QUESTION:
Would you consider long hair or short hair to be easier to deal with on a hike? Short hair dries faster and gets in the way less, but you can always just tie long hair up. What’s your opinion?
ANSWER:
Great question! Personally, I keep my hair just below shoulder length, and I tie it into two low pigtails. It keeps my hair out of the way, and it is nice and comfortable under my broad-rimmed hiking hat. Braiding your hair can also help keep it clean(er) and neat!
Hope that helps! What do other readers think?
Happy trails!
Hiking Lady
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I have very long hair (its almost to my elbows), and I find it easiest to just do a side braid. I haven’t had short hair in a long time, so I don’t necessarily know which is easier. But I do know that I haven’t had any problems with mine. I just comb it out every morning and rebraid it. For some reason, I can go almost a week while hiking before my hair gets greasy looking. My theory is that I have more hair for the oil to spread to, but I don’t know if that’s actually scientifically correct.
My hair has been super short for several years, so it’s not been a problem at all. But now I’m trying to grow it out, so we’ll see what I end up doing this summer. If its a pain, the scissors will come back out! LOL!
well honest I just do my two french braids I always do and a hat. I once tired to bring my very light no tangle comb but didn’t work to well. Maybe in different circumstance it would be possible to bring it not sure. Sometimes in the morning I just redo them depends on how crazy my hair looks! All in all it just depends
Kim: hahaa thanks for the feedback Kim! Keep us posted how it goes this summer… happy trails
Megan: I like you’re thinking! It definitely seems to make sense… more hair = more room for the sweat (that is coming from our scalps) to spread out.
Amber: French braids? That must look great! That takes a little too much effort for me, but I’m sure your hair looks better than mine out on the trail!
I either put mine up in a low bun or ponytail. My hair is dyed red so I keep it completely covered with a hat or scarf to ensure no UV bleaching occurs. I use WEN so I only need to wash my hair once a week as it is–doesn’t matter if I’m hiking or not.
I’ve climbed a lot of mountains with very short hair and a fleece hat shoved on my head and, to say the least, it’s not a very feminine look! And – when you finally take your hat off, you have a really bad case of “hat hair”! Now I’ve spent over a year growing out my hair and I love stuffing my ponytail through the back of my cap – it stays neat and doesn’t look scary when I take my hat off – and. as Megan mentioned, one can really go a lot longer without washing it. (Sahalie now offers a fleece hat and a fleece headband with a “ponytail port” – very cool! So, obviously, my vote is for long hair!
I’ve always had short hair because it’s super fine and tangles really easy. Since I’m always either wearing a sun hat or a Buff, it doesn’t matter. I just get up in the morning and turn my head upside down and scrub my scalp with my fingers to get rid of loose hair and because it feels good! On some trips I even wash it with a little Bronner’s and it dries super fast.