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Being an ex-buzz cutter, I am aware that medium and long hair keeps the head warm and hot in warm weather. I hope I'm not asking an old question!
What do you recommend when you get too hot in the summer? Dunking your head under cold water? Any other ideas?
Anthony
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I never cut my hair in hot weather. I also often have it
hanging down loose. I'll often wear my hair hanging down my back
with my cut off shorts and no shirt. I've noticed over my 50
years with long hair that having my hair loose is more comfortable than having the hair in a pony tail/braid/bun/pig tails. You co0uld say the hair acts as a natural air conditioner during the summer and natural heat in the winter.
Now one thing I will do in the summer if it gets really hot
(105 degrees + dew point of 76 if i'm not in an air conditioned setting is to wet the hair. But no matter what the hair will
not be cut.
So no matter how hot it gets during the summer i wont even
consider cutting the hair.
Thanks for the tips. I don't intend cutting mine either, not even for this reason. I mentioned "medium" hair because I'm still in the awkward phase. Many discoveries await me as my hair begins to get longer than it has ever been.
Anthony
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Keep it up, wear a hat, get it wet. Any or all of the above.
Oh, and live where the weather is reasonable!
LOL, that about sums it all up, what I would say as well! I remember one hot summer day while on a gardening job up in Marin County several years ago, I was so hot I just took a gardening hose to my head and hat (AND my hair was tucked up inside underneath that hat).... That one hosing-down kept me cool and comfy for the rest of the day though; but then by late afternoon the chilly fog came rolling back in while crossing the GG Bridge back to SF -- a weird climate we live in here in the San Francisco Bay Area, isn't it? But, I have no complaints: I wouldn't be happy in the deserts of the American SW, Australian interior, or living in the Middle East; or in the humid summers like they have in the deep South, either. I'll keep San Francisco's cool & foggy Maritime summer "air conditioning", thank you, it helps make it easy to be and to stay a longhair!
- Ken
I'm lucky to live in Normandy, only half an hour's drive from the sea with the boat hitched to the back of the van. The climate is like the south of England, with plenty of Atlantic gales. In the summer it never gets very hot.
My wife and I plan to take our holiday in west Brittany, camping and sailing. By then, I'll have about three more inches. I still won't be ponytail length, so I'll have to wear a headband.
I have lived in the south of France and Italy, but I was short haired in those days!
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Oh, and live where the weather is reasonable!
I'll keep San Francisco's cool & foggy Maritime summer "air conditioning", thank you, it helps make it easy to be and to stay a longhair!
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I have heard it said that Normandy is a similar climate to that of Northern Coastal California, in that you have cool and sometimes foggy summers, yet mild wet winters -- does that sound accurate?
Here in San Francisco, which is surrounded on almost all sides by either the open ocean, or the waters of San Francisco Bay, we get a cold ocean current that comes down from the Gulf of Alaska; so swimming at our beaches here is rarely very "enjoyable!" (LOL) Inland from here, in the interior valleys of California to the East, it can get extremely hot -- probably not unlike your South of France or many parts of Italy, especially Southern. They refer to our climate here in the majority of California as basically "Mediterranean" -- warm dry summers with mild wet winters. But the closer you get to the Pacific Ocean, the more Maritime the climate gets. In fact, our SF summers some days can be colder than in winter, with the fog rolling in fast & furious, and the tourists all shivering in their Bermuda shorts & Hawaiian T-shirts!
In any case...
I hope you and your wife have a wonderful summer vacation by the sea (and that it's warmer & sunnier than our vacations by the sea - LOL)!
- Ken in San Francisco
I have never been to California, but it describes our climate perfectly. Just this week, we have a strong anti-cyclone with the Jet Stream back where it should be. I was doing my garden on Tuesday and the north-east wind started freshening. It became quite cold as small fog clouds became big ones, and then the whole sky becomes overcast. These squalls can be quite nasty if you are out on the sea in a boat.
When we have cold fronts and depressions from the north Atlantic, that is what we had all January and February. The temperatures were mild, but the damp soaks through to the bone marrow.
We all have our ups and downs. I assume that people in north and eastern States are still freezing their butts off!
One thing lovely about a good wind is - feeling it whipping through lengthening hair. I take each day as a blessing. The days get lighter, and each month brings another half inch or so...
Anthony
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My blog
The best thing to do is to keep it growing and tie it back when you're able to. When it's loose, your hair will trap air and heat, but if you can tie it back, even in a half-tail, that will reduce the volume of air and thus the insulating effect.
I made the mistake of visiting the Eden Project during the summer while in the awkward stage, and I wouldn't recommend that to anyone!
If you can keep your hair damp, that will also help to keep you cooler as it doesn't puff up as much and the evaporation helps to cool you too.
You don't, never troubled me.
You could have an Alice band or bandana if you want to hold your hair back.
In the summer, putting mine in a bun is awesome. It's much cooler than even a ponytail. My hair is so long and thick that a ponytail will make my back sweat.
A allows be to be as active as I want. It's even great when in water.
I've learned various types of buns so I can have a little variety!
I second buns. They are a lot cool than anything else plus you get to look like a samurai. I have also found that tying ponytails higher up, like in the middle of your head, helps since you hair isn't directly on your neck. You don't have to tie it super high or anything but it doesn't look a bit different than a low ponytail.
Wet hair serves as an excellent "cranial refrigeration mechanism," in the same way that ice cold water can be made by wrapping a container in cloth, and then repeatedly soaking it in water and allowing it to evaporate. Keeping the hair up off the neck in a bun, braid, or ponytail will also help.
--Val
This is one thing I really noticed last summer. I was probably nearly identical to where'll you be length wise in a couple months, last summer. I am generally "warm blooded" so I struggled with being overly hot. In the midwest USA I have to deal with 90 degrees plus humidity in the summertime though, probably a lot more than you'll see where you're at.
This winter I've really noticed how warm my hair has become. I still get overly hot! Hopefully I'll get used to it :)
-Tommy