The holidays are a great time to get away and re-energize for the new year.
This month, I have decided to continue doing the Lord’s work by protecting you from yourselves! Last week, it was highlighting the dangers of some of your Christmas hair choices. This week, I want you to protect your hair as you fly out and back from your dirty December jollies! And on Instagram, we are keeping each other fit via the dirty December challenge! Honestly say thank youuuuuuuuuuu.
Today, we’re discussing easy tips for your hair when getting on a plane. Look, the truth is if you don’t pay any attention to the tips I am sharing, it's not the end of the world for your hair. BUT as I always say, damage to hair is cumulative, the goal is to prevent and slow down damage for as long as possible, this is why these tips matter. And if you're traveling 3 or 4 times a year, then it becomes even more important.
The bottom line is this, airplanes use circulated air and this can dry out your hair. Also, high altitudes are well known to cause hair to lose moisture. And those seat covers! Rubbing your hair on them causes static electricity leading to matting and frizz. So here is what to do.
-
Wash and Deep Condition: Make sure your hair is at its optimum best before traveling – This means thoroughly detangling, properly washing, and deep-conditioning, you could even squeeze in an extra hot oil treatment.
-
Use a great leave-in conditioner: You can either do the LCO or the LOC method to moisturize and condition your hair before your journey. I want you to however pay attention to ensuring that you use a rich leave-in conditioner and a superb oil. So let us give you an example, on the day you are flying you want to use our Khalila oil, not our Olive oil. Why? Khalila works harder in harsher environments. Don’t be fooled, the plane environment is not friendly to your hair or skin.
I also said ‘use a rich leave-in conditioner’. The honest truth is there are many watery, runny leave-in conditioners on the market, and while you can’t always judge a conditioner by consistency, most times you can. That said, I have used thick and useless ones too. You need a great leave-in conditioner with great conditioning agents because you will be over 30,000 feet up in the air and the humidity in aircraft cabins usually falls to less than 20 percent (as opposed to the normal 30 percent). Personally, I would lightly spritz my hair with the Rose of Jericho before I enter the aircraft, just decant a little into a 50 ml Spray bottle!! I know!! I’m a genius! You can get 50ml spray bottles on amazon! Also, they will soon scrap that 100ml nonsense on planes!!
3. It’s not advisable to wear your afro out on an airplane, because the air is excessively dry. If you don’t mind it being dry and you are prepared to deal with it, please do. I definitely do sometimes, but if you are being really strict, put it in a simple low manipulation style, tie it up with a scrunchie, make it one of our fabulous ones - so you look uber chick while protecting your hair.
4. Keep your hair covered with a pretty hat or one of our gorgeous luxe silk scarfs - apologies, we have sold out of ours!! But I swear by a rich silk scarf!! You’ll be effortlessly serving looks while keeping your hair healthy and retaining your moisture. Also, remember to pack a nice silk sleep hat for when you fall asleep on your flight! Sorry, we sold out of ours too!
5. When you arrive at your destination, rehydrate your hair with our spritz again!!
If you are travelling to a warmer destination, you might have to worry about humidity.
Humidity can cause your hair to appear frizzy, so you want to prepare for it. Make sure to pack along your Khalila oil, this will help the frizz but not the swelling in a high-humidity environment! But guess what? I love that swelling! It gives your hair a different kind of va va voom. Listen, we are trying to prevent damage not control how our hair reacts to natural weather. The plane is unnatural. The humidity in your dirty December destination is! So let your hair shrink and swell and enjoy a different vibe!!!
I hope you have an amazing holiday vacation! Remember to tag us in your vacation selfies!