How to protect my hair when using a helmet?

[einna]

Hi :) I need advice on how to protect my hair when I am wearing a helmet (when skiing or cycling). A regular bun does not fit under my helmets.
Last time I went skiing I had my hair in an oiled side braid, but my scarf and jacket rubbed against it the whole time, and I got huge knots. :/

[lunalocks]

i wear a low infinity bun held with spin pins. Works well with my bike helmet.

[brickworld13]

I have a similar issue with having to wear a hardhat at work. I usually use a low infinity bun turned sideways at the base of my skull. It works really well for me.

[silverthread]

Hi :) I need advice on how to protect my hair when I am wearing a helmet (when skiing or cycling). A regular bun does not fit under my helmets.
Last time I went skiing I had my hair in an oiled side braid, but my scarf and jacket rubbed against it the whole time, and I got huge knots. :/

I bought a "buff" online. It's the absolute best thing ever for protecting hair under my motorcycle helmet. They're about $25.
http://www.buffusa.com/sports/collections/filter/original

[akilina]

When I ride my dirtbikes I could care less about my hair lol.

I just do a braid though at the nape. No problems there...

[Shebelina]

I'm in the same boat. A bun won't fit under my riding hat at work, but my braids get awfully tangled by the end of the day. Perhaps one of those hair net barrette things? I don't know what they are called, but I used to have one when I had shorter hair.

[einna]

Great tips so far. Lots to try here. More please :D

[akilina]

Oops I meant to add that I found a braid at the nape works better than one at the side somehow.

[torrilin]

I find quite a lot of buns fit under helmets. While a regular cinnamon bun won't work, variations like the Gibraltar, flipped cinnabuns, infinity buns, and vortex buns will all be flatter either at your nape or fully under the helmet. Celtic knot buns are also really easy to flatten out. For shorter hair, French twists or peacock twists can work. I'm a ii thickness, so if your hair is thicker, you may need to section it more than I do to get buns to fit under a helmet.

The other easy thing is styles based on twin braids. There are a lot of different ways to pin them up and get them to fit under a helmet or close to the nape. And leaving them loose works fairly well for a really long time... I'm past waist and loose twin braids are still ok.

[neko_kawaii]

Here are a few more ideas: Nape buns for hats (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=105865)

[PraiseCheeses]

1. Line helmet with silk scarf.
2. Make twin braids, loop over head.
3. Profit (well, in terms of retaining hair with no broken hair or split end damage, anyway).

Alternately, part hair down middle as if making pigtails, twist each half just enough so it stays together, wrap over head Heidi-style, cover head with silk bandanna, put on helmet. I've found it possible to wear a ski mask over this, and then a bicycle helmet over the whole thing.

[Elessaelle]

You could also try hair glove (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/Mitsubabe/CIMG0955.jpg) :)

[Panth]

1. Line helmet with silk scarf.
2. Make twin braids, loop over head.
3. Profit (well, in terms of retaining hair with no broken hair or split end damage, anyway).

Alternately, part hair down middle as if making pigtails, twist each half just enough so it stays together, wrap over head Heidi-style, cover head with silk bandanna, put on helmet. I've found it possible to wear a ski mask over this, and then a bicycle helmet over the whole thing.

I wouldn't do this, or any other methods based on tucking the hair inside the helmet. Your helmet is measured to fit your head. If you start shoving hair under there your helmet won't fit properly, which may cause it to fail in a crash. Also, if you put braids under there (rather than just loose hair wrapped) then you are likely to cause pressure points where the braids are that could focus the impact on to one point of your head, causing worse damage there in a crash.

If you're going to bother to wear a helmet you should wear it in a way that actually ensures it will work.

For me, that is a low, unbunned English braid with a buff over (I tuck the length of the braid into the hood of my coat). I then turn it into a braided cinnabun when I get to work, work all day, then take the bun down and put the buff on to cycle home.

[MasCat]

the racibibabi helmet liner for motorcyclists works for me when I'm on my motorbike :)

Well said about helmet safety :)

[torrilin]

I wouldn't do this, or any other methods based on tucking the hair inside the helmet. Your helmet is measured to fit your head.

Well, sorta. They don't actually fit like hats, where the fit needs to be fairly snug all around. Instead, there's a strap framework that allows about 2-3cm of adjustment in several directions. The strap framework needs to be snug, but the helmet shell does not. In fact, it's pretty common for people to buy their helmet too small, so that the shell is so snug it can't sit correctly on their head, and the straps don't need to tighten down and provide support.

On my head, the strap adjustments in back come to the actual nape of my neck. I can get infinity buns to stay, but most other bunned styles will interfere with the adjustment straps and my helmet won't fit correctly. Braids are ok. But a high and very very very flat bun results in a helmet that fits more securely, with the straps able to adjust tighter while still keeping the helmet shell properly level and close to my eyebrows. So I can get a better fit with my hair under the helmet than outside it.

The other factor is that with a bun tucked under the helmet, I get slightly better ventilation in hot weather. Heat stroke isn't good, and statistically it's a lot commoner form of injury than a car accident.

Obviously, we all have somewhat differently shaped heads, and different thicknesses of hair. What works and provides a secure fit for me may not work for you. But I think most of us have the sense to want the helmet to fit securely, so it can do the job it's meant to.

[einna]

Thanks for all the ideas, and also the information about helmet safety, very interesting.
I went skiing today, and I made a low pencil bun (when my hair gets longer I will try the infinity bun), secured with an xl flexi-8 (I have BSL ii/iii hair btw). Then I fastened a silk shawl on my head like a bandana and tied the ends around/over my bun. I re-did it in a break, but I think it could have lasted all day. I had a helmet, jacket and a huge scarf over it, and I did not get a single knot all day :D

I also ordered long sleeping bonnets from ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/310191941541?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290668187559?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

I might also try a flat bun variation under my cycling helmet, if I can get it to fit snuggly and evenly.

