Thread: Sweat and Hair :(

A confession: I am a sweaty little thing when I dance. I mean rivers running down my body type sweat. By the end of the evening, there is no balancing a sword on my hip anymore because its too slick. Just terrible.

I've got the resulting costuming and makeup issues pretty much covered, but I can't figure out what the hell to do about my hair. I sweat like this from every pore on my body, including, of course, my scalp. So my hair gets drenched at the roots and the ends where it touches my back. It winds up this terribly frizzy, matted mess no matter how awesome it looked at the beginning of the night. I've tried letting it do its natural wavy thing and I've tried straightening it. It looks the exact same either way by the end of the night.

Does anyone else have this issue? Any suggestions on how to combat it?

I've done the headband thing and that helps...to a certain degree. But I still wind up practically with dreads hanging down in the back by the end of the night. And if I brush it out (which is a challenge since its gotten badly tangled typically) it just looks completely wet, which isn't attractive either. I've considered bringing a hair dryer with me and sneaking in the bathroom between sets to dry my hair, but I'm not sure how realistic of an option that really is. Tonight I'm going to try pinning my bangs back after the bad sweats start so at least I won't have sweat rolling directly into my eyes (it hurts!).

My hair is baby fine and i have a lot of it. Its reddish brown (some people call me a red head, some a brunette) so using baby powder to soak up the excess oil isn't an option on the fly. I'm just really at a loss as to what to do.

Here's a recent pic of what my hair would look like at the beginning of an evening for frame of reference: Leigh Rhinehart Dokos's Photos | Facebook

Here's a pic taken a few weeks ago after my 2nd set (of 4 total) one night. So this isn't even at my full sweaty glory yet: Leigh Rhinehart Dokos's Photos | Facebook

Any help, advice, suggestions, commiseration would be greatly appreciated! I'm tired of looking like a frizzy drowned rat by the end of the night!

Have you tried putting your hair in an up do? I have seen some cool dancers with their hair up.... hmmm... {runs off to see if I can find any pics}

Get yourself a well-made 3/4 fall hair piece or fake full pony tail piece. Some people do not like to wear their hair off of their face (nor does it look as flattering on them) but looking at you, you can pull it off.

Originally Posted by KelsNasim

Have you tried putting your hair in an up do? I have seen some cool dancers with their hair up.... hmmm... {runs off to see if I can find any pics}

There's an updo on my website (Amartia and myself) and Ava Fleming has also worn her hair up.

I often become a sweaty mess at shows (especially in the summer time, the heat doesn't help). I bought a wet-to-dry hair straightener and have used it once or twice to touch up the ends of my hair and my bangs a bit in between sets. Its still annoying to have to drag it around with me, but may be easier then a blow dryer and does a decent job to get rid of the "wet" look (it won't add any volume though)

just my thoughts :)

ps. every time I complain about the sweaty issue to people who've seen me dance almost all of them say it has a certain sexiness to it - I don't see it! lol BUT maybe it means its not as bad as we think ;)

Originally Posted by MellyBelly

I often become a sweaty mess at shows (especially in the summer time, the heat doesn't help). I bought a wet-to-dry hair straightener and have used it once or twice to touch up the ends of my hair and my bangs a bit in between sets. Its still annoying to have to drag it around with me, but may be easier then a blow dryer and does a decent job to get rid of the "wet" look (it won't add any volume though)

just my thoughts :)

ps. every time I complain about the sweaty issue to people who've seen me dance almost all of them say it has a certain sexiness to it - I don't see it! lol BUT maybe it means its not as bad as we think ;)

I never noticed it, Mel.

[Totally OT, we're moving to St. Clair/Bathurst this weekend.]

Well, there ya go! I have a couple troupe mates who wear wigs and although they can be warm, they don't have to worry about sweaty hair.

anyone know how to keep hair from getting tangled by the nape of the neck? i had a horrible experience from my last stage show, trying to comb out a huge knot that developed over the course of the night with hair spray stuck in it and all. my hair looked great with all that volume but combing out that knot really sucked (and hurt!).

and putting my hair up is not an option for this stage show :-/

I have thin hair and a head sweat issue to so I feel your pain. I have done a couple of things.
-Sometimes I wear my hair in a fake poneytail, it doesn't seem to nap up at the ends.
-I sometimes wear head bands in the front to stop the sweat from getting in the eyes.
-I have two full wigs. I find these work best cause the wig stops the sweat from rolling from my scalp to my face and the wigs just don't seem to have the same matting from sweat problem that my regular hair does.

