View Full Version : hair?
what do you do with your hair, I'm thinking about getting dreadlocks before i go to maintain it better, post pics or styles that you use, from clean shaved to wild and crazy :)
BuckeyeBill
01-26-2014, 15:01
I try to keep my hair and beard cut short, but am going to let it grow for the duration of my hike.
Tipi Walter
01-26-2014, 15:05
Dreads can get nasty in the woods as they tend to smell bad on a long trip and it's hard (impossible) to thoroughly brush out the scalp and get to that "itch". Plus, in the winter when you want to wash your hair with Bronners, well, the hair stays wet for a long long time. Of course I haven't had dreadlocks since the 1970's so maybe the technology has improved.
http://assets.trailspace.com/assets/6/9/c/50844/TRIP-119-169.jpg
It's always fun to live in a balaclava for 4 days straight on a winter trip and then pull it off, as above.
A shaved head is fun in the summer but COLD in the winter---keep the golden locks until the bitter end (or in my case, the gray-yellowish wad).
fredmugs
01-26-2014, 15:13
First time I did a section hike that was over 5 days in length I shaved my head in 2005 at the Pine Ellis hostel in Maine. I've been shaving it ever since.
Quarter inch buzz cut. Cut it back down to that every six weeks. If I need to comb it that's a sign that it's getting too long.
rocketsocks
01-26-2014, 16:41
I go with the Fro Bro, there makin a come back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dyl0j3WU6Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dyl0j3WU6Y
Shaved head, been doing so for about 15 years now. Facial hair, well, mostly mustaches and goatee, but it can vary from none to full beard. I have very thin hair so a beard on me is anything other than bushy, but it will grow quite long though...think old kung fu master.
rocketsocks
01-26-2014, 17:00
I too am down with the buzz cut, can't stand all that hair...and no thru-hiker beard for me, my face looks like a baby butt.:-?
...wait, oh never mind
MuddyWaters
01-26-2014, 17:02
Dreads actually require very clean hair, and is a high-maintenance hair style.
Special shampoos that leave no residue, etc so that you can roll the dreads.
http://www.dreadlocks.com/
jimmyjam
01-26-2014, 17:03
+1 for the buzz cut. When I do a section I start with mine at a 1/2". No comb one less thing to carry and keep up with .
rocketsocks
01-26-2014, 17:04
What actually is a Dredknot or locks...whats the deal there?
curious, I've consulted one of my favorite sites...Urban Dictionary
and here's what they said...
dreadlocks (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dreadlocks&defid=360756)Also called dreads (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dreads), it is a style created by allowing the hair to matt into locks.
Although popular myth gives Rastafarians (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Rastafarians) credit for inventing the style, it is almost as old as humanity itself. Dreadlocks or similarly matted styles have been worn from Africa all the way to India, Australia, and even Papua New Guinea.
Indians call them "jata", and they are generally worn by adherents of Shiva.
Some Austro Aboriginies call them "goonut" or "goonat". It was a popular style around the area now known as Botany Bay in pre colonial times.
The term "dreadlocks" being used for this style, however, did originate with the Rastafarian movement. To them it symbolizes many things including the rejection of conventional western mainstream beauty standards, and the dread some may feel when confronted with the true natural self.
this I found interesting, and what I was lookin for^
There is some debate as to whether matted locks that are "well manicured" should be called dreadlocks, since they are not natty (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=natty) and often require consistent maintenance and a higher degree of perceived vanity.
I need to tighten up my dreadlocks once a month.
You shouldn't pop your dreadlockss when they're dry.
RASTAFARIAN (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=RASTAFARIAN&defid=904907)
A common religion amongst black jamaicans that look up to the past Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. One of their most famous acts is to smoke marijuana as a symbol of religious practice. To be rastafarian one doesn't have to be black in fact to be rastafarian it has to come from the heart. Another famous practice is that of dreads on their heart.
Haile Selassie and Bob Marley
by daniel rojas (http://www.urbandictionary.com/author.php?author=daniel+rojas) November 18, 2004
Meriadoc
01-26-2014, 17:38
Pony tail or just loose. Shoulder length hair.
Damn Yankee
01-26-2014, 18:46
For cleanliness short hair and shaved face is better for hygiene. Keeps bugs out
bamboo bob
01-26-2014, 20:28
Buzz. Rastafarian is the weed vendor.
Since I am doing section hikes or 4-6 weeks in July/August I let my wife buzz my head (1 or 2 setting on clippers) and quit shaving. My goal is to keep things simple. No need for comb or razor, and hair not so bad between showers.
Buzz and clean shave to start. Then nothing but washing until finished. Repeat.
ChinMusic
01-26-2014, 22:41
You can be like one of my buddies and left it at home........
Hair cut military style short. Ever since I was in the military I have enjoyed my hair cut short and it grows very slow to which I'm grateful. The beard irritates my skin so it will be shaved at least every two to three days. Not sure what I'm going to use as shaving cream or lotion but am still working on that. Short hair is so easy to care for.
rocketsocks
01-27-2014, 00:52
Hair cut military style short. Ever since I was in the military I have enjoyed my hair cut short and it grows very slow to which I'm grateful. The beard irritates my skin so it will be shaved at least every two to three days. Not sure what I'm going to use as shaving cream or lotion but am still working on that. Short hair is so easy to care for.
just use water, and go slow...it works.
