--frizzy/curly pony tails look happy! Maybe just a little serum to slick the sides...If your hair isn't long enough for a ponytail/bun, headbands can sub in (but this doesn't work for really big hair in terms of taming it).
If you do not wash your hair too often (say, you can go 4 days), consider having it styled at your destination. This is a fun way to be immersed in the local culture (even if it's your own country) and a good way to get new ideas.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

I bring a round brush. And I get minis of my shampoo/ conditioner/ product from Ulta before I go. I rely on hotels to provide hairdryers.

K. Period.

Veteran

Ugh. I'm right there with you. I have lots of super skinny hair that is constantly growing, so it looks like I have less voluminous, averagish hair and a huge halo of frizzies (thanks, baby hair). It is also oily at the roots and dry at the ends (from processing) and I have to wash every day or get super itchy scalp. (Believe me, re-training my hair's oil production and dry shampoos have been tried to death. It may work for others, but after ten years of giving it a good go, I say no.)

So, what do I pack? I pack a GHD flat iron (can straighten and can be used to form curls), a super powerful but miniscule Babyliss blow dryer (you cannot believe how laughably small but powerful this thing is. This is a holy grail travel hair dryer), some It's a 10, a Spornette Little Wonder brush, hair elastics and hairspray, along with any sample packets of hair products that I've collected along the way. And a nice knit hat. It takes up 1/2 of my carry-on and I'm irritated by that, but there's nothing for it.

Greyscale

Veteran

I have to look into this It's a Ten stuff! And think of updos that don't look as blah as my ponytail.

Edit: some people I know also swear by one of the Living Proof products as a similar all-in-one product.

Unfortunately, looking at it online, I remembered that I'm sensitive to the fragrance in basically all of those products. I'd honestly forgotten that's why I switched away from Frizz Ease etc and to natural brands.

Anonymous

I was 3 weeks in The Uk in the spring. I have chin length hair, very very thick. I packed my own products in small size. I did not pack any implements (dryer or straightener)

I borrowed in some houses and went without in hotels. My hair takes a few hours to dry but I decideci went on vacation to sight see, not fuss with hair.

I could wet it in the am, use a pomade and live with the look. And I washed it less which helped a lot, made it easier to manage. (And I packed only 6 outfits, mix and match, plus one formal, but that's another post lol)

Adelfa

Veteran

Thanks, everyone, I am thrilled with your informative responses!

Xtabay, K. Period-- I used to have a little blow dryer, but it only added to the frizz. Maybe I should try the Babyliss one!

Cocolion, UmmLila-- Hotel blow dryers make my hair frizzy. I depend on my own (big) salon quality blow dryer to make a dent in the frizz (Elchim).

Greyscale-- Alas, my hair is not curly. Just a slight irregular wave that goes to frizz. I bet yours looks wonderful. Also, do you know *which* Living Proof product functions as an all-in-one? I swear by their mist, but I've had bad luck packing styling mists.

Marley-- You *do* understand! I'm so happy!

Lucy-- Yes, I forgot about the dry shampoo! Essential!

Astrid-- I'm sure you're right! But that ship has pretty much sailed for me. Also, culturally, it's pretty difficult here not to have longish, colored hair. It's just what we do. So I have to figure out how to deal with heat-styled, colored hair.

MaryA-- I love the idea of using contact lens cases for product!

plonkee-- I agree, packing one little straightener doesn't take much room!

Ginger-- I adore the idea of pin curls! I've always wanted to learn how! The other day at the salon the lovely woman next to me was getting a blowout and pin curls. Turns out she's a Fox News reporter. She leaves the salon like that and then takes out the pin curls right before she goes on the air! Brilliant!

Janet-- I know, my hair never looks the same either! I want to try It's a 10. Thanks to all who recommended it.

CocoC-- When my Revlon straightener dies, do you think a GHD is a good idea?

ClaraT-- What a great idea, to get styled at my destination!

A-- Sounds like you definitely did the minimal hair thing! I tried that once for a 3-week trip to Costa Rica and a little girl in my host family said her grandma wanted to know why I didn't brush my hair! Gave me a complex, lol!

Anonymous

I don't usually do this on trips, but the sure-fire thing that gets rid of my frizz is to set it on velcro rollers after I dry it, and just let it calm down for about 3 hours. It gives some shape and form to my hair that lasts for days, and amazingly, no frizz.

Ginger

Veteran

Adelfa - that is so cool! It's such an old technique. I'm amazed and impressed that someone in front of a camera relies on them.

Adelfa

Veteran

Xtabay, that's what DD does who has hair just like mine! I'll have to try it. Especially since I'm trying to get away from washing my hair in the morning. It's just too hard to get out the frizz.

Anonymous

Who knew such an old-fashioned thing could work so well? You just have to time it for when you have about 3 hours of time at home, but I only do it a couple of times a week, so it's not a big deal. It's worth it to get the smoothness and sleekness.