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How to Banish Hat Hair

Because as necessary as the wool hat may be, it pretty much guarantees a bad hair day.

Hair
How to Banish Hat Hair
Like the last hint of your summer tan and that succulent you accidentally left on the windowsill, there are a few things that just weren’t meant to last the winter. Among these seasonal sacrifices? Activities that require leaving the house past sundown, footwear of the uninsulated variety, and hair that doesn’t look as though you’ve permanently wedged a finger in an electrical socket.

Hat hair: the bane of our sartorial pulled-togetherness.

There’s no better way to instantly negate shampoo and deflate volume than to jam on a wooly toque (er, hat—our Canadian is showing). From squashed curls to staticky bangs, it’s a near-constant battle to keep our heads looking more “I woke up like this” than “I woke up like this and then promptly got my head stuck in a cotton-candy machine.” Then again, with temperatures like these, hats are kind of a necessity. We called upon one of our go-to hair-tamers, Rebekah Forecast (who also happens to style the likes of Olivia Wilde and Heidi Klum, ergo we trust her) to help us get rid of hat hair once and for all.

Because nothing says sexy quite like locks that look like an unintentional fall 2013 Marc Jacobs power mullet, right?

—Chelsey Burnside

On the secret practicality of silk scarves come wintertime…

“Static is your worst enemy in the winter when it comes to hair. The friction from a hat can create more static so natural fibers are better; stay away from man made ones like nylon and so on. Silk is the best but it's not used in the winter as it's not as warm. Using a silk scarf under your hat does help with the friction issue.”

On the topknot trick…

“Most hats are snug to keep you warm, so they will flatten your hair. Depending on the length of your hair and the areas where you like volume, this will determine how and which type of hat to wear. If you like volume on the crown then choose a hat that has a higher profile on the top of your head, like a fedora style. A great thing to do with long hair is pull it up into a messy topknot before you put the hat on. When you arrive, remove the hat, take out the knot, and you have a great wave with volume.”
On using the hat to your advantage…

“Curly hair tends to fair better as it retains its own volume and tends to not get oily from extra heat produced by your head under a hat. Or you don’t see it as much as it bounces back easier. If you have short hair then you can sculpt it into place, even use the journey as a finishing time for your hair. When you remove the hat, your hair is dry and you can use your fingers to lift.”

On the products to keep in your shower and desk drawer…

“Because of the static, I always recommend a cream leave-in conditioner like the Fekkai Glossing Cream or Shu Uemura Essence Absolue applied to the length and ends when you remove your hat. I prefer creams over hairspray, as hairspray often makes the hair stiff and it's harder to reshape. Applying product on a brush and then sweeping through the hair will also help. Use something like Phyto finishing spray or Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray—those are my favorites right now as they’re so light and give hold at the same time.”
On the midday touch-up…

“The topknot is great for this. Also, two twisted buns behind the ears works. Keep your hair like this while you redo or apply makeup. Leave your hair in the style for about twenty minutes with a light mist of the Oribe spray before twisting. When you remove, apply a small amount of the cream, shake out and you’re all set.”

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