I am looking to commute by bike to work (approx. 9miles). My concern is that I live in North Carolina and even at 7 in the morning it can be hot and humid. I am not worried about my body getting sweaty as I work as a dog groomer and I have to wear hideous smocks anyway but what about my hair!? Not to sound too much like a girl (which I am) but I don't want my buisness image to suffer because I show up with sweaty, greasy, nasty hair. I used to work for R.E.I. and we had showers at work (yay!) But my new job only has doggy baths which I am less inclined to use. Thanks everyone in advance!

Hi Shady,

I live in NC as well and commute by bike. I would say that it has been relatively nice in the mornings (I leave home around 6:30). Although I do have an available shower at work, I have just been spending a few minutes freshening up at the sink. I reckon as the humidity starts ramping up, the shower will be necessary.

The only advice I have is:

1. You could plan to ride rather slowly. This would inhibit sweating some.
2. Avoid wearing cotton as it retains all of the sweat that you generate. Find something like a "technical Tee" that wicks moisture away.
3. Short hair is certainly easier to manage.

Good luck

-Gary

Is your hair short enough that you could rinse it in a sink at work and then towel dry? If it's longer, maybe rinse and pull back in a ponytail?

Is your hair long enough that you can just pull it back and not worry? I have really short hair so I agree with gmt13 about hair length.

For what its worth, as a long haired hippy-like male in South Carolina, I can definitely say that my hair doesn't get too nasty at all really. I just make sure to shower before leaving and its fine, even if I sweat a little. I work in an office, and no one has ever had anything to say about my grooming nor my smelliness. Just keep up daily and you'll be fine.

Yep, I was going to say the same thing, but it got me wondering. Coworkers are generally tolerant and may not say anything just to be nice. I can live with myself, but how does one really know how others feel?

You have an advantage, Shady. You can always shrug and point to the dog.

-Gary

Shower before work and take time to cool down or freshen up when you get there.

If you are carrying anything get a rear rack and maybe a basket or panniers so the bike carries the weight. Allow time to cool down once you get to work. Carry some baby wipes with you if you feel you need it. Maybe allow some time to redo your hair as well, but try to keep it pulled back or shorter as others have suggested.

If it's that bad, you could always just shave your head. I'm being serious here - it's very freeing and generally looks much better than you'd think.
Otherwise, wash your hair but do not condition it the night before (so it's dry when starting your ride). Once you get to work, dry it off with a towel to the extent that you can. Then brush it with a boar's bristle hairbrush. This will help distribute any sweat and oil in your hair throughout all of it, such that it should just look and feel nice and soft. I've done this before and it works pretty well for me. There are also a number of hairstyles you could try that eliminate visibility of a large part of your hair; I like wearing a bandanna and pulling back the rest of it.
You could also borrow one of the doggy hair-dryers and use that!

Pics or I cannot help you.

(by that I mean: pics of you sweaty/nasty after commuting in and I will evaluate just how sweaty/nasty you are)

On humid mornings my hair gets soaking wet on my 11.5 mile commute. However, my commute is multi-modal, bike to car in the morning, and the car leg is about 20 min, so I can run the AC as needed to get pretty dry before I get to work. At that point I feel fresh enough. I'm a guy, and keep my hair between 1/2" and about 1-1/2" long from haircut to haircut.
In a previous commuting setup without the car leg, if my hair was too wet when I got into work, I'd just dry it using paper towels in the restroom. Since I dress my hair so it stands up straight and use non-hardening "gel" (pomade, if you like), a little residual wetness is not very noticable.