I don't know if that helped at all, but you are right, baby powder doesn't work for me either, my hair is just to fine and thin to pull it off. I got rid of my bangs partly due to this issue as well.

Good luck!

Thank you to everyone for the replies!

I tried a hair fall once and it didn't go so great. It came right out with the first corkscrew turn I did and went flying across the room...and a hairdresser had put it in! So ever since that experience I'm seriously wary of wigs/falls/falsies of any kind. I like to flip my hair and do quick, tight turns so my hair goes flying...and with baby fine hair its really difficult to anchor it in there good enough. The curse of baby fine hair!

I love tossing my hair around so I guess that's why I hadn't thought to put my hair up LOL I'm going to have to experiment with some updos! Any tips on good up styles for someone with seriously baby fine hair? I have a hard time keeping my hair in a pony tail unless I use a special kind of elastic. And any leads on where I can find something sparkly to hide my elastic and make my pony pretty? I'm gonna have to hit Claire's at the mall this weekend and see if I can't find something...if its in a pony tail at least it will only be the very tips that will get all sweaty from hitting my back! That is a much easier issue to deal with. And I'm definitely going to be checking out Azhia's website for ideas! I'm really hoping to get to attend one of your workshops one day!

MellyBelly: I'm totally going to have to try that wet to dry hair straightener! That sounds like something that would work a lot better than toting a hair dryer. Even if I just attack the ends halfway through the night, that would be a huge improvement. And you know...my customers and clients tell me that they love that I sweat. They say it makes them feel like I really put everything into it. So at least I typically get a positive reaction for it!

Zfejzic: I have the same issue with the knotting! I wind up with random knots all over my head by the end of a performance (damn my habit of tossing my hair!), but the worst one is always at the nape of my neck. I've found that the best thing to do is gently tease it out as best I can. Then I grab my richest conditioner and slather it on the knot and let it sit for a few minutes. That usually makes it a lot more amenable to being combed out in a much less painful manner.

For the knotting issue, use a paddle brush and gently brush out, starting from the ends and then work your way upwards, continuing to brush downwards. It works like a charm.

Attaching hair pieces and combing out a rat's nest are covered in the DVD.

For fullness, you might want to try some clip in extensions, using inexpensive wefts from Sally's Beauty Supply and toupé clips. You can always camouflage their inclusion at the base with a flower clip.

Originally Posted by safiradokos

I tried a hair fall once and it didn't go so great. It came right out with the first corkscrew turn I did and went flying across the room...and a hairdresser had put it in! So ever since that experience I'm seriously wary of wigs/falls/falsies of any kind. I like to flip my hair and do quick, tight turns so my hair goes flying...and with baby fine hair its really difficult to anchor it in there good enough. The curse of baby fine hair!

its possible the hairdresser attached your fall for fashion purposes and not with "stage strength" in mind. often they think "light bopping at a friends wedding" hair is "42 spins with double veil" security.

i suggest trying the fall again, this time:
put your own hair in ponytails or braids
secure the fall to your anchored hair using large roller pins in the X method, all around the base of the piece...all the way around. the pins will lock into eachother this way.
this works, even through a spirited khaleegy or zar!

good luck!

I am familiar with that problem ;-) I pull my hair back and pin it up, and then add two big flower clips in some sort of decorative flamenco bun. I also keep my bangs kinda short, if necessary. Fortunately, that look is flattering on me and fits my style/costuming.

Thank you so much for this thread - I thought I was the only one with this problem!..c::

Tying my hair up helps at the back of my head, but it's my fringe (bangs) that is the real problem. For workshops etc I don't mind clipping it back, but I don't look good with my hair all off my face so don't do that in performances.

