capejohn

On a group tour in June I mentioned that I very seldom wear a helmet and only had one now because I agreed to do so when I signed up. At one stop, one of the helmet police I befriended told me that when I took off my helmet my hair looked nice. A psychological ploy perhaps, or is helmet head "my" look? A question for the ages no doubt.

fietsbob

I am too old for much vanity worries , now.

wash and thus wet my hands , run my fingers back thru my hair then ... done.

MyBikeGotStolen

This is the technique I use as well. What's left of it, I just shave off with no guard on an electric razor about every 2-3 weeks. Of course now I have almost permanent dents on the top of my head from resting my sunglasses on my head when I don't need them.

Blue_Bulldog

Please tell me everyone is kidding about "Don't wear a helmet."

linnefaulk

SOme are kidding, some are not. See the helmet thread.

I-Like-To-Bike

Some people swear by helmets, some like fairy tales and pixie dust. Some assume that everyone else has the same opinions/beliefs as themselves.

billew

I am with Roody on this one, I see no need to wear one and I have been car free all my life. If I have ball cap hair I keep the hat on, or get a short hair cut.

harshbarj

"Anyone have any helmet hair tips?"

Yep, ditch the helmet. The dutch do and survive. If you wear a helmet you will just have to accept "helmet hair", or shave it so short it's not going to matter.

And yes I am serious. But then again I am VERY anti-helmet when it's not justified.

harshbarj

Nope, some of us don't buy into myths or junk science. If the helmet was so good at preventing injury, why did Australia not note a statistically significant decrease in the rate of TBI after they made helmets mandatory? Same with New Zealand. The only thing that dropped significantly was the number of people cycling. We can show unquestionably that seatbelts work, the same can't be said of bicycle helmets.

That said, if you want to wear one, feel free to. But I see it more as a personal choice rather than a safety one. (and I'll bite this one in the butt now, I don't accept anecdotal evidence like the OP's claim he was saved by his helmet.)

I-Like-To-Bike

Hey, don't be so harsh on someone's dream, Harsh.

wphamilton

Long hair tied in back keeps it neat. I'm trying to reconfigure a helmet so that I don't sweat as much https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/...-question.html but most people don't understand the purpose. ILTB thinks it's silly because you could simply forgo the helmet entirely.

It's been working pretty well so far, but we've had really cool days.

wphamilton

You're gonna get this merged in the helmet thread if you're not careful with that. It's all the same to me but just saying, that always happens when a thread turns that way.

harshbarj

Tell that to Blue_Bulldog with their "Please tell me everyone is kidding about "Don't wear a helmet."".

If not for that comment I was happy to leave it at a suggestion not to wear one. But once a war starts.

linnefaulk

I have wearing a half buff under my helmet. It really keeps the sweat from dripping into my eyes.

I-Like-To-Bike

What I found silly is trying to devise some kind of headgear with no other purpose but to fool people into thinking that you are wearing an actual bicycle helmet, i.e. a hat with no safety protection whatsoever and still makes you look like a goofball.

wphamilton

Now you can add "avoiding helmet hair" to the purpose.

I won't argue that "no protection" crack, since this is not the thread for it, but looking like a goofball now ... all reactions so far have been positive. And no helmet hair.

Roody

I doubt if he was trying to start a war. Now you've made your point and we can all move back to the topic of helmet hair.

Nightshade

All anyone has to do is follow military practice of cutting your hair "high and tight" to never worry about how it looks.

I-Like-To-Bike

Aren't you the same poster who posted on the thread that you cited in msg#36 that all helmets make all the wearers look like "Dunces"?

wphamilton

Nope. Might have made a comment about how a helmet looks (point being it's all relative), but I'm not one to comment about a person that way. I'm not sure that you appreciate the difference, so maybe this is an appropriate moment since "helmet hair" is about appearance.

Your hair is molded in strange ways. You look strange with that hair. The second is an evaluation of a person, usually a derogatory one. You look an idiot in that helmet. Helmets all look idiotic. The first is an insult. Just follow the general pattern.

You might as well wear a dunce cap. That one's on the line, because it might mean: being a dunce you should wear the cap. Or it might mean, it looks as dumb as a dunce cap. So I respond, all helmets look like dunce caps. See the difference, what I did there? I gave what might have been a personal insult the alternate meaning, and the meaning manifested in such a way as to bolster my point.

It actually makes sense to me, that as helmet hair is caused by the hat, it should be possible to alter the hat's design to reduce the effect. That the hat itself looks silly to some people is, in my opinion, largely irrelevant.

gerv 

LOL... I work with many shaved-head men. I don't think that's in my stars. I'm just too grateful I'm not completely bald.

Booger1

As I pass 2 high schools on my commute each morning,I have noticed that "helmet" hair and "cupie doll" hair are both in fashion....Wear it proudly.... Oh,and no need to change clothes,just wear whatever you went to bed in.....

Rootman

As far as the NO HELMET argument. all I can speak from is experience. Last year I got tangled up somehow and went into a slow speed fall, would of been alright if I'd not of sort of tripped and spun around and fell on my back with a whip sort of motion. I hit the back of my helmet on the ground hard enough to crack it. I would of been at least hurting badly if not injured or unconscious without a helmet. So for me, laws or not, scientific findings or now, I wear a helmet.

Now back to our regular scheduled program: Like a few other posters I agree you have little choice, cut it off or carry product and gear to fix your coif after your ride. It just goes with the territory.

I-Like-To-Bike

Do you mean to say there are (m)any high school students in your area riding bicycles to school?

Zedoo

Braid it through the vents, or keep it spiky and stiff enough to hold reflectors and blinkers.