Long Hair Poll

[CornMan]

In 2010, I kept my hair tied back and washed it several times. When I got home, my hair was so cracked and dry that it hardly formed a pony tail. In 2011 and 2012, I let it hang down and ignored it completely. Both years my hair was in better shape when I got home than before I left for the playa.

[Bob]

You can't stop playa dust, you can only hope to contain it.*

* Paraphrasing Dan Patrick, though the phrase may have originated with Keith Olbermann.

[Milayna]

So before I headed out this year I read thread after thread about long hair on the playa. I have long, straight hair that is a medium to thin in thickness, and that tends to be on the oily side in the default world. So here's what I did, how well it worked, and what I will tweak next year:

Morning I left: Washed thoroughly and conditioned twice with very thick conditioner. While wet I sprayed on a detangler/leave-in conditioner made for kids. Then while wet I braided it into one loose braid (regular, not french braid).

I left that braid in for the 2-day drive there, and then for the first 2 days out there. When I took it out Wednesday afternoon, intending to wash it, I realized why (at least for me) not touching your hair for a few days out there is a BAD idea. There was SO much playa stuck in it, it was super tangled, and I was so glad I hadn't french braided it because I don't think I would have been able to get that out. I didn't have a shower so I used a plastic tub with water to wash my hair, although I didn't use shampoo, only conditioner. I then covered it in detangler spray and hair oil, and combed it out with a wide tooth comb (something I never use in the default world but is a MUST HAVE on playa).

After that I learned my lesson and rinsed and conditioned it every morning, braiding it while wet, and then taking that out and wearing it down at night. At the end of the week it took 2 thorough hair washings to get it clean, and an at home hot oil treatment to get it back to normal, which didn't seem too bad to me. No major damage, no loss of hair.

What I would change: I will definitely bring shampoo next year and wash it with shampoo 2 or 3 times throughout the week. The problem with just using conditioner is that it didn't get out a lot of the playa dust. I'm also going to invest in a pricier, more moisturizing leave in conditioner spray. I will also keep it covered more during the day. Only towards the end of the week did I really start wearing scarves over my hair, and that seemed to help a lot with keeping it clean.

[MyDearFriend]

Tamara Kay and I washed each other's hair this year, and I did Graidawg and MyLarry (including beard), my sons and nephews, random folks from the village... lotta long hair around. Key thing is to add some vinegar to your water to cut the playa mud. One cup white vinegar to a gallon of water in a garden sprayer works great and leaves no smell behind.

Vinegar water is particularly helpful for dissolving the crust of mud-bricklets around the hairline from sweat + playa. Stubborn ones respond to a spritz of conditioner before shampooing but vinegar water gets most of it. And crusty ears.

Also, a sprayer really reduces the water used (about one quart of run-off per head) so no gray-water issues.

My (butt-length, fine) hair was mostly up in a bun and under a hat as per usual but I let it down at night and tried to get it combed out once a day. Took me a couple-three days/shampoos to get back to normal after I left BRC.

[theCryptofishist]

You did me, too. I was almost hijacked.

[MyDearFriend]

You did me, too. I was almost hijacked.

That was fun.

[theCryptofishist]

It was good. Someone in my former village used to do it for me. I was afraid that I wasn't going to get that at all...

[Milayna]

Oh shoot, I forgot the most important thing in my post!!! Thanks Mydearfriend for the reminder ADD SOME VINEGAR TO YOUR HAIRWASHING WATER!!!!!!!

[clocksnmirrors]

i read the thread title as "Long Hair Pull" and envisioned some sort of cage match involving teased up bouffants and velcro gloves

[AntiM]

Bulbous Bouffant.

[Ratty]

AntiM, Thank you for that. I needed it.

[Milayna]

i read the thread title as "Long Hair Pull" and envisioned some sort of cage match involving teased up bouffants and velcro gloves

Ha! That sounds like more fun than the real thread!

[BirthChazz]

I have hair down to the middle of my back. (Straight, fine hair, but a lot of strands) I washed and dried it before I left, then I put 8-10 pumps of Gun Oil silicone lube in it. braided it into Leia style buns (two side ponytails, braided tight like Pippi Longstocking, and then rolled into spirals and secured).

I could then unbraid it, anytime I wanted, and let it go free, no tangles. I preferred to leave it braided, just felt really hot on my neck. I did not wash it there at all, but I did have a steam bath, and a mist down. (Thank you to Joreth one of the chefs at Sno Cone Solar Village who gave me his turn at the steam bath) I added silicone lube a couple of times to the ends to keep it from tangling. No breakage. Washed out easily in Reno, with regular shampoo.

I refuse to take credit for this idea, my friend Carnivore gave me this tip before I left:-) worked brilliantly.