Humidity simply put is the amount of water vapor in the air. Hair + Humidity = Disaster (at least that’s what I used to think). I check the weather forecast every night before bed, so I can be prepared for whatever elements await me the following morning. Since I live and work in Washington, DC, taking the Metro is the most convenient mode of transportation. It only takes ten minutes from my apartment to the Metro stop, but a lot can happen in that short amount of time, specifically with my hair.
If the forecasted humidity is over 80%, then you bet I’ll be wearing my hair up for that day. You may think that just putting your hair up in a bun is enough to combat the humidity, but alas my friend, my experience proved that to be incorrect.
Let me walk you through a recent scenario: When dealing with humidity, I like to err on the side of caution. Dealing with my hair the night before allows me to have extra time in the morning for last minute styling and touch ups. Lately I’ve been feeling a little uninspired with my hair, especially last week. The weather forecast that week wasn’t great and humidity was a solid 83% and above. For styling, I decided to take the easy way out. I put my hair up in a bun, smoothed a little gel on the edges, and tied on my satin scarf before bed.
As soon as I walked out the door, I could feel it, the humidity was thick and heavy. Hell, I could basically see it! I wanted to turn back but I knew I couldn’t. I had to go to work. As I continued down the street, I tentatively reached up to find out what’s going on with my hair. Instead of encountering the firm hold of gel, my fingers felt soft, fluffy hair.
“Ok, no big deal”, I told myself. “Eh, maybe I used too much gel anyway. It was feeling kind of crunchy. Now my hair looks more natural. Yeah, who cares if my edges are smooth?”
By the time I got to the metro stop you’re itching for a mirror, but I didn’t want to use my phone, lest I became that person taking morning selfies at the metro stop. I looked around for any type of reflective surface to “nonchalantly” check my hair in, but no such luck. There were still 5 minutes till the next train so I found the least populated section of the platform and tried to casually smooth down my hair while I waited.
HUMIDITY FIGHTING PRODUCTS
Finally the train pulled up and I briefly caught my reflection in the windows. Big mistake. In that brief moment I saw what started as a sleek bun had turned into a giant halo of fuzz. Yes I know, this wasn’t the end of the world, but it wasn’t the look I was going for. Once I got to work I camped out in the bathroom while I braided the frizzy portion of hair. Then I pulled the rest back into my bun. That situation is not ideal, especially in a bustling office bathroom.
To avoid wasted night prep and a repeat of this scenario, I now choose milkmaid braids as my anti-humidity hairdo. This way the frizziest portion of my hair is secured in the braids, no matter the elements; humidity, rain, blizzards, volcano eruptions, hail, I’m covered. The icing on the cake is that after wearing the braids for a few humid days, I can take them out (only for 80% or less humidity) and rock a fun, wavy braid out.
Save yourself some time and trouble by trying milkmaid braids the next time your weather forecasts 80+% humidity.
