When I first started travelling, my hair was so long it reached my belly-button, and I struggled to keep it tamed. I have naturally frizzy, slightly curly hair that gets even frizzier in humid climates.
Any fans of Friends will remember the one with Monika’s crazy hair in Barbados — my hair is pretty similar to that.
So while I’ve tried travelling without any hair tools or accessories, au naturale hair is just not a good look for me.
So after trying lots of different products and hair accessories, and meeting people on the road with even longer hair than mine, I think I’ve figured out the best hair accessories for travel.
1: GHD Air Hairdryer
I’ve tried so many travel hair dryers before, from the GHD Flight, to Babyliss and Remington ones, but was never impressed. Then I came across the GHD Air. I stayed with a friend in London and ended up using her hairdryer — she had a GHD Air and I was instantly impressed.
It dried my hair quickly and left it much less frizzy than normal. I was so impressed that I ordered one for myself the next day, and I’ve taken it on every trip ever since.
While the GHD Air isn’t strictly a travel hairdryer, it is THE best hairdryer I’ve ever used, and it’s lightweight, small frame means I can easily pack it in any backpack or suitcase.
2: GHD Gold Straighteners
Once I’d bought my GHD Air, I was sold on GHD as a brand. So I took a look at their straighteners too. I was able to try the GHD Mini Stylers and the latest, top of the range GHD Platinum+, but decided the GHD Gold straighteners were best for travelling.
While the GHD Minis are designed with travelling in mind, they took quite a while to straighten my hair. The GHD Golds were a little larger, but they were still sleek and lightweight.
These straighteners, combined with the Air Hairdryer, make the perfect hair tools for travelling. With these, I can achieve non-frizzy straightened or curled hair in any climate.
3: Tangle Teezer Brush
Tangle Teezer brushes somehow manage to detangle hair without pulling at all. I can brush my hair with one of these bad boys without cringing in pain at all. They’re also fairly compact and come in different colours.
My personal favourite is the mint coloured brush, simply because it matches a few of my other travel accessories like my Seafoam Yeti bottle and pastel blue Antler suitcase and rucksack set).
4: Hair Ties and Clips
This one kind of goes without saying, but hair ties and clips deserve a place on this list. Sometimes it’s so much easier to just to throw my hair up into a bun or pony than take the risk of my hair being knotted by wind or waves. From elastic hair ties to scrunchies to bobby pins, you should take a load of these hair accessories with you on any trip. If you’re anything like me, you’ll lose most of your hair ties by the time you’ve got to the airport, so it’s best to pack many, many spares.
5: Headbands
Headbands are one of the best travel hair accessories you can pack. A headband will keep your hair out of your face and opens up so many different hairstyle opportunities.
You can wear them with your hair down, up in a bun, and they even work with short hair. And they have two secret superpowers: 1) they can cover up greasy roots if you don’t have time to wash your hair, and 2) they’re basically stylish sweatbands, which comes in useful in hot climates. In colder destinations, you can wear thick, woolly headbands that keep you warm.
6: Argan Oil
If your hair gets ridiculously frizzy in humid destinations, argan oil is a great way to make sure your hair stays smooth and frizz-free. It also keeps your hair in great health, preventing split ends and encouraging growth. Plus it doubles as a great anti-wrinkle moisturiser.
Argan oil usually comes in bottles that are 150ml or smaller, so if you’re travelling light with only cabin luggage, you won’t have a problem getting it through customs. And even though bottles of this oil are pretty small, a little goes a long way, and a 100ml bottle will last a while.
7: Hair scissors
Depending on where you’re travelling and for how long, it can be a good idea to pack your own hair scissors. I’ve been to several destinations where there aren’t really any hairdressing salons around, and rather than letting my hair get out of control, I’ve trimmed my own hair to keep split ends at bay.
I bought a pair of hair scissors online, watched YouTube videos on how to cut my own hair, and now they’re one of my essential travel hair accessories.
8: Hair Turban Towel
As soon as I get out of the shower, I want to wrap my hair up in a towel turban. But it’s just not practical to pack both a normal towel and a hair towel if you’re travelling light. So instead of a regular towel, which takes up a fair amount of room., I use a lightweight hair turban towel. They’re fairly small so they tuck easily into your suitcase or backpack, but they can still wrap up long hair.
I live in the UK, in the country’s most uneventful city, where the most interesting story in the local paper is about banning dressing gowns in supermarkets.
I travel and I write, because surely there are more interesting stories than that to write about and share.
