Helmet hair protection for every hair style

There is nothing worse than styling your hair perfectly before riding to work, only to find that your hair has been ruined by your helmet on the way. Today we will take a look at what the best helmet hair protection is.

How to protect your hair from a helmet

To prevent helmet hair, keep your hair clean and dry, wash your helmet regularly, and wear a helmet hair protector. It’s also best to avoid tight helmets and to use styling products lightly. Long hair is best kept in a bun or braid to protect it from the wind.

First, What is it?

Helmet hair is whatever bad things may happen to your hair after you put on a helmet.

It can mean that the top is squished and the sides stick out.
It can mean that your beautiful long hair looks wild and is all over the place.
It can also mean that your hair has taken the shape of your helmet padding.

Just like it happened to me the other day:

An example of what happens if you don't follow these helmet hair protection tips. My hair took the shape of my bike helmet padding. — My hair took the shape of my helmet padding. In this case, I had probably used too much hair product. A bandana or cycling cap would have helped to protect my hair better.

How does it happen?

There are many reasons why helmet hair happens.

But it all boils down to the same principle:

Your perfectly-shaped hair is being squished into a tight space for an extended time. Not only that, but you also work out – which heats up your head and makes you sweat.

The combination of warmth, moisture, and compression will bake your hair into a new shape.

This gets even worse if you’re using hair products that soften under heat or moisture – only to reharden when they cool or dry later on. This is an issue that affects lots of guys and I will address it later on in this article.

How do you prevent helmet hair?

There are some simple things you can do to avoid helmet hair in the future.

The basic principle is this:

Wash your hair thoroughly about twice a week with shampoo and conditioner. Make sure to rinse it until it is perfectly clean since any residue can cause issues. Thoroughly dry it before using a helmet.
Use hair products sparingly.
Clean your helmet about once a month. Old sweat and dirt will soak into your helmet padding and rub over your perfectly clean hair. The padding can also be a pool for bacteria, causing all kinds of scalp issues and irritated skin.
Wear helmet hair protection. This protector can be a silk scarf, a bandana, a cotton liner, a shower cap, or a dedicated helmet cap. This will keep your hair in place and protect you from sweaty padding. Just make sure it can wick away the moisture.
Carry a comb or brush. This is pretty self explanatory: Whenever you take your helmet off, assume that your hair is not perfect. Take a quick look in the mirror (or use your phone camera) and quickly re-style your hair. Be sure to check your front, sides, and back.
“Train” your hair to fall into place: Regularly styling your hair the same way will make it much easier for your hairstyle to stay in shape under a helmet. Maybe you have noticed it before: If you always style your hair to one side vs. the other, it always seems to want to fall to that side after a shower.
Change your haircut. This is a last resort effort only. Maybe you sport a hairstyle that looks amazing in the morning in front of the mirror before you leave the house. But somehow it never seems to make it past your morning commute and it looks totally different when you arrive at work. In this case (and only if you have tried everything else listed above), maybe you should think about changing your hairstyle a little. I’m not talking about a complete make-over, I’m just saying that it may make sense to bring it up to your trusted hairdresser next time you’re in for a haircut. There may be small changes they can make that will make you feel much better.

The best helmet hair protection is probably a combination of all of the above (ideally minus the new haircut).

But please try it out for yourself to learn what works best.

Next up: The difference of wearing helmets with long hair vs. short hair.

How to prevent helmet hair with long hair

Wearing a helmet with long hair is not much different than with short hair. The trick is to tuck it away while you’re riding.

The biggest issue with long hair on a bike is the wind.

There is almost no way to go for a ride with your hair blowing in the wind and arriving on site well put together.

So the best way is to put long hair in a bun or braid.

I don’t happen to have (or know a lot about) long hair, so I am going to summarize what Rebel Without a Car shared in her YouTube video below.

Here is how she does it:

She uses a silk scrunchie to loop her hair loosely in the back.
She gently wraps her bun in a neck gaiter / tube / buff
She wears a cycling cap on top. She calls this an optional step but I would highly suggest doing it (especially on warm days) to protect your hair from the foam padding.
She puts her helmet on top – and voila. Good to go.

Avoiding helmet hair with long hair on a commute. A great video by Rebel Without a Car on Youtube.

Please check out her video.

As you can see, this technique works very well for her.

How to Avoid Helmet Hair for Guys

For guys, it’s essentially the same as outlined above:

Clean hair + clean helmet + helmet hair protection = great hair.

But there is one big difference: Hair products.

A lot of men’s styling gels and waxes make the issue much worse than it seems to be for women’s products.

In my experience, a lot of hair products for men are sticky, gooey pastes that essentially glue the hair in shape.

The question seems to be: What glue are you using and how much do you put on?

Now, all of these sticky, gooey pastes seem to soften when working out and completely reshaping the hairstyle.

The funny thing is that it doesn’t necessarily mess up the hair.

It just reshapes it as one homogenous mass.

As in this picture:

A bad case of helmet hair. I used a beeswax-based pomade (lightly, I thought) before going for a ride. When i came back, my hair had taken the shape of my helmet padding. — A bad case of helmet hair. I used a beeswax-based pomade (lightly, I thought) before going for a ride. When I came back, my hair had taken the shape of my helmet padding.

I did not wear hair protection for my helmet that day, or it would have probably been fine.

But it was also a good reminder that even a little wax can be too much.

Is Helmet hair bad for you?

Yes and no.

Generally speaking, it’s just cosmetic.

Comb your hair and keep going.

But there are some cases in which it can become an issue.

Scalp Hygiene

Scalp hygiene is a big deal.

If you don’t follow the steps outlined above, then it’s very possible to create skin issues on your scalp after a long bike ride.

A dirty helmet with lots of bacteria and grime, tugging and pulling on your hair for hours on end, combined with salty sweat can irritate your scalp, cause dandruff, and promote fungal growth.

It’s common sense, but keep your helmet clean, and wash your hair regularly – especially after a long and sweaty ride.

Speaking of sweat, our article How to avoid sweat while wearing a helmet talks about ways to reduce sweat while riding in the first place.

Hair loss

There are generally two camps on this subject:

Those that think that wearing a helmet can cause hair loss and those that don’t.

Lots of people seem to think that the constant tugging and pulling on your hair when you put your helmet on, readjust it, or take it off only to put it back on again may take a toll on your hair.

That may very well be.

But according to Dr. Mandeep Kaur of Advanced Hair Studio, for instance, helmet-induced hair loss is a myth.

I also wrote an in-depth article about the subject looking at biking-related hair loss from all sides.

You can choose for yourself who to believe.

But I think it’s good not to obsess over this one.

At the very least, a helmet liner or biking cap should reduce this issue if you subscribe to the idea of helmet-induced hair loss.

Takeaway

Helmet hair can be funny or it can be frustrating.

But by following the steps above, you will be well-equipped to avoid helmet hair altogether.

And as a side benefit, you will even improve your hair and scalp hygiene.

And avoid feeling embarrassed when riding your bike to work.