It’s no secret that I have natural hair and have had it for about a decade. I also love to travel which can be interesting with my curls. Different climates and activities call for different hairstyles, but I do have a few staple products and tools I bring with me.
I tend to only wear protective styles like braids when I go somewhere tropical, any other vacation I’ll alternate through loose curls, top knots, buns or flat twists. The bag I use for my liquids in my carry-on already pushes the limit, and I know if I threw all of the hair products I wanted to bring it would be way too big. I tend to stick with 7 items that are pretty easy to pack, don’t take up much space but allow me to mix up my styles quickly.
Curly pudding | Bobby pins | Hair ties | Headbands
Head scarf | Hair Gel | Leave-In Conditioner | Dry shampoo (not pictured)
Target has had a few beauty boxes recently that seem like they were curated for curly girls like myself. I was introduced to a few new products that I fell in love with and the travel-sized containers have been refilled numerous times.
Curly pudding – This one is one of my HG hair products that I use just about daily, especially if I’m wearing loose curls or if I want to refresh my top knot or flat twists. I comes in a tub-like container, but I’m able to easily decant some into my squeeze bottle. I find that those kind work better while traveling.
Leave-in Conditioner – Another product I use when I’m wearing loose curls or refreshing my up-do. I use this before I use the pudding to dampen my hair and help define my curls a bit.
Bobby pins & hair ties – I make sure I bring at least 10 bobby pins and 4 hair ties when I travel. That way I’m able to do just about any up-do my heart desires. I don’t like having my hair in my face, so I make sure that I have a few bobby pins on me at all times even when I’m wearing it down to pin the front back.
Headbands – I mainly use these as accessories when I wear my hair up in a top knot or bun. I take some neutral colored ones with me on vacation so that they match all of my outfits. I also use these as bigger hair ties when I have braids and chunky twists when I want to wear up-dos.
Head scarf – I sleep in one of these so that my hair doesn’t get dried out by cotton pillow cases. I used to wear a bonnet, but found that scarves stay on while I toss and turn all night and I’ve had this blue one for a while.
Gel – I’ve been using the olive oil gel by Eco Styler for years, but they’ve recently released new ones that I want to try. I use gel when I wear a wash-n-go or if I want to slick my edges down when I’m wearing a sleek up-do. A little bit truly goes a long way.
Dry Shampoo – I picked up a travel-sized bottle of this when I started working out on a regular basis and found that it’s perfect to travel with, especially after a day full of outdoor activities. It’s the perfect refresher my curls need.
I don’t really bring regular shampoo and conditioner with me when I travel, even to tropical locations because they’re either provided by my hotel or someone else I’m traveling with will have a big bottle. I wash my hair once a week, and I’ve yet to go on a vacation that’s gone on longer than that.
What about y’all? What do you typically bring for your hair when you go on vacation? Comment below or tweet me and let me know!