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How do you guys manage your hair in the heat? I had mine contained in a bandana to control the awkwardness of it, but even at 99 my head was sweating buckets, and that's not even the 124 that's expected for June/July. This was the first day in awhile I felt like grabbing a shaver and getting rid of it just to let my scalp get some air!!!
I've been wondering the same thing. I'm a newbie on the board, who's going to be at the 18 month mark right around the first day of summer (I plan of having pics ready at that point) and have been wondering how I'll handle the summer heat and humidity for the first time after having worn a "buzzcut" before starting to grow out my hair. For now I'm hoping just tying it back into a ponytail will suffice.
My hair just finished reaching the bottoms of my ears and shirt collar during this last winter. It was the first winter I rarely needed to wear a hat to keep my head warm, as I was able to employ my new natural head covering. :-)
We don't get anything like 100 degrees here (Maryland), but we do sometimes get mid-90s and miserable humidity -- which on a couple of recent damp days has already started to do a number on the sides, which are smack-dab in the middle of the "awkward stage."
In the Brazilian ''Summer of Hell'' I usually use caps when going out,and when I'm home,I get refreshed by my awesome air conditioner.Also,Bill K,I used to live in Maryland,so I might have known you or seen you somehow.Do you study in W.J High School by any chances?
Peace.
I use a pony high enough on the head to get the hair off the back of my neck.
A bandanna will make your head warmer, because it will trap air between your hair strands and trapped air is insulation. If you are hot, the bandanna is one thing you can remove.
Tying your hair back into a tail will also trap air around the top of your head, but it will also expose more of your neck and back to the outside air and any breezes that are about. Guys who tie it back say the net result is "cooling".
If you are outside and the humidity is low, you can soak your mane in water, and its evaporation will give you a surprising amount of cooling.
Wearing a hat can also keep the sun and heat off your head. Hats with the top being ventilated, with big brims, and with the top not being too close to your head work best.
Stay cool!
Bill
I don't know about you but I sweat just as much with short hair as with long! And since a fair percentage of women still have long hair, how do they manage? They just manage. So can we! Just don't do anything rash!
Bruce
Luckly for me, Seattle do not get too hot during the summer. The summer temperature usually reach 80 degrees, which is still not hot enough for me to be sweating. In fact, hot weather is my favorite kind of weather.
Last summer, I went to Vegas. The temperature there was 106 degrees, and I was out in direct sun. I enjoyed the heat.
Regardless
I'm about as far as you and made my first tail, only the back fits in right now but it's a lot cooler that without.
Shaving my hair is not an option, I rather have it a little bit hotter.
Great timely question...
I was in Death Valley today....the gawdawfulblastfurnacedesertheat is right around the corner !!
Let's face it, if you are working (or playing hard) outdoors in heat over 100 you are going to be hot, uncomfortable and not a likely candidate for the cover of GQ ~ HA! So, do what ever you can to keep cool.....straw or mesh hats work well, a bandanna under the hat along with a sweat band really helps. There are also products that have cooling crystals (bandannas and hard hat pads) that are excellent. (check the link below)
All of this will keep you feeling cooler and protect your hair. After a full day in the desert sun, I find a cool shower and using only conditioner on my hair works well to remove salt and tangles.
Thanks for the question and Keep Kool
WWT
Cooling Products
Fortunately for me I don't sweat a lot even in extreme heat.Last July I vacationed in Pheonix and the daytime temperature topped out around 118 for a couple days.However the lack of humidity was a big factor.Normally when I'm at work or just working outdoors in general I wear a ballcap with my hair stuffed underneath and have never been bothered by being too hot on top of my head.Guess I'm just lucky I suppose as cutting my hair for the summer is NOT an option!Anyway stay cool and trash that shaver:)
Mark
You just deal with it as you can. I'll tail it sometimes, but with as thick as mine is it still tends to lay on my neck, and still spreads out to cover a fair part of my back. And that's one thing about long hair, it can make a wonderful heat retention device, whether you want it to or not ::grin:: But I love having it, so I just put up with the occasional nuisance factor.
I usually just have mine in a plait. It keeps the hair fairly tight to the scalp, trapping less air, and also avoids having the end of a tail fanning out and keeping your back warm.
On Sunday, I lay out on the grass reading with my hair loose behind me - great sun shade for reading on a bright day. It actually helped keep me cool too by keeping the sun off, but the hair itself got pretty hot.
Most of the time I don't worry about it. If you are somewhere with air conditioning it's no problem. Otherwise, I find that a braid is better than a ponytail, because it can be looser without falling out, and the main thing is to get some air to your neck. A bun may be even more effective, but I still have issues with that style, personally speaking.
A baseball cap can be surprisingly good, because it shades you and you can stick your hair through the hole at the back without even having to tie it if you are feeling lazy. I also have a broad brimmed hat that is well ventilated, and that's even better, although then you have to bother to do something with your hair, plus my wife says I look like a cowboy, although actually it is an Australian design and IMHO looks nothing like a cowboy hat.
Aa for getting air to my scalp, I wouldn't know anything about that, because I've never had hair that short. Don't know what it feels like, so I would never miss it. Even when it was short I never had less than an inch of hair on any part of my head, except maybe when I was a babe in arms. Given my age and where I'm from, nobody had hair shorter than that when I was growing up.
I've discovered (and try to keep in mind) that having long hair can be an advantage in heat. The hair holds your sweat and the wetness will keep you cool ... a built-in air conditioner ... so to speak.
DavidH
Hats definately do work better than bandanas. I just been lettin it fly lately because my hair calmed down a little and it is way cooler that way too.