Hats and Hair!

[Redderly]

Hello everyone!!

My hair type is 1b/1c/f/i, and I am usually not a wearer of hats. I have just gotten into the habit of NOT washing my hair daily, and can now go 2-3 days before needing a shampoo (i am very proud of this progress!)

By day 3, my hair gets super oily and I have taken on the habit of wearing a baseball cap.

My question is, will this damage my Hair? I keep the hat pretty loose and wait until it's at its oiliest in hopes it would help prevent breakage.

Does anyone have any hat alternatives or ways to make hats safer for our hair? I use dry shampoo, but I don't want to be dependent on it.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[Anje]

I don't think a baseball hat will damage your hair, generally speaking. You'll want to make sure it's not terribly tight or snagging hairs in the closure mechanism, of course, but remember that there are many people who wear head coverings and have gorgeous hair underneath. If anything, it offers a little sun protection to your canopy. You will want to pay attention to the condition of your ends, since many people find ponytails to be a source of tangles and breakage, but there are methods of bunning hair with a baseball cap (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=139511) that may be useful to you.

[MoonRabbit]

I also read that some members will sew silk inside the of the hat to protect against rubbing or snagging. I wear hats a lot and never had issues with damage.

[Redderly]

I don't think a baseball hat will damage your hair, generally speaking. You'll want to make sure it's not terribly tight or snagging hairs in the closure mechanism, of course, but remember that there are many people who wear head coverings and have gorgeous hair underneath. If anything, it offers a little sun protection to your canopy. You will want to pay attention to the condition of your ends, since many people find ponytails to be a source of tangles and breakage, but there are methods of bunning hair with a baseball cap (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=139511) that may be useful to you.

Thank you for the bun link! That's so cute!

[Redderly]

I also read that some members will sew silk inside the of the hat to protect against rubbing or snagging. I wear hats a lot and never had issues with damage.

Wow I would have never thought of the silk idea! Have you tried that before or never felt the need to?

[lapushka]

Does anyone have any hat alternatives or ways to make hats safer for our hair? I use dry shampoo, but I don't want to be dependent on it.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

It's not going to give you damage, I'm sure of that. Just keep an eye on your scalp and don't let it get too too oily, because that's when potential scalp issues often arise (like dandruff, SD, that kind of thing), and stretch slowly. So keep it like this for a few weeks then add on another day, see how you go - give it time to "normalize" a bit.

[Joyful Mystery]

I wear hats regularly and I don't have any damage.

[Cg]

I wear hats whenever I'm out in the sun, have done for years, never any damage no matter the hat.

[enting]

I don't wear hats very much, but I do wear scarves. I think it's really going to depend on your hair and the material in the hat and how well they like each other. There's no way we can predict that though, so I'd say give it a shot and keep an eye on your hair's condition. Generally speaking it shouldn't be damaging to hair.

[Siv]

Speaking of hats - any neat ideas on hairstyles for knitted hats? Winter is coming and usually I'll do a high bun with a hairband, but my work uniform only has a regular knitted hat and I find it won't quite stay on properly if I wear a low bun. Low braids and ponytails are my go-to's right now but I don't really like having my hair swishing around like that for safety reasons.

[M00bles]

Speaking of hats - any neat ideas on hairstyles for knitted hats?

Maybe pigtails (French/Dutch/normal) and then pin them around your head? That would keep them flat and secure and still allow you to fit a hat over them.

[Siv]

Maybe pigtails (French/Dutch/normal) and then pin them around your head? That would keep them flat and secure and still allow you to fit a hat over them.

I'm gonna try this! My hair isn't long enough to pin them all around with English braids, but maybe if I work on my Dutch/French braiding skills it will work. Currently they look really... messy lol

[lapushka]

torrinpaige just did a tutorial on braids for hoodies & hats. Might want to check out her channel!

[meteor]

Speaking of hats - any neat ideas on hairstyles for knitted hats? Winter is coming and usually I'll do a high bun with a hairband, but my work uniform only has a regular knitted hat and I find it won't quite stay on properly if I wear a low bun. Low braids and ponytails are my go-to's right now but I don't really like having my hair swishing around like that for safety reasons.

Hmm, I can't find a hat that can fit over my head and bun, so I can't help you there, but I use scarves and hoods (often using a silky scarf as first layer, to reduce friction). Can you knit a bigger hat or maybe get one of the larger hats for dreadlocks? You can line a bigger hat with some silky material - http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2011/12/lining-winter-hats.html

[Simsy]

I use milkmaid braids for myself. If your hair is too thick, make extra braids so they sit a bit flatter. Mine fit quite neatly under a hard hat.

[Siv]

torrinpaige just did a tutorial on braids for hoodies & hats. Might want to check out her channel!

Haha that's actually what got me thinking about the issue!! I watched the video and thought it looked so nice, but it doesn't really work for me at work, because I don't want swishy parts of my hair flying around - like long braids. I'm only MBL atm, but even at this length, if they're hanging in front they can get stuck (and does so frequently) to the personal alarm on my chest. The braids haven't set it off yet, but it would be quite embarrassing to send half the work force on duty running expecting the worst when it's just my hair that has a mind of it's own :lol: So I do braids down my back mostly, but at longer lengths (and even sort of now already) I'm worried that swishy bits will be way too easy to grab onto in case I ever end up in a situation where I have to wrestle a bit. I haven't so far, but this sort of thing happens about once a month at my place of employment, so it's a possibility. Hence, I usually wear buns, but they don't fit under the hat :(


Hmm, I can't find a hat that can fit over my head and bun, so I can't help you there, but I use scarves and hoods (often using a silky scarf as first layer, to reduce friction). Can you knit a bigger hat or maybe get one of the larger hats for dreadlocks? You can line a bigger hat with some silky material - http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2011/12/lining-winter-hats.html

Ooo that's so cool! Thanks! Seems like such a fun project, I'll try to find a dreadhat when I go into town this afternoon :) Unfortunately I need to use the hat provided by my employer at work, nothing else, and it only comes in one size.. Though it can get pretty darn cold around here during winter so I could definitely use a silklined dreadhat privately!


I use milkmaid braids for myself. If your hair is too thick, make extra braids so they sit a bit flatter. Mine fit quite neatly under a hard hat.

I'm definitely going to start practising that!