A/C is broken in the car = potential wind damage

[Zesty]

I drive a beater and the A/C is dead now, just in time for summer! It doesn't make sense to spend the $1000 :brickwall to get it fixed since the car is probably not even worth that much. And you know you're a longhair when your main concern is your hair! Not so much the aesthetics, though that too -- I can't fix my hair nice because I just have to redo it after driving with the windows down. :justy: But it's a lot of wind and can't be good damage-wise.

Does anyone have better ideas than me about how to protect my hair from the (sometimes intense) wind during my commute? Right now I've got a wide headband I wear in the car and of course it's always up in a bun, but any shorter bits in the back get blown around quite a lot. Would a lightweight satin-lined beanie sort of thing work? Part of me wants to wear my sleep bonnet! :lol:

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I think that your wide headband and bun will be good protection for your hair - I wouldn't worry about it, really. Hope you can get your aircon fixed soon.

[spitfire511]

Zesty do you have a buff? That's what I use when riding the motorcycle - it's not perfect but it helps a TON.

[Nini]

I bet you're fine as is, but if you're worried a buff on top while you drive will cover your whole head.

[lapushka]

I think there's no such thing as "wind damage", to be fair. Wind can't damage your hair; it can tangle it to bits so you need to carefully detangle, but damage? Nope.

I do hope you can get your airconditioner fixed. My mom and dad's car is 12+ years old, they also had the A/C fixed last year. If your car still works fine, it's worth the investment, IMMHO!

[Chromis]

The amount of tangling wind causes for me absolutely causes damage!

I will third the Buff. I large bandana with the tail tucked in would also work or a silk scarf. If you want to rock out with your sleepcap though, why not?

[lapushka]

The amount of tangling wind causes for me absolutely causes damage!

I always have my hair up in a bun, so I probably can't discuss that further. :flower:

Do you have damage if you carefully detangle, though?

[Rowdy]

I always have my hair up in a bun, so I probably can't discuss that further. :flower:

Do you have damage if you carefully detangle, though?

I virtually never get tangles so it's really noticeable to me when I do get one. It's my hair being in the tangles themselves that causes damage, not the detangling for me especially considering I don't have to do much to get them out.

I have a very wide headband too, Zesty (about 4 inches wide) and it keeps my nape hairs pinned down pretty good.

[Chromis]

I always have my hair up in a bun, so I probably can't discuss that further. :flower:

Do you have damage if you carefully detangle, though?

Mine is always up too, but I have these pesky nape hairs that sneak out and the baby hairs make tangles too in open cars and boats! Maybe yours is better behaved than mine.

I find the best way not to get damage is not to let it tangle since there is always a risk of damage when you are dealing with a tricky snarl.

[milosmomma]

I think a buff or silky scarf would be perfect. I also dont have A/C and never have with this current vehicle and as long as my hair is up or braided it's really never too bad. I find if you leave the back windows up and just roll down the fronts it makes less of a windtunnel lol

[Zesty]

Thanks all for the advice! I will see about picking up a buff, I think it would be more protective than my current headband.

As for whether wind is damaging, my baby hairs definitely get tangled and dry from it. But if wind can blow shingles off a roof then I think it's believable that continued exposure to strong wind can damage hair. :shrug:

[lapushka]

Mine is always up too, but I have these pesky nape hairs that sneak out and the baby hairs make tangles too in open cars and boats! Maybe yours is better behaved than mine.

I find the best way not to get damage is not to let it tangle since there is always a risk of damage when you are dealing with a tricky snarl.

Oh gosh, I wish! :lol: I get really short nape hairs, so there's that, but we always turn down the A/C a little (not full blast) and up the temperatures to the outside temperatures, so it doesn't blow too cold of an air. We come from a time where A/C in cars was not a thing yet. (And A/C in homes is definitely still a novelty to non-existent).

[milosmomma]

Lapushka, a/c was unheard of in homes and cars when I was growing up too, but it is really shocking how quickly we can become accustomed to and normalize something like a/c!

[Chromis]

Oh gosh, I wish! :lol: I get really short nape hairs, so there's that, but we always turn down the A/C a little (not full blast) and up the temperatures to the outside temperatures, so it doesn't blow too cold of an air. We come from a time where A/C in cars was not a thing yet. (And A/C in homes is definitely still a novelty to non-existent).

I find even full blast with the fan (it's not often so warm here where I have moved that you want a/c often and there are tons of older cars without it) is a lot less blowing than open windows though, which is what our OP was asking about. I grew up with windows open all summer and parents who were speed demons to boot, and boy can it get really windy at freeway speeds! On our island, the roads are so bad you never go very fast so we often have the windows open, but I am assuming Zesty is going highway speeds since most US commuters have a longer drive than you lucky ducks would.

[neko_kawaii]

We drive pretty much year round with the windows down at anything slower than highway speeds. Once you hit those speeds the wind is just overwhelming, and since we have A/C we take advantage of it at higher speeds. My mom just got her first vehicle A/C ever. I remember long car trips growing up. If I had to keep the windows down at high speeds, I’d wear a bandana for sure. Just the little hairs whipping your face (it stings) incessantly is enough irritation without having to carefully remove the tangles later. Think of how flags fray in the wind, that is definitely damaging in the long term.

[Zesty]

I find even full blast with the fan (it's not often so warm here where I have moved that you want a/c often and there are tons of older cars without it) is a lot less blowing than open windows though, which is what our OP was asking about. I grew up with windows open all summer and parents who were speed demons to boot, and boy can it get really windy at freeway speeds! On our island, the roads are so bad you never go very fast so we often have the windows open, but I am assuming Zesty is going highway speeds since most US commuters have a longer drive than you lucky ducks would.

