new thread
Haha, sorry, just talking about the weather.
I often hear girls comment on how their hair is hot. I don't get it, my hair don't seem to burn me up and I often work outside. I don't like it sticking to the sides of my neck but it doesn't really seem to make my head any hotter.
Just wanted to hear thoughts on this. It seems to me to be a bogus complaint.
Paul
I'm skeptical of the idea of hair working as an insulator making
your head hot or keeping it warm in winter. If ones hair is
super thick maybe but if you wear it down there's air flow all
around your head so no way for heat to build up.
If one were to take all your shed hair and spin it into yarn
then knit a stocking cap then it would keep you warm. Scott you
could probably do this as you saved all yours.
So I agree with ya Paul your hair doesn't make you're head hot
it just sticks to you when your sweaty. If it's hot out well
then it's just hot period and hair doesn't matter.
Kevin
I found that once my BEARD grew out to more than 2 inches in length, that combined with long hair completely encased my neck with hair and indeed kept me warmer, equivalent to adding a light layer of clothing. Long hair by itself or with a short beard I did not sense changed my insulation situation much.
Also, if I add a bandanna that is good for about half a layer. Besides insulating a part of my forehead, it also holds my hair down against my head all over the top, trapping small air pockets with the hair, and this keeps me warmer than letting fresh air blow through. I suspect a ball cap would have a similar effect.
This would be a good one for Mythbusters although Adam and Jamie would have to grow their hair out to test it.
I volunteer you to help with the experiment since you live in Sf anyway.
LOL
Kevin
In the three times I've grown my hair out (this being the third), I've found summers to be a little less comfortable and winters to be a little more bearable. Given that we lose a significant amount of heat through our head (though not the majority that we've often been taught), it seems reasonable to think that more hair gives you more insulation.
- Father M
Well I'm sure you could try moths instead!
Hey Paul,
Based on my own situation I also feel that longhair doesn't make my head feel hot and to top it off I wear a ball cap when I'm at work or just working outdoors.This is mostly to keep it from getting caught up in things and to prevent tangling.I cringe when I see parents give their boys so called "summer haircuts" to help make them cooler up there for the summer months.Give me a break!!Just saw my own nephew on Saturday with his No. 2 cut.GRRRRRRR!Oh well people believe what they want to believe I guess.
Mark
Hi Mark,
Yeah I used to get summer hair cuts in the mistaken belief that my head would be cooler! Instead sweated more on top, and got around in the heat of the day wearing a cap to protect my head from the sun. Of course having short head of hair meant being able to do anything like swimming and not have to look after it. Now having survived last summer with moderately long hair it was surprisingly a hell of a lot more comfortable with longish hair on the head in the heat then before! I thought that it would be a rough time in the heat but no siree! So I do think long hair does keep the head cooler then does short hair in my case anyway with super thick head of hair to boot.
Duncan
As your hair gets longer, the weight of it pulls it closer to your scalp, so you end up with less trapped air. I'd say the awkward stage is probably the hottest time for your head, as the hair isn't long enough to hang down properly so it sticks up and curls out and traps a lot of air.
I certainly don't feel the heat anywhere near as much now as I did a few years ago, but you could argue I've become acclimatised to it.
One thing I have noticed though is that even on fairly cold winter days, I'm pretty comfortable wandering around outside in jeans and a T-shirt. It makes me laugh to see the looks I get from people who look as if they're bundled up in every stitch of clothing they own.
Uh, yeah... but your a viking.
Paul
In my experience it hasn't really affected my head itself much, but it can be hotter on my neck and back, even in a tail, but braiding it pretty much takes care of that.
Jim
My head doesn't get hot, but my neck gets super-hot and sweaty when my hair is not tied back/up.
It is a bogus complaint. I am no hotter with longer hair or cooler with shorter hair. My cousin buzzes his head every summer because "it's too hot". He really does it because his buddies do it.
I have always been under the belief that the top of the head is the part of the body that provides the most cooling and that wearing a hat will keep you warmer. As I am the type of person who likes it cooler (Yeah, I know I live in the desert....) I feel cooler when I do not wear a hat (indoors); outdoors it is necessary for sun protection.
Good Topic !!
Thanks
Walter
When walking in the desert, to get cool, nothing beats soaking your mane!
Ahhhhhhhh!
It will provide you with half an hour or more of air-conditioned comfort.
Bill
Ahhhhhhhh!
There are also a couple of crystal cool pad products (like the bandannas) that fit inside hard hats.....they work great !!
the summer kills me ! I have to tie mine up if im outdoors in the heat or ill sweat bullets! lol
I've never felt any warmer in the summer because of long hair.
At my last haircut (almost 4 years ago) I was quite shaggy and the the stylist tried to console me by suggesting that I'll feel so much cooler with short hair....Bull Crap!!!
Bruce
I mostly see girls with their hair down even on the warmest summer days here...and most of the men with long hair I see all have it tied. Makes me think if us males can't stand warm so much! XD
On summer here in Italy it's always 35 or 40 degrees everyday (except some days, wich is 30) so it's really hot and almost impossible going out with hair down. When I go out with hot, warm sun I mostly tie it but it depends on how I feel like. Some days I prefer burning in heat than keeping my hair tied, I like it loose when there's a bit of wind too. ;)
-Andrea
Plenty of 100+ deg (F) heat here, and I'm out in it often. No discomfort with my hair, which is always tied back.
- Oren
Only time it made me uncomfortable was when we had the high of almost 100 and I had to be outside. My hair is really thick, but all I needed to do was lift it off the back of my neck and ran my fingers through it. No more problems with the heat after that. I do agree with those that have mentioned damp hair does act like an air-conditioner and cools you down. As for the extra layer aspect in winter, I'm ready to test it out. This winter will be the first good length to completely cover the ears and sides of my face area for me. Y'all have a good one.
Hey Paul, you know what? when I had a shaved head I used to feel the heat much more. Now I have long hair and a beard I feel much cooler, I believe its because air is trapped between the hair and the skin, you know the guys in hot countries have long hair and beards so there must be something in it.
Cheers Dave
I think it is a bogus complaint too. And I used to get those summer haircuts that were mentioned here. I would go from a couple inches to almost not there (or none there, but that requires sun screen.) There is a difference that those summer buzzes made compared to the still short hair, but when it gets longer it is a different story. It is my belief that hair keeps you warmer from a winter wind, and keeps you cooler in a summer breeze by transferring your sweat away from your scalp.
Either way, currently I live in a high plains desert area. This area reaches over 100 F for a good portion of the summer. I really can't stand this heat, with longish awkward stage hair or none, and want to move back to a cooler, wooded area!
I don't feel like my hair is making me hotter. I work in a child care center and take the kids out in the heat at least twice a day. Up or down doesn't matter. The hair doesn't make a difference. The girls with longer hair don't seem to sweat as much as the boys with shorter hair.
Seriously, I find since I started letting my hair grow, that it is hot! I mean steaming hot. I have thick dark wavy hair, and well, it gets so hot I need to lift peices of it up in order to let the heat escape.
Im not sure if that actually works, but it seems too.
If I'm sitting out in the sun reading, I'll usually have my hair loose and I've found that it acts as quite a good sunshade. The hair itself gets hot, but the skin underneath doesn't and I can actually feel the heat radiating up off the hair. It's like having a built-in parasol.
Just more proof that we are designed to have long hair.
~Jarvis~