Those of you who wear helmets most probably have experienced the horror of pulling off the helmet to find your gorgeous hair style destroyed, hair matted to your head.  Is there anything we can do to remedy the situation?   Kell, hairdresser and keen cyclist shares his helmet hair avoidance tips!

Kell, Max, Blue and The Brompton at our Lambton Place salon

“In a recent survey amongst women of 18 to 34, 27% of them said that they would not ride a bicycle as they were concerned about ‘helmet hair’.

So, it’s a real problem and unfortunately one that is an inevitable consequence of wearing a helmet – well unless you shave your head!

Shaggy, slightly more informal haircuts mean you can get away with it more than if sporting a sleeker style, but really the combination of heat and humidity, even with a well ventilated helmet is always going to be a tough one for all but pixie cuts or very short hair.

If you have long hair, then a low ponytail is the best option, but make sure you use a soft band to save marks when taking your hair down.  Lots of the newer women’s helmets are designed specifically to work with ponytails, just look out for one with a ponytail ‘port’.

To avoid helmet hair, make sure you don’t put your helmet on when your hair is wet or it will dry with ridges in from the helmet.

Spray your hair with a light spray before putting your helmet on and then brush through after taking it off.  You can also try tipping your head upside down and running your fingers through it with a light wax.

Finally, if you have really had enough of helmet hair, then you could hope that this invention becomes mainstream….

The Hövding is an airbag for your head. Mounted in a collar, which can be disguised as a stylish scarf, the bag explodes on when you crash and surrounds your delicate head with an inflated hood. 

Hövding means “chieftain” in Swedish, and the air-helmet was designed by Swedes Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin as a university thesis project. The collar contains the bag itself, helium to inflate the airbag and sensors, which tell the Hövding when to fire. The sensor unit consists of gyroscopes and accelerometers, which constantly monitor movement and deploy the bag when you’re in danger. The device is charged by USB (firmware can also be updated via the same port) and you switch it on by zipping the collar shut around your neck.

See it in action here!