Thread: Sweaty Long Hair....Help?

So my hair is long and stick-straight. This time of year is awful for me, as the humidity here in the south causes any curls to fall right out, regardless of the strength of hairspray I use. Wearing it straight, it has very little body (thanks again, humidity). Also, with higher temps and lots of people packing in the restaurant, and stoves going, etc..., by the end of my first set my hair against my neck is soaked (now that's a tip-getter, ha ha).

Two questions...Is an "updo" (besides the run of the mill ponytail) ok for bellydance? May seem like a stupid question, but most dancers seem to wear their long hair down or in a long ponytail. I'd like to look polished while still keeping cool by having my hair off my neck. Anyone have updo suggestions?

Otherwise...any other suggestions for my sweaty head?

Someone told me to use antiperspirant on the back of my neck. I too sweat and my hair gets that dark wet look and I was told to use antiperspirant on my head. I don't know if I will try that or not. Seems kinda odd.

Originally Posted by jasani

Someone told me to use antiperspirant on the back of my neck. I too sweat and my hair gets that dark wet look and I was told to use antiperspirant on my head. I don't know if I will try that or not. Seems kinda odd.

..c::
Ummm...sounds pretty messy to me....I mean...maybe I could figure out how to get it on the back of my neck, but into my *hair/on my head*??? Yick. And that wouldn't solve the problem of it sticking to your upper back.

I'm a very sweaty gal with very long hair that likes to stick to everything and grab hold of foreign objects at times (in the right humidity it can get down right unruly...vascillating between "big prop grabbing mass" when dry and "creeping seaweed" when wet.) To be honest, I keep around a nice spare-hair pony tail for those worst-of-the worst days when I have an outdoor gig in the full sun with 95+ temps with 100% humidity, I'm sweating straight through my hair, and it's threatening to take hostages. In those situations, I put my own hair up in a nice tidy bun on top of my head and put the pony over it (it's a not a clip pony--it's a netted/woven wiglet with an elastic drawstring so it's big enough to fit over my bun) and pin the $#@! out of it. This gives me something that looks good but won't get as gross (the hair is a pretty good synthetic) or unruly as my real hair...plus it's a little "up" in an "I dream of Genie" do so it's a bit off my neck, and I can put jewels or a band at the base of the tail to hide the seam if I like.

i have "col off" hair moves...and people like them, they oo and ah, im just cooling off
use the BACKS of your wrists....hands...take a measure or two to lift hair up behind you
sometimes i go into a spin, letting it down 1 side at a time
i have a veil move too...it gets the sweat, but classy!

I also collect decorated scarves that I tie like a hairband...the 'excess' lays against the back of my neck with the hair on top so it's less likely to get wet...
Gia

Originally Posted by zamora

i have "col off" hair moves...and people like them, they oo and ah, im just cooling off
use the BACKS of your wrists....hands...take a measure or two to lift hair up behind you
sometimes i go into a spin, letting it down 1 side at a time
i have a veil move too...it gets the sweat, but classy!

LOL that is great!

I know a few girls who use baby powder. They use a small amount on their scalp and the back of their neck to absorb the oil. They were head wraps and they say that it keeps their hair from getting too gross. Might be worth a try.

On the style note, I have seen some dancers with very sleek buns. It went well with their bra/skirt sets because then the whole look was very sleek.

I do a cute pony tail and put a flower in my hair.

Wedding Hairstyles Magazines: The Updo Album | Brides.com

A couple of weeks ago I wore my hair bunned up with a pair of chopstick-like hair sticks (one of my usual styles for everyday) after another dancer said they were a nice touch. I liked the comfortable, compact feel it gave me, and I tried it again the following week and added a fresh flower to match my costume (oh boy, new accessorizing idea!). I may start doing this regularly, provided of course that I'm not using music that makes me want to do hair tosses.

I usually use synthetic hair falls or ponies as I find they don't end up looking sweaty. Also, spray antiperspirant helps on the neck and can be sprayed over scalp I think.

Originally Posted by zamora

i have "col off" hair moves...and people like them, they oo and ah, im just cooling off
use the BACKS of your wrists....hands...take a measure or two to lift hair up behind you
sometimes i go into a spin, letting it down 1 side at a time
i have a veil move too...it gets the sweat, but classy!

Me too! The cute "flick the hair to the music" is usually signal that I'm really hot and need a coo down ..l;,


Have you tried wearing headbands at all? They'll pull hair off your face and help soak up sweat in the back. And I think a half up-do is pretty too (especially with flowers)

Put the hair up in a ponytail, then braid a length on one side, wrap it around the base of the ponytail and bobbypin into place.

looks pretty :)

Take my advice with a grain of salt since I haven't even yet started classes, but I do a whole lot 'o updos.

I think a Figure 8 would look nice. I do this a lot. It looks intriquit but it's easy. I keep out what used to be my bangs and do a couple of tiny braids with really long tassles (about 6") on each side of my head. I take those tiny braids back to the base of the figure 8 and clamp them there with a clip. I then take a dab of water and get the braid tassles wet so they spring into a spiral (this may or may not work for you depending on your hair type).

These are all great ideas!! I dance tonight, don't think I have time to get a flower, but there IS a craft store between here & the restaurant...... I like the scarf idea, too, for soaking up sweat. I have 2 synthetic ponies, but they just make me even hotter & sweatier against my neck... but they do stay looking nice, at least.

I just stated to wear synthetic pony tails - A freakin' revalation in hot weather!! Loving them.
I do have a sweat problem thought, in this very hot humid Singapore summer!! I was wondering about spray antiperspirant as well.... Anybody tried it on the scalp area or, dare I say it, the face? I have stayed away from antiperspirant for years, and could do so quite easily in the mild NZ climate, but here in Singapore is an entirely different matter. Any ideas for head and face sweat?
Such a gross subject...

Yes, I have used spray anti-perspirant on hair/ face/ body without any problems and I think it does help. Also, I use anti-humidity hairspray on my face to set my makeup and it doesn't budge. The humidity here is brutal too. ;) I think the hairspray I use is Sebastian anti-humidity hairspray and it's brilliant! :-D

Oh, with the hairspray though it does leave little bubbles of overspray around the bathroom that need to be cleaned up. Makes things feel a bit like sandpaper. Now that's anti-humidity!! LOLOL

so here is my update, I did wear it up. I put it in a loose ponytail, then curled 1" sections, formed barrel rolls out of the curled sections & pinned loosely around the pony tail base. I left out pieces all throughout & curled those, so it was a "messy updo" look. It was very comfortable in the heat, and my hubby said he really liked it.