I don't really want dreadlocks.

April 20, 2013 12:07 PM

This feels like a silly question, but what do I do about my long, curly, tangle-prone hair when I'm out in the woods for a very long time doing fieldwork?

I'm leaving soon on a three-month field expedition to central Africa, where I will be spending long periods of time in the rainforest conducting biological field research (yay!). I've got a pretty decent amount of general hiking and camping experience, but this will be my first significant field expedition and will definitely be the longest time that I've spent out in the bush without having access to modern bathing facilities. I'm mostly OK with that, except for one minor thing: my hair.

I have long, very curly hair that is very tangle prone. (Think Shepherd Book for a reasonable approximation.) I normally keep it tied back during the day which helps, but it's still a significant process to get it detangled in the shower in the morning, which involves lubricating the hair with copious amounts of conditioner (I go through a large bottle of conditioner in about a week and a half) and maybe ten minutes of manual detangling. Over several years of experimentation, this has been my most successful strategy for keeping my hair from getting knotted up without ripping it out or cutting it off.

If I get lax about my detangling regime, things go south very quickly. My hair very easily becomes knotted and matted, and the last time this happened (several years ago) I ended up having to get most of it cut off. I'd like to avoid this in Africa if possible, though of course if things get bad while I'm in the field I can indeed just hack it off short. What I would like though is for some strategy to help keep it from getting all tangled up that doesn't involve lugging dozens of giant bottles of conditioner around with me in my backpack (obviously not a real option).

Does anybody know of some kind of super hair lubricant that packs down very small such that I could feasibly take some with me, or have a great strategy for preventing tangles or for removing them once they begin to crop up? If so, I would be eternally grateful. I've been growing this mane for years now and I'd really like to avoid having to sacrifice it to the god of fieldwork. I feel a little silly asking about this sort of thing, but if anyone has any bright ideas then I'd love to hear about them.

posted by Scientist to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (31 answers total)

Maybe some of the oil based hair serums like macadamia or argan oil?
posted by skittlekicks at 12:11 PM on April 20, 2013

Maybe try experimenting with relatively common oils before you head overseas? E.g. olive oil, corn oil, or other oils that might be readily available in the part of Africa you'll be visiting. If you find one that works, then you won't have to go through the hassle of packing it.
posted by absquatulate at 12:13 PM on April 20, 2013

Can you put your hair in braids? (French braid or pig tail braids)

You could also try a bun instead of a just a ponny tail. Wrap it up around itself and use pins or another rubber band.

Do it when it's wet if you can, so it doesn't curl before you get a chance to braid it or put it up. That would be my best solution before trying hair products.
posted by Crystalinne at 12:16 PM on April 20, 2013 [11 favorites]

I was also going to suggest braids - is your hair long enough for that?
posted by medusa at 12:18 PM on April 20, 2013

Yeah, braids. I've got natural Afro black hair (and TOTALLY get the tons of conditioner thing) and a lot of people (mostly women) with this hair type just get braids or twists if they want to sort of "set it and forget it." You could do cornrows and just wear a scarf or handkerchief over it in the field if you think they look weird on you.

Some people also do dry detangling but that seems like a huge hassle and one that takes water to complete eventually anyway. You could try using oils too, but eventually you'll need to wash them out or risk your hair getting too coated and dirty.

Really your best solution is braids.
posted by cajalswoon at 12:23 PM on April 20, 2013 [7 favorites]

Can you go a while without washing your hair? If so, I'd recommend getting it braided up, maybe cornrows or something and just leaving it braided, maybe for a month at a time. If you can get into a town or even just find someone to refresh it once in a while, I think you'd be fine. I have longish curly hair as well, and keeping it from tangleing in the first place, rather than conditioning the crap out it so I can untangle it, is much more efficient for me. Just be sure to put sunscreen on your scalp and/or wear a hat and you can also add some kind of oil to the braided length to keep it from drying out.
posted by stormygrey at 12:25 PM on April 20, 2013

Keep it braided. Braid it as soon as you get out of the shower, sleep like that, braid it again in the morning before you go out to the field. It can't get tangled while it's braided.
posted by fingersandtoes at 12:27 PM on April 20, 2013

I agree with braids, great idea. And if you need a detangler recommendation, I love Kinky-Curly Knot Today Leave-in/Detangler.
posted by nanook at 12:27 PM on April 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

And yes, you'll need a hat to protect your part if you make one, or your scalp will burn like crazy.
posted by fingersandtoes at 12:28 PM on April 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Nthing braids. Go check out a salon that does braiding and they should be able to help you out.
posted by zug at 12:53 PM on April 20, 2013

Spent significant time in Africa, including a long stretch in the thick, humid forests of Zaire (this was a while ago), C.A.R. and Burundi. With very long, very thick hair. My only suggestion for the field is to use copious amounts of leave-in conditioner (or just regular conditioner and leave it in) and braid it that way, and keep it braided for as long as you can possibly make it between washings. I didn't cut my hair, but when I got back home I thought, "Why the F did I just go through all that struggle?" because my hair was definitely worse for the experience, and I ended up cutting it then.

