Long Hair on the Playa, Help?

flitterkit · Post by **flitterkit** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 4:50 pm

Hi everyone..

I am a newbie on the playa and I am worried at how my long hair will hold up to conditions. Does anyone have any recomendations for something that will help my hair survive the experience? I really don't want to come home with completly fried hair.

-Flitter

MrMullen · Post by **MrMullen** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 6:01 pm

Get a hair cut ya hippie!!!!

But seriously, the only thing I can add to this since I have short hair, is the Playa is very dry, so your hair might dry out. You should consider a moisturizer for hair, if they make such a thing.

Silver 2 · Post by **Silver 2** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 6:36 pm

The picture to the right is an old one -- have cut my hair since but the length that you see is what I had out on the Playa twice. I washed my hair every day and then did the conditioner bit. Mane and Tail is excellent. It was a bit dry after but it recovered.

BTW, the white hair paint that I used for Santarchy was just as bad as the Playa -- never doing that again.

s

phil · Post by **phil** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 6:49 pm

The picture to the right is an old one

(Me, STILL looking to the right for the flippen pitcher)

Silver 2 · Post by **Silver 2** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:42 pm

Left, right, up, down; picky picky picky... actually I usually get up and down, its the left and right that I have problems with. Hey there is hope a couple of years ago I finally got AM and PM down. Still think that 16:30 makes more sense though.

Rusted Iron · Post by **Rusted Iron** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 8:18 pm

I gave up and tied mine back, the first year. Not great to look at but it saves lots of whinning while trying to detangle.

robbidobbs · Post by **robbidobbs** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:58 pm

My hair is past my butt, and this will be my 7th year. I also lived at the Work Ranch in 2001. I know all about hair maintenance on the Playa, I can tell ya.

Advice on how to keep your hair lovely thru the party and after.
1) wash your hair daily, use a LOT of cheap conditioner and roll it up in a clip while you do the rest of your bathing.
2) comb it immediately after it's rinsed with a large tooth comb.
3) braid it tightly in one or two braids (to your fancy) all the way to the ends while it is still wet.
4) do not unbraid your hair until you're ready to wash it again.
5) keep a hat or scarf on during the day (just a really good idea).

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 6:12 am

I have long hair too, but I don't have access to a daily shower as we don't want to deal with the grey water, much less grey water with conditioner in it. If you can follow Robbidobs advice, do so by all means. However, if you're stuck without a shower, there are alternatives.

Wash and deep conditoner your hair before going to the playa. Braid it tightly, one braid, two, many, just get your hair in a nice little bundle, let 'em hang down or tie them on top of your head, however you prefer. Every day (when there are no dust storms raging,) unbraid your hair and brush it out. Spray on some light leave-in conditioner, the liquid stuff not a cream, comb and rebraid your hair. Dip the brush in a bit of vinegar or lemon juicce to loosen the playa dust and put it somewhere relatively less dusty to dry (inside a car works well). A week without shampoo doesn't bother my scalp, but everyone differs there.

Last year I just left my hair up in a little bun almost all of the time.

safetythird · Post by **safetythird** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:26 am

Last year Mrs S3 went to a salon and had her hair braided for $100. Pretty cheap considering the amount of hair she has and the quality job that was performed. She must of have 100 or so small braids. The lady even gave her extra hair glue and other stuff to keep it all neat and tidy.

She loved not having to worry about it. Just kinda washed the dust off the braids everyday and whatever. Not nearly the hour long hair maintenance she usually does. Plus when we got home and she took them out she looked like a lion that went overboard with a crimping iron. That was worth it for me. While she said it was great last year she won't be doing it again this year. Too much money, to much time, etc. We'll see if she changes her mind again after this year.

Obviously I have no problems with my hair except for maybe a lack thereof.

S3

flitterkit · Post by **flitterkit** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:45 am

I hadn't thought of the spray in conditioner.. I had thought of braids, but was unsure if it would help. Thanks for all the input. See ya on the Playa!

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 11:46 am

I have spray-in sunscreen/conditioner for hair, but am not certain if it does any good or not.