I LOVE the wet to dry straightener idea and think that could work so I'm definitely going to give it a go! x

I am def a sweater too actually my troupemate and
I are big sweaters we usually dance alot with our teacher and at the end when we bow she doesn't want to touch us but she is usually in the middle of a sweaty sandwich .w.:. I think its because we give it our all and well that we just sweat...alot !! I used to have long hair (hip length) and I would sweat but I notice now that I have cut my hair (bra length) i sweat more I think it is because my layers fall at my neck and so forth so it is actually touching my back at certain points (like right by neck which makes me hot) but when it was longer it kinda just fell straight back. As a troupe we will wear ponytails and it is def cooler the only thing is that it can get heavy and give you a little head ache if you have it on for awhile but it still pretty especially if you get a long ponytail and I use a lot of hairspray (if you have long bangs you could do like a poof) but because I use hairspray you really cant tell I am sweating I hope thi helps a little
happy shimmying ..g.:

I "glow"like a pig when I dance:D

One thing I do is having a hair dryer in the dressing room to set on cold between sets,also:fastening falls and pony tails with toupe clips is a good way to make sure they won´t move.


I sew about 10-15 into my 3/4-wigs around rims:
20 Large Toupee Wig Clip On Hair Extension BLONDE - eBay (item 170465148352 end time Apr-03-10 06:39:29 PDT)

I am a major head sweater. I sometimes wear a terry cloth headband under my costume headband (if it is wide enough). I have curly hair so a blow dryer is not an option for me.

I also put my hair up in a ponytail and wear a hair fall over it. I like to swing my hair too and so I just pin the hell out of the fall to keep it in place. I haven't had any hair catastrophes yet (knock on wood).

There are some spray-in dry shampoos that might help you freshen up some and take out some of the oil. (But will need a hair dryer to dry your hair first.) Something like this:

Normal Jonathan Product Green Rootine Dry Shampoo Light Ulta.com - Cosmetics, Fragrance, Salon and Beauty Gifts

That's why despite how much more glamazon I look with it straightened, I always style my hair curly, because the curls are great at absorbing sweat and still looking hot, though it's 50/50 - sometimes I look like I just finished an Aerobics workout circ 1985 and stuck my finger in a socket!

Can you put some curl in your hair? Then at least it would be curly matted?

Another thing somewhat besides the issue, but I am a super sweater too. However, when I am very very in shape, dancing constantly, I notice I sweat a *lot* less. So like there have been periods when I have been super busy and in shape and I do 3 shows in a night and end up looking the same as other periods when I am just totally out of shape and out of practice and do one show and look like I went through a thunderstorm... Just a personal observation!

I'm so glad I started this thread! So many awesome ideas flying!

I may try the hair piece again. I made sure I told the hairdresser exactly what I was going to do and even demonstrated a hair flip to her so she would get it. But maybe I just need to try a different hair dresser.

I am concerned about getting hot with a wig on...when I work out, I get a "raccoon mask" on my face and what looks like hives on my chest. I'm extremely fair (and I mean EXTREMELY and comically white) and I get this wonderful red mask on my face if I'm really working hard or if I get overheated. I'm actually fine...I'm in great shape (I'm a runner and a personal trainer), I just turn red. So I'm thinking that a wig might not be the best way to go with the Louisiana heat coming up...I use to die in turbans in January here when I was doing ATS. But a weft or other hair piece might do it without getting me too hot.

Can you believe that I didn't get overly sweaty at my gig last Thursday? I have no idea why either. I didn't do anything other than straighten my hair. No headbands or any other accoutrement. Only used enough product to get my hair straight (I have wavy hair). I was feeling off my game that night, so maybe I wasn't going as full out as I normally do. But at the end of the night my hair was no where near as messed up as normal. Go figure.

I'm going to try a few of these suggestions and see what winds up working best for me. The weather here can be brutal during the summer months (May to October). We're talking 100 degrees plus with 100% humidity. Wasn't that big of a deal when I was solely doing private parties (usually indoors in the a/c and just a 15 to 20 minute show or a quick bellygram), but now that I'm doing a lot more restaurant gigs and other public type gigs, its something I need to address.

Thanks again to everyone! And glad to know I'm not the only person dealing with this issue!