Tuckahoe
01-27-2014, 01:10
Hair cut military style short. Ever since I was in the military I have enjoyed my hair cut short and it grows very slow to which I'm grateful. The beard irritates my skin so it will be shaved at least every two to three days. Not sure what I'm going to use as shaving cream or lotion but am still working on that. Short hair is so easy to care for.
One of these might work for you
1.7 oz size http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3107645&cp=4090259.4090258.4090292.4431697.4191892
5 oz size http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2257431&cp=4090259.4090258.4090292.4431697.4191892
daddytwosticks
01-27-2014, 08:21
Very short buzz cut and beard trimmed very short. Like this year-round, hiking or not. :)
Hot Flash
01-27-2014, 13:54
what do you do with your hair, I'm thinking about getting dreadlocks before i go to maintain it better, post pics or styles that you use, from clean shaved to wild and crazy :)
Dreadlocks are completely disgusting. If your hair is that long, then just braid it.
Affirmative
01-27-2014, 22:11
I keep my hair short in general so I don't have to deal with it. However for this thru-hike I want to shave it completely for the first time and take it from there. Maybe I'll let it grow out for once or maybe I'll just keep shaving.
I'm also going to try and convince at least one other hiker I meet on the trail to shave with me. Any takers?
rocketsocks
01-27-2014, 22:27
I keep my hair short in general so I don't have to deal with it. However for this thru-hike I want to shave it completely for the first time and take it from there. Maybe I'll let it grow out for once or maybe I'll just keep shaving.
I'm also going to try and convince at least one other hiker I meet on the trail to shave with me. Any takers?It's good to be an individual...go for it.
Buzz-cut hair on head, leave beard stubbly. Leave rest of hair alone.
On my long hikes I've always cut my hair short right before going, and I've always regretted doing that. Next time I go I'll not get my hair cut and just let it grow and grow.
I do shave a bit on the trail though. At the very least I'll shave it down to a goatee, but I've also shaved right down to bare face while hiking. Most of my AT thru I was clean shaven... well, as clean shaven as you can get with shaving once every week or so in town. It was often joked that I didn't look like a thru hiker because I didn't have a bushy beard. Thing is, regardless, I can't grow a big bushy beard, just a goatee, so I figured shaving was the better look.
On my long hikes I've always cut my hair short right before going, and I've always regretted doing that. Next time I go I'll not get my hair cut and just let it grow and grow.
I do shave a bit on the trail though. At the very least I'll shave it down to a goatee, but I've also shaved right down to bare face while hiking. Most of my AT thru I was clean shaven... well, as clean shaven as you can get with shaving once every week or so in town. It was often joked that I didn't look like a thru hiker because I didn't have a bushy beard. Thing is, regardless, I can't grow a big bushy beard, just a goatee, so I figured shaving was the better look.
Just curious, why did you regret cutting your hair short?
Just curious, why did you regret cutting your hair short?
Because at some point in the hike I'll wish I had long, outdoorsy, viking hair. I can't get away with that look in the corporate work world, so I might as well go for it when I'm enjoying my own time in the woods. I mean, how often do you get to just do whatever you want with your hair? So yeah, next time, my hair will start as long as I can manage it and just get longer from there.
ChinMusic
01-28-2014, 12:26
Because at some point in the hike I'll wish I had long, outdoorsy, viking hair. I can't get away with that look in the corporate work world, so I might as well go for it when I'm enjoying my own time in the woods. I mean, how often do you get to just do whatever you want with your hair? So yeah, next time, my hair will start as long as I can manage it and just get longer from there.
That was my beard plan and I loved it.
HikerMom58
01-28-2014, 12:41
I like both looks for hikers. I like the "mountain man" look like Chin and others do. :) I also can see the shaved look working well for the guys.
I did meet a hiker, briefly, with the dreadlocks going on... not a fan of that at all. It looked bad.. I didn't want to get close enough to figure out where the smell was coming from... yep, that bad.
well, hiker mom, if my hair stinks that bad ill let you cut it off , :) but frankly we all stink being in the woods for months
I keep shaving. PITA truly but I never get a good looking beard. A mangy racoon look is the best I've ever been able to manage.
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HikerMom58
01-28-2014, 13:24
well, hiker mom, if my hair stinks that bad ill let you cut it off , :) but frankly we all stink being in the woods for months
OK Happy44... it's a deal! :) I can hug a lot of "hiker trash" necks, the smell is cool with me! ;) There's only been 1 time that I ever met hiker trash that I couldn't handle the smell... one time. It occurred in Daleville town center. Twas on a sidewalk in front of the outfitters. I was out and about when I came upon some hiker's... of course, I stopped to chat with them. They were waiting for a shuttle.. it was HOT outside, that day. I could not stand too close to chat with them. The nicest "hiker trash" ever, but I could not get too close... I'm leaving it right there. :D