Successfully managing the logistics of wearing hair, or all the things you’ll need to wear a wig or topper for camping, boating, adventuring, wine tasting, bicycling, and vacationing.
Before your hair began thinning, or you lost it due to chemo or alopecia, you probably didn’t think much about the logistics of camping, boating, adventuring, bicycling or vacationing with your hair. If you had long hair, you had a headband or a hair elastic with you, likely tucked away in your purse or car or bag. If you had short hair, you might have not needed a thing except a comb (and even then, maybe just your fingers run through your pixie!)
But now you wear hair, and you’re wondering “just how do I manage all this?” You might even be tempted to stay home.
Don’t stay home! Get out there, adventure! Learning to manage wig and topper wearing while camping, boating, adventuring, bicycling or even wine tasting tours is embracing life with a bit extra!
No matter the adventure, you can find a spot to hang your wig. This is in a locker on a 38-foot sailboat in the Caribbean.
Wearing a wig or topper while camping and Boating
If you’re camping in a tent, consider where your hair is going to go when you sleep. If you’re car camping, hang your hair on the headrest of your car (no kidding!) or on a wig hanger on the handles in the back or front seat. If you’ve got synthetic hair and it might get too hot in your car, hang the wig hanger from the inside of your tent (most tents have a mesh gear loft or hanger on the inside.
You can also wrap the hair in a scarf and place it in a soft protective bag – being sure to stuff a tee shirt or something inside the crown to maintain the crown’s shape.
Wearing a wig or topper while boating
If you’re wearing your wig or topper while boating, wear a wider, stretchy headband like a Buff headband to secure the front of the wig while you race around the lake or ocean. This will also help tame the hair in the wind. Wearing the headband from your forehead over and past the crown will help secure and protect your wig. If you’re staying on the boat, most have lockers where you can hang your wig on a wig hanger (even the 38 foot sailboat in the Caribbean shown here, has plenty of lockers big enough to hang a wig).
Bring the extra things you’ll need for adventuring during the day:
If you’re wearing a wig for adventuring, consider a backup or less costly synthetic wig so your primary expensive wig is safely stowed while you go zip-lining or swimming.
Wearing a wig while camping
A Wig and a Prayer client hangs her wig on the back of the head rest of her car when car camping. A hat covers her head for adventuring, including roasting marshmallows and sitting by the bonfire at night (keep your synthetic hair FAR away from high heat near fires!)
You’ll need some extra gear for camping (same as for boating): Swim caps for swimming and snorkeling, Buff head tubes for hiking and climbing, sun hats for pool-side all work to keep you cool and covered.
Consider hats with hair (see how these work in our blog post here) for camping, hiking, boating and other outside adventures. These halo hats feature elastic bands or velcro that attach the hair to the hat or rest on the head (elastic bands) leaving your scalp bare and cool under your hat.
Wearing a wig while bicycling
For bicycling, your helmet might not fit! Try it on with your wig and undo the ratchet “roc loc” in the back a few clicks. If your helmet doesn’t fit, and you’re riding longer distances, consider leaving your wig behind OR wear a hat-hair-wig and use a Buff or scarf to cover your scalp – the resulting thinner scarf or Buff may allow you to snug your helmet and will be a lot more comfortable. For serious cycling of many hours in the summer, wear a Buff or scarf only, or possibly with a clip-on faux pony tail extension secured to the base of the scarf or Buff for off-bike adventures.
Wearing a wig on a wine tasting tour
For adventures of a different sort, like wine tasting (summer sun, outdoor breeze) definitely consider hat-hair accessories, which offer the coolness and the style of a great hat with attachable hair or halo style hair.
The dark side of hair logistics
You’re going to be envious of everyone else who doesn’t have to pack five things to manage their hair on your adventures. You’re going to get weary over having to plan all these details and make sure you consider possibilities for hair for all the day’s activities. You’re going to probably get hot under that wig, it’s going to make you cranky.
Managing the logistics is having a base set of gear for most adventures. For me, that is a Buff, a hat and a wig with some way to store it or hang it when I’m not wearing it (safely, such as a silky carry bag and an extra tee shirt for the crown-stuffing.) At a minimum, I go everywhere on every adventure with that setup. If it’s important to be spontaneous, keep a wig kit bag in your car or your (larger) bag or purse at all times. I also keep a spray bottle of witch hazel with a few drops of peppermint essential oil to cool my scalp (rip off that wig in a private spot and spray your head.) If you’re going somewhere, say, a winery, by bicycle, either wear hat-or scarf-attached hair or take your wig in a small drawstring backpack bag as you ride. A great looking wig go-bag can double as your larger purse.
The light side of hair logistics:
You can protect your hair from all those adventures. Water tubing? No problem – just remove your ‘good’ hair (swap for pool hair or a swim cap) and when you’re done, your clean, dry, styled hair is ready go out to dinner. Same goes for snorkeling, hiking and other adventures that require sweaty/salty/watery experiences. Your hair will always look fabulous after you’re done! Odds are there is someone who is really envious of your great looking hair on that adventure you’re on!
Synthetics never lose their style – so even if you rinse it out and shake it, it’ll dry styled and ready to go. So they make great travel partners on the go.
The most important thing to remember is a little bit of prior planning, a go-bag for your hair/wig accessories, you can be ready for any adventure. Don’t let hair keep you home. Your adventuresome spirit and your energy need to be out there!