Looking After Your Hair at Festivals

Come rain or shine, festivals are great fun, but they can also take their toll – on your voice (all that singing along), your body (sleeping in a tent every night?!), and of course your hair. 

With festival season well and truly back for 2021, we thought it was time we created a round-up of tips for haircare, that will carry you through the sunny days, the rain, and everything in between.

Before the Festival

First thing’s first, you can never predict the shower situation at a festival – just like you can never know what the weather is going to do until you get there. Because of this, the number one thing to do before you head to your festival site is make the most of hot, running water – treat your hair to a deep conditioning treatment and do everything necessary to ensure you arrive at the festival with fresh, clean hair. 

The other key thing to do before the festival is invest in the kinds of on-the-go hair products that will keep your hair looking and feeling as fresh as possible. Our favourites include dry shampoo, mini shampoos and conditioners for much-coveted shower time, and plenty of clips and hair ties to keep it away from you face and indulge in a few updos. 

During the Festival

Every head of hair is different. Some can go for a full week without needing to wash their hair again, while some are used to a daily wash and dry. Festival time is unpredictable – your hair may become soaked by a rain shower, or you may find that not a drop of water falls all weekend; you may have infinite access to great showers, but you may not. Being prepared means deciding on a selection of festival hairdos that you can master in advance, and which will keep your hair looking great while also ensuring you don’t touch it too much and avoid making it greasy.

Plaits and braids are both popular options and manage to look both elegant and lowkey at the same time. Messy buns are a great idea if it starts raining, keeping your hair out of the way and allowing it to dry with a natural wave to the ends. Alternatively, if you want to embrace the loose wavy look of a festival vibe, investing in clips and flowers is a fun way to accessorise your hair and bring a little colour to your look. 

Deciding how exactly to manage your hair during a festival means knowing how many days you have, with most festivals lasting around 3 days. 

On Day One, your hair is fresh and clean and so you should style it in a way that doesn’t require too much tweaking and teasing. The less contact you have with your hands and your hair, the better, as this will keep contact grease to a minimum. We recommend a loose plait. 

On Day Two, your hair may be feeling a little greasy – but a quick spritz of dry shampoo should save the day. Again, a plait is a good option, or you could try a loose bun or low ponytail.

On Day Three, you’re probably ready for a shower – your hair will be feeling a bit dirty and it might not smell at its best. You might find that a hat is your best option, or you can pop your hair in a high pony or a bun to keep it out of your face. Remember, everyone around you probably feels the same!

After the Festival

You’re finally home; you’ve got a ton of washing to do and loads of stories to tell. But before you jump into bed and catch up on lost sleep, there are a few things you can do to save your hair and give it some much-needed TLC.

First, give it a thorough wash and a deep conditioning treatment. Depending on whether you added any colour or glitter before and during the festival, or whether your hair got soaked a few times by flying drinks, you might decide to shampoo it more than once before moving onto conditioner. 

If possible, leave your hair to dry naturally after that first wash, to give it a little more chance of recovery. Alternatively, pop into your favourite hair salon and let them give you a thorough wash and blow dry, to restore the shine and fresh scent of a well-manicured hairdo. 

And finally, revel in the memories from your weekend away!