Preparing hair for clubs/pubs

[Johanna]

After going out to a club tonight (yes, it is about 2am Astralian time :P) I have found my hair a complete and utter mess of a knot. Uuuk. After a few conditionings I have finally found my hair knot free.

How would you, or do you prepare you hair for going out to clubs or pubs where there will be frenetic dancing? (Also, unfortunatly, smoking in these areas *insert apalled face here*)

[Angela_Rose]

I am semi-retired from Boston's goth club scene, but when I used to go out regularly, I managed to get pretty creative with braids. One particular evening, I had done 6 or so braids and pinned them to my head, all in different configurations. They stayed like they'd been glued and my hair was nice and not-knotty in the morning.

[metalgypsy85]

I'd say halfway through the night, if you want to leave it down, just go into the bathroom and run a brush through it just to detangle. It might help.

[RocketDog]

I agree with bathroom trips to detangle if it's worn down. At my current length, double braided buns hold really well, and look youthful and fun enough to make me not feel out of place. A french braid or double french braids work best at keeping things under control, but I don't wear them often because it's not a style I'm very good at...

[christi.adell]

I always hated that next morning nasty club hair! I would usually just pin it up to try and keep it on me and not on anything or anybody else. I hated the thought of my hair rubbing up against all the dirty people and walls in clubs. Or course with short hair now it's not an issue.

[InTheCity]

I think when dancing is in the cards, wearing hair up (sacrificing the awesome down look) is probably worth the detangle sessions.

Thank gosh my city is smoke free in bars... I'd probably not go nearly as much. (29 minutes til we leave for one ;))

[wishbone]

You could try like a loose side ponytail/braid, you may still get some tangles but at least its not completely down, and its not as severe as a complete updo. I've done this a couple of times, it can look quite nice, especially if you curl your hair or have some nice hair accessories :)

[heatherdazy]

I'd do tight braidwaves so it almost looked crimped, then create a messy updo or wear it down with lots of volume.

[Dars]

I thought the "new" (2007) laws about smoking in clubs and pubs was across whole Australia? My hair isn't as long as yours and more curly but I just wear it down when I go out (infrequently) and deal with the problems the next day (there isn't much more than usual). When I used to go out every weekend a good while ago now (ha...ha?) I would straighten my hair (pre LHC) and it was a lot shorter to so it was easy to manage, the only problems I encountered was all the sweat from dancing made the curls/frizz reappear! :rolleyes:

For you I would suggest some fun up-do's, maybe try a few half up's to see if your tangles ease up any.

[Cat Lady]

Twin sock buns are super cute and should keep hair from getting tangled shouldn't they? But they are a bit out there for mainstream clubs I guess.

[Kris Dove]

Wear a big flower bauble round your wrist like a corsage- then when you get up to dance you can quickly pony it up to prevent it getting too tangled?
If you don't want to wash your hair the next day(which is what I do as I wash every day or every other day anyway), I've seen various hair fragrances or dry shampoos for sale that you could use to cover the smoky smell, although I've never tried any myself.

[BranwenWolf]

I went out last night too (and got home at about 1am local time) and definitely should have braided mine. I wore it down thinking it would look neat and it just made me get hot on the dance floor. Also creepy old men running their fingers through my hair.

Luckily smoking is illegal in all bars/restaurants/clubs here, but for smoky hair I would have to wash. I can't stand the smell.

[vampodrama]

For me 'going out' usually means violent moshing in front of a stage or something along those lines, so my hair REALLY takes a beating... I try to avoid getting beer dumped on my hair though, as I still remember one particular incident in a black metal gig when I was about 15 and it was horrible. But other than that there is not much I can do to save my hair. Detangling it afterwards makes me cry, honestly...

Braiding won't work because where's the fun in headbanging if your hair is braided? And I can't imagine going to a gig and NOT headbanging. Maybe when I'm 50 this will happen, but certainly not now.

[spidermom]

I do multiple braids down the center back of my head; looks cool, shows off length, reduces tangling/knotting. My son calls it the dreadhawk, haha.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/dreadhawk4.jpg

[Unofficial_Rose]

If it were me (and my clubbing days are over :() I would base my decision on what sort of club because of what sort of look I was going for. Or if your hair frizzes in humidity/sweat...

Rock/metal (used to do this as a teen) - hair down, deal with tangles in morning. Long hair seems to be a big asset in this type of place. :)

Dance (house, hip-hop, techno, D&B whatever - dance for 6 hours straight etc) - high pony with Lara Croft-type braid (I went to these kind of places in my 30's. Sweat in the hair is icky, wanted to have it away from face etc.).

Don't know about other types of clubs (indie, jazz, folk) as never been to one...as Spidermom says some kind of really creative braiding would be fantastic. Ooh, what about odangos if going somewhere avant-garde/indie?

[BeatlesFanGirl]

Luckily smoking is illegal in all bars/restaurants/clubs here, but for smoky hair I would have to wash. I can't stand the smell.

I can't tell how much I envy you for that! :) Being a non-smoker I really can't stand when almost everyone is smoking near me :S Unfortunately there's no law against that...

As for hair, usually I wear it in a high ponytail when I go clubbing/dancing.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

I am too in-love with the way my hair looks down, so when I am going out trying to look really cute, I leave it out. When I eat, I put it up with a stick, I love the looks I get when I put it up. lol But when I am done I take it down again. Usually I pay the price the next day. What I try to do is carefully de-tangle a little with my fingers, get in the shower and saturate it completely. De-tangle some more with my fingers, slather it with conditioner and detangle some more. Then I leave the conditioner in, put it all in a bun and put on a shower cap. I then just leave it soaked in the conditioner for the day, usually by the time I shower at night the tangles have lessened enough to finally get a comb through, and it no longer smells like the smokey night before.

[Johanna]

I thought the "new" (2007) laws about smoking in clubs and pubs was across whole Australia? ....

Unfortunatly not, it seems the NT is always a few years behind the times. I miss being able to go into a pub and not coming home smelling like an ashtray.


... I try to avoid getting beer dumped on my hair though, as I still remember one particular incident in a black metal gig when I was about 15 and it was horrible....

Beer and rum are the worst things to have spilt onto your hair. Especially if you don't get the chance to wash it out untill the next morning. It makes you sick to your stomach.

I think I'll have to rember to stick to updo's. I'll have to avoid using hair sticks though. The last time I went out clubbing with a hair stick I accidently poked my partner in the face when he tried to hug me from behind...and as I was walking home I was poking every tree I walked past with it. I was amused :D

Living in The Northern Territory, it's pretty hard to keep your hair down while doing physical activity. You get so sweaty and it sticks under your arms and down your back. It's terrible.

[BranwenWolf]

I would love to leave my hair down at a metal show, it goes well with the headbanger look, but I get the.worst.knots on the underparts close to my neck and down my back.

[aisling]

Cones, cones, cones. My hair doesn't really like coney products in the long run but before some metal gig, which definitely is a hair down event for me, I try to remember using some kind of coney, slippery product, it helps avoid the worst tangles. I also try to detangle once during the evening and then do it very carefully the next morning, lots of time is required.