Yep, my commute isn't crazy like someone in a bigger city but I do drive 20+ minutes into the next county on highways. I avoid the route that goes on the interstate, at least. The car is black with black interior and it's already getting close to 90 F a lot of days, which, again, isn't as bad as other parts of the country but still too hot to just use the fan in the car.


We drive pretty much year round with the windows down at anything slower than highway speeds. Once you hit those speeds the wind is just overwhelming, and since we have A/C we take advantage of it at higher speeds. My mom just got her first vehicle A/C ever. I remember long car trips growing up. If I had to keep the windows down at high speeds, I’d wear a bandana for sure. Just the little hairs whipping your face (it stings) incessantly is enough irritation without having to carefully remove the tangles later. Think of how flags fray in the wind, that is definitely damaging in the long term.

I thought about the flag thing too! But yeah, the baby hairs going everywhere is unpleasant on multiple levels, even aside from me being precious about my hair and fearing damage.

[lapushka]

Lapushka, a/c was unheard of in homes and cars when I was growing up too, but it is really shocking how quickly we can become accustomed to and normalize something like a/c!

That is so true! :)


I find even full blast with the fan (it's not often so warm here where I have moved that you want a/c often and there are tons of older cars without it) is a lot less blowing than open windows though, which is what our OP was asking about. I grew up with windows open all summer and parents who were speed demons to boot, and boy can it get really windy at freeway speeds! On our island, the roads are so bad you never go very fast so we often have the windows open, but I am assuming Zesty is going highway speeds since most US commuters have a longer drive than you lucky ducks would.

Maybe keeping the window up above the head will solve it? So putting two windows open a notch, the driver's side and the passenger's side and maybe that will be enough and save the worry.

I still find it so hard to grasp that you can get actual damage from this. :hmm:

[MusicalSpoons]

We recently spent half a day outside at an air show (very old planes, flying display) where the wind was intermittent, and *nothing* like the wind of driving at speed, yet I still had several tiny little tangles in my baby hairs that were impossible to undo. I couldn't hold my arms up long enough to feel for all of them, let alone attempt to pick them apart or cut them out, so I ended up having to rip through them. Tbh, even if by some miracle I could have gently detangled without causing more damage, those hairs were already damaged by being whipped about and knotted up by the wind.

It sounds like you already have some good suggestions and honestly, if wearing your sleep cap makes you feel happiest because everything's protected then that sounds rather a sensible thing to do!

(Also we've never had a car with A/C; I've been in other people's cars with it and it can be heavenly! Our current car should have it but the previous owner fixed it once and it broke again before we got it; he was a very careful, fastidious owner so it's clearly not user error but a recurring fault for some reason and for us not worth fixing - it's 16years old now and still a good car but we can't afford to fix the A/C only for it to break again, plus it's not something we *need* with our current car use. Very few long motorway journeys in the middle of annual heat waves, for instance!)

Edit: lapushka I didn't see your post while typing mine, but in some heat the only option is having the window all the way down, and even then it's not enough to not feel like you're passing out. We've occasionally had heat waves when we were travelling on holiday and it's still nothing like the heat the US regularly gets, but it's just unbearable not to have the windows all the way down. If you're fortunate enough not to have experienced wind damage then I'm glad for you, but it really truly is a thing and bad enough as a one-off. To be experiencing it every workday would just ruin the outer layer of hair exposed, as well as being annoying as anything - as someone said before, those wispies being whipped about stings! And my experiences of that are mostly just in wind while stationery, which is much less than the wind of travelling at high speed.

[enting]

Yes, it absolutely can damage hair. I'm thinking of ladies from, what decade is it? When they would get into convertible cars with silk scarves tied under their chins to keep their hair perfectly coiffed and not messed up by the wind. Even without being in cars much, my hair gets damaged just from being out in the wind while I'm walking outside and benefits from being covered. Pretty much anything will do. I'd personally go with something with greater coverage than a headband, but a headband may suffice.

[catoala]

Wind doesn't damage hair ;) Try putting it up or wear a silky shirt or so, due to friction.

[Lady Stardust]

I’m surprised there’s even a difference of opinion about wind damaging hair. I remember when I was a kid I trapped a ribbon in the car window so it could fly like a streamer as we went along. It was in tatters after a few minutes. Wind can definitely damage hair, and side/nape wispies plus new growth that hasn’t reached the bun/plait will be whipped about like crazy without protection. I guess some people just haven’t experienced that.

Zesty a Buff is a great investment because so handy. It folds up small and is really lightweight so you can keep it in your pocket or bag just in case. Mine saved my hair many times when I didn’t have a hat with me.

MusicalSpoons I had a similar experience to you when I was on a windy beach in Cornwall. There was no way of detangling every single bit.

enting those 50s & 60s headscarves are such a good look :) Very flattering too.

[Zesty]

It seems like common sense to me that wind can be damaging. :shrug: As is mentioned above, it can damage houses, flags, etc if strong enough or for an extended period of time, and hair is obviously much more fragile than that. The anecdotes of some previous posters about baby hairs getting whipped around and tangled etc is also consistent with my experience.

But regardless, this isn't something I've seen debated on the LHC before, so it's quite interesting.

I think I might have a silky scarf tucked away somewhere, I'm going to see if I can finagle it to cover things up and wind-proof it.

[lapushka]

I've thought about it some more. :o

There is such a thing as hygral fatigue, so... water damage basically. And if you can have damage due to water, and have damage due to the sun, even wind should be among the possibilities... No?