Hat\hair\bald question

[harryj]

Hi folks,

My name is Harry, and I've been "lurking" here for a while - thanks for all the information and insight you all provide.

I'd like to wear a hat more often, but... hat head. I've got pretty thick curly hair (lucky at this point in my life) and whenever I take off my hat it leaves my hair looking like a loaf of bread. Any suggestions of how to remedy this, or is it just part of the hat-wearing deal?

TIA,

Harry J

 

[matei]

Hello and welcome to the lounge!

Not a silly question by any means! I've asked it myself.

I've got thick hair that was a problem when I first started wearing hats. What I ended up doing was going with a simpler, shorter (more "vintage") style that lent itself to headgear. I also use a pomade that has more hold than a modern gel or wax. Like a wax, it allows me to "adjust" me barnet when it has been flattened by the hat!

Also - I don't simply plop my lid on top of my head - but rather put it on so that it isn't pressing down on my 'do. I put it on over my forehead and then push it back. Otherwise it looks like someone placed a bowl over my head.

Like seeing yourself with a hat for the first time, a hairstyle change does take a bit getting used to. Personally, I would never go back. It may be shorter and more "streamlined", but it presents a cleaner image and it is a whole lot easier to get sorted in the morning!

Hope this helps!

 

[binkmeisterRick]

Hat head is inevitable once you start wearing hats. I have a short haircut, so it cuts down on the amount of hat head I get, though I'm going bald, so that will eventually take care of the problem altogether! Welcome from out of the shadows!

bink

 

[EricH]

Harry (There's a pun there) I know where you're coming from. I wear my hair on the long side as I too enjoy a full head of curls while my friends er really need hats for protection. Two things make the difference for me. First, pay the bucks to get a good cut. Like a good hat, there is a big difference between Cost Cutters and a "Fancy place". With a good cut, your hair will fall naturally into place. Second is product. Good stuff for the hair will also make it easy to return your hair to it's pre hat condition. Above all, work on your style. When you remove your hat, smile at the nearest woman as you run your fingers through your full mane of curls and restore it to its full glory. It isn't just the hat that makes the man

 

[shoeshineboy]

lord...i'm jealous...

mark the shoeshine boy....

the short bald headed fat boy of S/E Missouri....

Your bad hair day is one of my best dreams !!!!!

 

[Art Fawcett]

LOL..thanks SSB.. I needed a good laugh this morning.I can't add much to the conversation Harry as the guys have covered it. Just wanted to welcome you to the Lounge.

 

[WEEGEE]

first news on the "johnny D"

o.r. shoeshineboy--

lord...i'm jealous...

mark the shoeshine boy....

the short bald headed fat boy of S/E Missouri....

Your bad hair day is one of my best dreams !!!!!

second that motion.

I hear Art is comming out with a new design called the "johnny D" extra pure beaver--flowing maine attached made of the clippings from a famous
Hollywood mens celeb hair salon. :cheers1:

and welcome harryj

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Welcome to the lounge, Harry. I know men who would kill to have your hat hair problem.

That, I found out, is why most women I know won't wear hats because they don't want to muss their "do."

karol

 

[Kaleponi Craig]

Short hair is the answer...

Not a dumb question at all, as many of us have experience hat-head. Ever since getting into hats, I've worn my hair shorter. I, too, would get major hat-head. But not now...KC

 

[johnnycanuck]

Good Day Harry.
Welcome and Good question. The style I keep my hair in is a Caesar or military crew cut (depending on how long the top is). the key is to get them to buzz the sides really short and as high as possible. This has an advantage as to avoid the hat head thing and, when the line appears, it tells you its time to get another hair cut. With the sides so short it really doesn't matter what product I use.
Johnny

 

[Pilgrim]

Not a bad question at all.

How much "hat hair" you get depends a lot on your hair and the style you wear it in. If you have really curly hair, then you can probably shake/comb out the depressed area. If you have really straight hair that's moderate in length, I'm not even sure you'd have a prbblem. But the longer you wear your hair, the more likely it is to show up.

