There are two reasons why I rarely wear hats.

1. I have an unusually large head and hats rarely fit me. Most hats can barely fit the top of my head let alone sit on it. There’s usually a lot of space sitting between my head and the hat.
2. For the hats that do fit me, I hate hat hair.

So, what is hat hair? You know that flat, hair-plastered-to-the-head situation each time you remove your hat or helmet? Yes, that’s hat hair. More often than not, my sideswept fringe would be so flat, it would look as though I’ve run hair gel on it just so it’s flat against my scalp. I get that with beanies too.

It’s not a good look, people. Not a good look at all.

In Malaysia, going from place to place via motorcycle is very common. My classmates and later on, colleagues would walk into the office with lank and sweaty hair from their helmets. It’s not their fault; the weather was usually hot and humid, and a helmet is absolutely necessary for safety reasons. Alas, with the helmet comes hat/helmet hair.

Here in Australia, I only wear beanies when it’s unbearably cold. I try to stay away from any form of headgear as much as possible just to avoid hat hair. In summer, I know I should be wearing hats to protect my face and hair from the heat and strong UV rays but I try not to unless I absolutely have to because, again, I wanted to avoid the dreaded hat hair.

Damn you, vanity!

Still, I’d love to be able to wear hats when I do find the ones that fit my gigantic head but what is a gal to do to avoid hat hair? Luckily for me and those of you who hate hat hair, I had a chat with Paul Mitchell’s Artistic Team member, Kobi Bokshish, who let me in on some invaluable tips on preventing flat, frizzy and messy hat hair.

• Ensure hair is completely dry before putting a hat on, wet hair combined with a hat will become flat upon drying.
• Use a flexible styling product when styling your hair, that way when you do a quick ‘fluff’ once removing your hat the product will reactive your original hair style.
• Hair static is caused by dryness, so combat this by hydrating your hair with moisturizing shampoo and conditioners or leave in treatments, or use a treatment oil or shine spray to finish.
• Choose a hat friendly hair style like sleek straight stands, loose messy waves or a ponytail.
• Direct your part to the opposite side when it is under the hat, then when you take the hat off and direct the hair to its normal position you would have created extra volume.

Here are some products Kobi recommended to try out: Paul Mitchell Hair Sculpting Lotion, Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture Daily Shampoo & Daily Treatment, Awapuhi Wild Ginger Shine Spray, Awapuhi Wild Ginger Styling Treatment Oil and Paul Mitchell Worked Up.

Flip hair parting to the opposite side even if it looks weird at first

I actually picked up the last tip from Christina of Hair Romance when she was in Melbourne earlier this year for the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF). I remembered thinking, why the heck didn’t I think of flipping my hair the other side earlier??

Ah well, better late than never, eh?

I hope these tips help you as well in sorting out the hat hair situation. If you ride a motorcycle or bicycle, do try these tips out in avoiding flat hair from wearing the helmet. Never, ever forsake wearing a helmet just to avoid hat hair. Safety always comes first, not your hair. Yes, this is coming from a beauty blogger. Never compromise on safety!

Good luck!

Do you get hat hair too? How do you fix your hat hair problems?

Note: This isn’t a sponsored post by Paul Mitchell. I was having issues with bloody beanie hair and when the brand contacted me, I asked them if there were any experts who could help with my hat hair problem. I needed expert advice more than I needed new shampoo!