5 Ways to Deal With Your Hair When Camping

If you are an outdoorsy girl, you understand the struggle that is camping hair. I mean, it does not matter how much you love camping, no one likes waking up and sporting hair that looks like it hasn’t been washed or combed in a month. And unfortunately for me, I was not blessed with hair that looks good when it hasn’t been washed. My hair will take a sharp dive into rat’s nest after the first 20 hours of not having a shower, so camping is a challenge. However, I love camping more than most things in this life, so I have developed some of my own little tricks for taming the mane into looking photo ready. Here are 5 ways to deal with your hair when camping.

1. Braid it

I taught myself how to braid out of pure necessity. If you are on day three of camping, braid your hair; it looks cute and effortless while keeping your greasy locks cleverly hidden. However, if you have thin hair like me, and braids don’t look all that great, you should still pick up this skill. Braid your hair at night, so you wake up with some curls and body to work with instead of lifeless flat hair.

2. Water

Now, please don’t be stupid and wet your hair if you are in a cold region, but this tip has saved me many a time. If you have hair that dries decently well, consider damping it a little in the morning to give it a revitalization. No, I don’t think you should dunk your head in water, unless its 80 degrees, then go for it, but a little water can go a long way. I have scooped handfuls of water out of clear streams and even used extra heated water from coffee in the mornings to give my hair some love.

3. Hats

There is not much to say about this one. Find a hat that you love, that looks good on you, and bring it. Figure out several ways to wear your hair with the hat, so you can use it more than one day without getting bored of it.

4. Dry shampoo

Some people think dry shampoo on a camping trip is high maintenance, but honestly, those people can kiss it. I buy travel or sample size bottles of dry shampoo and pack them with me on every camping trip, even on my backpacking trips. To me, it’s one hundred percent worth the tiny amount of weight and space to have hair I can work with in the mornings. There are plenty of easy ways to deal with your hair when camping.

5. Wear it up

This is very different from the braids and here’s why… I want you to wear your hair up the first day, and every night. The less your hair is down, the less grease and grime it collects, and when you wear it up in a twisted bun at night, you are more likely to wake up with better-looking hair. This is also a way of telling you to not wear a hat too soon. Unless you have crazy good hair, there is no coming back from hat head, so delay putting a hat on as long as possible.
 This article first appeared on Society19