[jacqueline101]

I'd try a bun low on the neck head area.

[spidermom]

I usually braid my hair down the back, put on my helmet, then coil the braid into a bun right below the helmet.

[Xi]

For skiing -- I do twin english braids starting low at my nape, tie them off, lay them against my back. Then put one of those thin balaclavas meant to go under helmets on over my head, then helmet on. Coat covers length of braids (I have a long coat!). Anything else either pulls/hurts, doesn't fit, or makes knots. I can't fathom the people who go skiing with their braids hanging outside their coats! I'd never get the tangles out! ;) Not to mention the awful thought of them getting tangled in the chairlift... :blueeek:

[PraiseCheeses]

I wouldn't do this, or any other methods based on tucking the hair inside the helmet. Your helmet is measured to fit your head. If you start shoving hair under there your helmet won't fit properly, which may cause it to fail in a crash. Also, if you put braids under there (rather than just loose hair wrapped) then you are likely to cause pressure points where the braids are that could focus the impact on to one point of your head, causing worse damage there in a crash.

If you're going to bother to wear a helmet you should wear it in a way that actually ensures it will work.

For me, that is a low, unbunned English braid with a buff over (I tuck the length of the braid into the hood of my coat). I then turn it into a braided cinnabun when I get to work, work all day, then take the bun down and put the buff on to cycle home.

Ah, good points - especially about the braids. :o Thanks for pointing that out. Luckily I've never been in a situation where I would have noticed... knock on wood. My hair compresses into nothing, so it's never something I thought twice about before.

My head is tiny, so I generally have trouble finding a helmet small enough that isn't Pink Sparkly Princesses. I feel in my case that they fit more securely when there's something making my head a little bigger - hopefully it's safe to at least keep my ski mask. It's been cold and windy this last week!

[jessa]

I just braid my hair at the nape daily for cycling. If you would like to cycle with your hair down and not have to worry about having your head sweaty. you could try one of these - They are Australian -
http://businesschic.com.au/2012/10/product-review-airhead-no-helmet-hair/

[peacecat3]

I love my snood for riding on the motorcycle. On my bicycle, I usually do a segmented ponytail, with hair eleastics every two inches or so down the length of the ponytail. But if I were doing some activity that required more head and neck mobility, as I imagine skiing would, I'd secure all of it up. I've done like Spidermom, and coiled it into a bun after putting my helmet on.

[jlb]

Under my motorcycle helmets I like the Raci Babi liners. I often braid from the nape down to make these even easier to put on.

[Panth]

Well, sorta. They don't actually fit like hats, where the fit needs to be fairly snug all around. Instead, there's a strap framework that allows about 2-3cm of adjustment in several directions. The strap framework needs to be snug, but the helmet shell does not. In fact, it's pretty common for people to buy their helmet too small, so that the shell is so snug it can't sit correctly on their head, and the straps don't need to tighten down and provide support.

<snip>

True. My advice was actually coming more from the perspective of motorcycle or horse riding helmets which don't have the strap network. Personally, I'd still err on the side of caution and not put anything under my helmet except a buff.


Obviously, we all have somewhat differently shaped heads, and different thicknesses of hair. What works and provides a secure fit for me may not work for you. But I think most of us have the sense to want the helmet to fit securely, so it can do the job it's meant to.

I wish this was the case. You wouldn't believe the amount of people I see cycling about the place with their helmet shoved back (so their entire forehead, hairline and sometimes front portion of their hair is visible) or a helmet so small it perches on the top of their head or with the straps barely tightened. Once I saw someone cycling with the helmet on but the straps undone.

[Zesty]

Thank you for asking this and to everyone who responded. I love riding my bike, and I wear a hat constantly in the summer, and my braids get destroyed and sun-bleached. I tested out the super low infinity bun and it fits below both the helmet and my hat. :)

[Shebelina]

I wish this was the case. You wouldn't believe the amount of people I see cycling about the place with their helmet shoved back (so their entire forehead, hairline and sometimes front portion of their hair is visible) or a helmet so small it perches on the top of their head or with the straps barely tightened. Once I saw someone cycling with the helmet on but the straps undone.

I see this a lot too. You'd be surprised how many people complain when I'm fitting them for riding hats. It's mainly complaining that they are too tight and I have to explain to them that it has to fit snuggly in order for it to work properly. I'm constantly telling people not to push that hat off their forehead as well. It's almost as if they don't know how dangerous horse riding is, and I have to be very careful what I say, I don't want to frighten them.

[einna]

I just braid my hair at the nape daily for cycling. If you would like to cycle with your hair down and not have to worry about having your head sweaty. you could try one of these - They are Australian -
http://businesschic.com.au/2012/10/product-review-airhead-no-helmet-hair/

Thanks for the tip. They would be great at stopping the dreaded helmet-hair.




I wish this was the case. You wouldn't believe the amount of people I see cycling about the place with their helmet shoved back (so their entire forehead, hairline and sometimes front portion of their hair is visible) or a helmet so small it perches on the top of their head or with the straps barely tightened. Once I saw someone cycling with the helmet on but the straps undone.

I see this a lot in Norway to. Maybe people think that just wearing a helmet is enough..? I know I did not think about safety in "my younger days" either.



Thank you for asking this and to everyone who responded. I love riding my bike, and I wear a hat constantly in the summer, and my braids get destroyed and sun-bleached. I tested out the super low infinity bun and it fits below both the helmet and my hat. :)

Glad to se that others can benefit from this thread to :-)