_fool · Post by **_fool** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 2:39 pm

i had hair down past the middle of my back in 2003 and it was not a very fun experience. i wore it as a ponytail the entire time, only tied at my neck. here's what i ended up doing to mitigate it:

1) brush several times a day, and tuck tail into shirt. i learned on day 1 that the wind was enough to tangle it near-irreparably (think convertible-without-a-hairtie-or-hat) so i didn't let it get buffeted after that

2) took the bus into town to shower in the middle of the week (the shame!) not sure if you can still get a shower in town now that the BORG bought the place i showered at (i think?)

3) discovered that 2 days after my last shower it had congealed into a sort of single dreadlock and left it alone til i could deeply condition it (ie at a shower with no time limits).

it survived after losing the 2" at the end, but it was a pain in the ass, and looked and felt nasty (i have oily hair) most of the time.

this time around i chopped off a foot of hair last week instead of trying that again, but i think the suggestions of braiding or daily washing if you can manage are the way to go. i did see people there without my hair problems, so you can do it, just be extra attentive. for the record, i am typically pretty anal about keeping my hair clean and brushed, so i was initially distraught but eventually stopped thinking about what it looked and felt like--the playa is after all full of distractions =)

Grizelda · Post by **Grizelda** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 3:26 pm

I have a lot of long hair. Last year I put it in about 50 little braids the night before I left for Burning Man and didn't unbraid it until I got back. I washed it once on Wednesday or Thursday. It was pretty much okay for the week- maybe a little fuzzy by Sunday, but not too bad. It took a lot of work, though, to undo all those little braids and drag a brush through it, and it took about 3 washes with extra conditioner before it felt normal again.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 12:02 pm

I have long curly hair, so I'm double-whammied. It dries out effortlessly, even in soggy Oregon. So I go to the Playa just assuming that the battle is lost even as I go in.

Here's what I do to live strongly in the face of 10% humidity...

I take an oil bath daily and include my hair in the bath. I try to keep it covered as much as possible. Midweek, I give it a thorough shampoo-cleanse-conditioning with a water shower; that day, I put in leave-in hair conditioning.

I have Clairol Deep Conditioning Treatment in my Open Me Last/Babylon bag and when I stop for the night first night off-Playa, I attack my head with it. It always resets my hair to Position 0, all damage repaired.

Of course, for next year I'll probably still be recovering from radiation therapy (I have cancer this year, that's why I'm not going) and likely will only have a headful of short curls at best by then.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 9:20 pm

I just discovered this stuff. It's for horses but I tried it on my mop and it did exactly as it said, "Works on nasty snarls." My hair snarls like a pissed-off dragon...

http://www.twinkleglitter.com/Prod-CREAM.html

The downside is, it's something like $18 for a pint. The good news is, you only need a tablespoon initially to detangle your hair, and a smidgen every day as a maintenance dose. The better news is, it's got micro-glitter in it!

I got this bottle for my horse but I'm getting another for myself and giving it the Playa Alkaline Test this year. You can't really see the glitter specks themselves but it gives your hair a beautiful shine. My hair grew out dull grey after the chemo but this brough it up to full speed ahead silver. Nice! I might Freecycle the henna on because this stuff makes me not mind going prematurely grey...

PrincessCharming · Post by **PrincessCharming** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:15 am

Diane O'Thirst, I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis. Good luck with your recovery..

About the hair issues, mine was breaking and fraying terribly on the playa last year till I treated it with this Body Shop Brazil Nut Oil Hair Mask, which smells really good. It's sort of expensive ($18 cdn, $??usd), but a little goes a long way. I was slathering it on like mad though as I've got fairly long, thick and somewhat colour-damaged hair. I'd brush this stuff through once a day and braid my hair or cover it with a scarf. I did have to get a good trim after the burn though. I think I might try the many little braids thing, and maybe the sparkly stuff!

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 4:30 pm

$18 Canadian?! How much do they give you for that drop?!?

I'd stick with the Dream Cream, at least you get a good amount of the schtuff for your money.

I rubbed some on my horse's nose this afternoon, he loved the smell and kept nosing my palm after I applied it.

Long Hair on the Playa, Help?

Long Hair on the Playa, Help?

The wind is the worst on hair

Thanks all..