If I were doing that trip again I'd go short, sorry to say.

The other thing is -- are you clear about what kind of water amounts will be available to you? For a large portion of my rainforest time we had very small amounts of water to deal with. Like, one large bowl that was meant to be used to wash your entire body and/or hair. It wasn't enough to ensure anything near the "I'm in a shower!"-type hairwashing I got back home.

Lastly, for about two weeks of my trip I had my hair in a cornrow-style braided 'do that a local woman did for me. (That was in Zaire.) It was great in terms of non-tangling - but it HURT LIKE HELL because my tender scalp was not accustomed to being pulled that tight. By the end I was ready to scream. If you can find a local to braid your entire head in that manner I would do it, but make sure you ask them for a gentler version for virgin scalps.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:55 PM on April 20, 2013 [8 favorites]

Braids! ISTR you are a dude, so you will probably want one willie-nelson style braid rather than a bunch of little braids. I would braid it when you get up in the morning, keep it in the braid all day, and then unbraid-brush-rebraid before you go to bed at night.
posted by KathrynT at 12:57 PM on April 20, 2013

Yeah, like BlahLaLa said, I was gonna add that since you'll be in Africa you can probably find a local woman to braid it up for you and then you'll be set for at least a few weeks. No need to braid and unbraid daily then.
posted by cajalswoon at 1:00 PM on April 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Does anybody know of some kind of super hair lubricant that packs down very small such that I could feasibly take some with me, or have a great strategy for preventing tangles or for removing them once they begin to crop up?

I've had success using conditioner bars, which are exactly this: high-density packable hair lube. But my field site has reliable well water, and my hair isn't as tightly curled as yours, so YMMV.
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 1:26 PM on April 20, 2013

I finally got my long, curly, tangle-prone hair to obey by having it professionally thinned. If you have a lot of hair, this may be an option for you.

People will shriek up and down that one should never get that done, but I have to say, it's heaven not having to detangle the monster. The thinning of course reduced the bulk, so there was less to tangle overall (plus much lighter in the warm weather, sooo nice); but unexpectedly, it also somehow ended up producing an overall result of softer, smoother hair. As if the troublemaker super-curly strands had been removed, and only the softer strands remained.
posted by nacho fries at 1:40 PM on April 20, 2013

So wait, you are a guy? Why not just shave/crew cut? You could definitely pack a battery powered razor much easier than hair products. Wear hats and put sunscreen on exposed areas and you're good. Also much cooler. Honestly, I'd tell you to consider it even if you were a girl. Trying to wash hair in remote areas seems like a huge hassle.
posted by emjaybee at 1:45 PM on April 20, 2013 [3 favorites]

If your hair naturally dreads anyway then why not take control of the process and go with a head full of awesome dreadlocks? I had a similar problem when I was in college and my solution was, alas, to just buzz it. So much easier, and you don't compound your foreign weirdness with long hair weirdness.
posted by 1adam12 at 1:57 PM on April 20, 2013

My hair is pretty reasonable to deal with, but I always wear a bandanna over it while in the field to minimize catching on things and getting stuff in it. I'd doubly recommend that for you, regardless of your ultimate hair choices. Keep in mind that putting really aromatic things in your hair can make it attractive for things like bees and wasps.
posted by ChuraChura at 2:21 PM on April 20, 2013

Another vote for braids. My field site has no fresh water besides the rain and you save all of that for drinking. The locals wash in slightly salty water and from a bowl, so I basically don't wash my hair for six weeks at a time. I French braid it at the start of the trip and only unbraid it when I get home. You can kind of rinse the braids without undoing them if they get itchy.