I'm 55 and lucky enough to still have a good head of hair. I take after my dad, who passed away at 76 and still had a good head of hair, so I'm feeling good about that. Mine is pretty wavy but I tend to wear it a bit shorter than I did in my yout'. I generally just run a comb through it after I remove the hat. I use a bit of hair gel but am not a fan of pomades or oils, and I think the hair gel is much easier on a good hat.

BUT - as noted above - getting your hair styled by someone who is good at it makes a big difference in how it falls after wearing a hat. A good style is worth it!

 

[EricH]

I'll do my part

Art I'm willing to grow my hair long and donate some locks to a Johnny D for Weegee. I may not be "rich and famous", but my hair is the thick growing pelt you'll only find on the rugged sorts of the northern praries of Minnesota. Heck, it would probably work for the body. I hear wild hair is the best

 

[jamespowers]

Gee, this reminds me why I hate letting my hair grow too long.
I put the number 3 or 4 guard on the wahl and nail out the curl on the sides and leave the top longer. It is neater and running your hands over it tends to put it back in place.
It also helps if you get a hat that is not so tight on your head. If you remove it and it leaves a red mark on your forehead then the hat is too tight and will certainly give you hat hair. :cool2:

Regards,

J

 

[Marc Chevalier]

...whenever I take off my hat it leaves my hair looking like a loaf of bread.

Harry, thank you -- you made my day! "Looking like a loaf of bread"! I'm still laughing!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Speaking seriously, wouldn't the baseball cap-wearing crowd (a pretty sizeable group) have the same problem with "hat hair"? How do they deal with it?

 

[John in Covina]

Cap Head!

Speaking seriously, wouldn't the baseball cap-wearing crowd (a pretty sizeable group) have the same problem with "hat hair"? How do they deal with it?

******
They put the hat on when they get up and take it off moments before going to bed, no big deal.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

:cheers1:

 

[John in Covina]

Electric hair clippers

Going from long hair to short in about 2 steps. I had longish hair back in those NWOBHM days, but needed to make it an easier care. I got a "regular" hair cut at the barber, and then about a month later went to the buzz cut or AKA "crew cut."

Wahl (formerly Wahl-Eversharp the pen company, or those damn fountain pens again) makes some dandy electric hair clippers, which you can usually find in Sears. In the winter I like a #4 on top and #2 on the sides & back. As the weather warms the top moves to a #3, and finally a #2 with a #1 on the sides and back. Sweeeeeeet! High and Tight , ladies!

My hair is baby fine so it is not manageble even with most hair products, when it it short it can do what ever it wants but doesn't look messy.

Just remember if not wearing a hat, use sunblock while outdoors, frying the top of your head is no fun.

 

[harryj]

Thanks for the welcome

Hi again,

Thank you for your kind responses and feedback.

So, it appears that I either keep my hair pretty short, or put the hat on sorta carefully and punt. Heck, that's fine - what do I care .

I currently have a Dobbs "Panama" and a decent (I think) Stetson felt that I purchase perhaps 15 years ago that *sort* of looks like an Indy hat. This past weekend, I actually cleaned it up, steamed it a bit to reshape the crown, and ironed the brim - heh heh!

I think my next purchase will be either a Borsalino Safari and/or a Monticristi for the summer.

Thanks again,

Harry J

 

[Not-Bogart13]

An Unexpected Turn of Events

I've been an infrequent hat wearer (but constant hat lover) since childhood. One of the reasons I didn't wear hats much in my younger days was that I had thick, wild, impossible to tame hair. I hated hathead!
That is, until college. I didn't develop a receding hairline or a bald spot. My hair just lost it's spirit and started thinning out all over. I haven't gone completely bald by any account, but I can't wear my hair long, and it's hard to do anything nice with it. I was devastated. In anger, I started cutting my hair (or should I say butchering it) into a pseudo-crew cut.

Then, last year, I bought my first good hat. No hathead. I can't believe I'm actually happy about my bad hair. It has given me the ability to put my hathead worries behind me, and now I feel funny going out without a hat. Not to cover my hair (anymore), but because I love hats, and I have no excuse not to wear one.

Like others, I have found that a short haircut solves much of the hathead problem, obviously. I've also found that a slightly larger hat (say 1/8") can also help. When I start getting hathead, I know it's time to start thinking about a haircut. Hats are so useful!
NB