Hair Care on the Go

Been around the world and I can't...

It's the most wonderful time of the year. No, not winter; summer! Summer time brings about fun in the sun, laying in the shade, drinking a little lemonade, traveling and hair! Summer season is not only fun season. For many summer season is travel season. 

Traveling has it's own quirks and quivers. The woes of traveling packing, forgetting things, flight delays and long TSA lines are the typical run of the mill traveling quirks. However, when it comes to hair care the woe quickly morphs into a foe. For those who love to travel or live on the go hair care my 8 tips for hair care on the go can make hair care and hair styling your friend. 

Never fear, the author of What They Don't Tell You at the Hair Salon and writer of this blog is here with 8 quick things to consider as you travel or live out of your suitcase. 

     1. Pack Light:  Not only sounds good when Erykah Badu sings it, but it will also feel good  as you get through your travels easily. Packing lights saves you time and frees your mind. Time is of the essence when you are on vacation or living to and fro. Pack light so you will not be tossing through packed items that you will never have time to change to wear or will frustrate your traveling experience. Packing light will also give you room to fit the hair care items you need for your journey.

     2. Referrals, Google reviews and social media, oh my! Prior to traveling let people know where you are going and ask them if they can refer someone who may do hair where you will be traveling to. Read their Google reviews. Do not just look at the fiver stars. Read those comments. Utilize all the social media platforms to vet the potential hair stylist or salon. While inboxing and direct messaging are nice for scheduling appointments, nothing beats getting a good consultation in person. Be sure to talk in detail with the stylist prior to service about what you want, the time and the cost.

Pack light.

     3. Inspect and Respect Images: Scrolling through images are great. Understand those are photos. Therefore, inspect and enlarge those images to look for detail. Look into the stylist feed to see they are actually getting comments, writing responses and reposting the progression and retention of their clientele. Look for images of them highlighting them doing the hair style they are posting. Scroll to see if you notice the same face twice or more. If you are looking at different images with different people all the time; buyer beware. Cross check other social medias for continuity of posting and feedback.

     4. Cost: The cost of salon services can be easily found on a salon's website. However, if the hairstylist or salon does not have a website, getting an accurate price quote varies. Most hair stylists don't post the cost of their services or quote prices over the phone because of the varying hair care and hair styling needs that sits in their chair. Price quoting is difficult. Hairstylist needs to see the condition of your scalp and hair to determine the cost. In all fairness, visit the salon to get a consultation for the true price.

Hotel hair care? Maybe.

     5. Hotel hair care: The hair care products offered in most hotels are typically not the best for those who have textured or very long hair. While the shampoo will clean your hair, it may make your hair difficult to manage. The conditioners may not soften Afro, dense heads of hair or very long hair enough to comb it. Therefore, remember to pack what you use at home. Nothing will mess up travel experience than messed up hair from using the wrong products.

     6. Kids hair and travel: If your child has textured, dense or/and very long hair, braiding it up is best. When kids travel, they want to have fun; not get their hair done. 

     7. Heat free hair care: Heat free hair styles such as braids, braid extension hair styles, wash-n-go, weaves, locs, twists and cornrows are almost perfect for travel and the hot season. Keep in mind they need to maintained as well. Follow the directions given to you by the person who styled your hair. Do not leave braided, weaved or extension hairstyles in for long periods of time. Because the scalp is a microbial habitat, leaving those kinds of styles in beyond 3 weeks can prove disastrous when removing them. Heat free hair styles are to be in lieu of actually caring or and styling your own hair on a regimented basis. 

    8. YouTube: I absolutely love YouTube. I love the free advice people upload! YouTube gives you the behind the scenes and the how-to's of what you are looking for an answer to. "YouTube is awesome for everything except teeth and hair," is my favorite saying! Do not watch YouTube for directions on how to do your hair or child's. No two heads of hair are alike, except identical twins. Watching YouTube to learn how to do something to your hair or child's hair will almost always prove to be disastrous. Instead visit your hair stylist and ask for permission to record them doing you hair and your child's hair to learn how to do your hair or your child's hair. 

There you have it. Eight simple things to consider as you have fun this summer traveling or is living out of your suitcase. And in the singing voice of Erykah Badu, "pack light."

You can purchase my book, What They Don't Tell You at the Hair Salon at www.lwrightbooks.com, Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can also purchase it via iBook, Kindle, Nook and Google Play Store.