My hair is not curly, though. And braids tight enough to stay put for six weeks do damage the hair.
posted by lollusc at 3:38 PM on April 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh and if you really don't want braids, the locals at my site, who do have thick curly hair comb coconut oil through it instead of and after washing. It stays wet (well oily) but very smooth and nice looking.
posted by lollusc at 3:41 PM on April 20, 2013

Nthing braids. When I used to muck out cow stalls all day, I'd tie a long strip of fabric around my forehead, and braid the tails of the headband in with my braid. It kept everything together, acted as a sweatband, and made unbraiding the hair at night really fast (I had to shower every day - I stank). You will learn how to braid your hair quickly and without needing a mirror in a very short period of time. Start the braid at the crown of your head (pull up the hair behind your head to make a ponytail that starts basically where the top of your head starts to become the back of your head) to maximize sweat evaporation, and therefore cooling. At least - that's what worked best for me in a humid, breezeless metal barn. I also used a ponytail holder at the top and bottom of the braid to really keep everything in place, but that's because I had a cattle-dog that liked to jump and tug on my braid as I was working (he was just playing!).
posted by tllaya at 3:52 PM on April 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

I would disagree, strongly, that hair can't tangle while braided. If you aren't careful with your braid then little fly-aways will pop out and they will tangle and then you will be left with a tangled up braid. Getting braids put in professionally means they will last longer and postpone the morning when you're in a rush and don't braid tightly enough on your own.
posted by anaelith at 6:05 PM on April 20, 2013

I also want to suggest keeping it oiled. This is what Indian women do - keep their hair oiled and braided. Coconut or almond oil are commonly used.
posted by yawper at 6:29 PM on April 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Braids. Also when my hair is getting dready and tangled, I will massage coconut oil into my hair, which softens and allows me to brush out easier.

You could use olive oil or other types of oil, too.
posted by Rocket26 at 7:27 PM on April 20, 2013

if you're a white person, don't get cornrows. Firstly, it will hurt if it's done tightly and secondly, it will itch like hell if you leave plaited for longer than a few days. So I'd say plaits (braids) as well, and use either coconut oil or the hair oil local people use - apply after washing.

Also, if your hair is ultra thick and curly use a coarse-tined afro comb to comb it through while wet (and oiled) then braid it up. Forget about brushing if you need loads of conditioner to do that.
posted by glasseyes at 7:47 PM on April 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: My hair isn't quite long enough to braid I don't think (I tried, but I just could. not. do. it.) but I think a combination of bunning it, oiling it with some coconut oil or whatever is easy to get in Gabon, and putting a bandana over it should keep it fairly tame. I also think that a major part of the plan is going to be to detangle the hair at least twice a day, rather than only once in the morning. Hopefully that'll do the trick! If not I'll just hack it all off with some EMT shears.
posted by Scientist at 8:54 PM on April 20, 2013

I have had cornrows before and if you go that route be sure not to go 3 months without refreshing them or you will probably have to deal with dreadlocks where the braids grow out anyway. If it were me, I too would be looking into how the locals deal with not getting dreads. If coconut oil is abundant, well, you would have very nice hair indeed in three months!
posted by aniola at 9:01 PM on April 20, 2013

I'm gonna jump on the braid bandwagon here. If it's long enough to put in a bun, it's long enough to braid. Your profile says you're in LA, so you can probably have it done before you leave and it'll last you quite a long time. I have friends in MS who get their hair braided because of the heat (and trust me, they have short hair) and they don't touch it for months. Check it out, you might like the results.
posted by patheral at 10:53 PM on April 20, 2013

Re: some conditioners you can bring with you that'll save space:

Try either of these three conditioners from Lush. The first two are in bar form, so you basically use them like a bar of soap and they therefore last longer, and take up less space without all the added water. You could pack several of these in a small space, and another advantage is, you can even bring them in your carry-on!

Jungle conditioning bar
Big solid conditioner

The third one is a small tub, which still doesn't have as much water content as a normal bottle of conditioner, and is extra strength:

Retread

If you're packing your own shampoo, you could also save even more room by using their shampoo bars.

Good luck in Africa!
posted by ferdinandcc at 11:57 PM on April 20, 2013

I would resist the urge to cut it. Long hair is a lot easier to deal with in situations like this than short hair, IMO, though if your hair is somewhere in between (too short to braid?) then it's a toss up.

The problem is that short hair requires more maintenance because you can't just tie it back - and you'll quickly be sporting a mullet. Speaking from experience here.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 12:25 AM on April 21, 2013

As a person with curly hair who hates braids on myself, I use dry shampoo tailored for curls and it does a good job of getting the gunk out and keeping it manageable when I go long periods between shampoos. I've heard of people giving their hair vinegar baths in between, sometimes with leave-in conditioner depending on the hair.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 10:51 AM on April 22, 2013