I have waist length hair. I don’t like how I look with no hair or a buzz cut, and I find longer hair easier to manage. I’m not dead-set on this length, it just seems the best config for my life in general.
When it’s not gardening season, I wash my hair 2x per week. I have a super low tolerance for greasy or dirty hair and this frequency works.
I rely on bug spray while gardening. I wear full coverage clothes and try and spray the clothes, but I need to spray the exposed skin on my face and neck. This leads to spray or the spray+sunscreen+dirt combo getting in my hair.
I have tried special clothes and hats (including with nets) but I get bit right through them. I want to avoid getting bit because of the risk of disease, but honestly I mostly want to avoid hearing or feeling them on my skin. Thermacell type products have not been useful.
Currently I try and pile my hair in a hat and today I am trying to wrap it in a kerchief first. The bulk isn’t great with the hat. My hair type is 1a, but I imagine people with more texture also deal with this challenge.
So I guess my questions are:
- Do you have tips/tricks for keeping long hair clean while using bug repellent?
- If your solution is a protective wrap of some kind, how to you keep the sun off your face/neck if the bulk prevents the use of sun hats?
Thanks!
Why use spray? I have a roll on insect repellent.
Have been wondering about using some citronella lamps, not sure how effective they are though.
Sunhat (wide brim that goes all the way around) with mosquito net atop it so the brim keeps the net away from the skin.
A bit of hair in a flat bun under it, so theres a cm of distance between scalp and hat to avoid getting bit through the top. Or find a hat with bite-proof material (fishing, hiking and hunting stores most likely). Remaining hair in a low braid to keep the net from your neck even when bending over, and getting the hair out of the way.
There are electric mosquito repellants I’ve been considering as a way to keep them away without putting anything on me, especially when as stationary as when weeding or with multiple people in a small area.
After gardening, you can rinse your hair out with just water, to remove dirt and sweat. It’ll get rid of debris without affecting your washing schedule.
I wear strap with a pad of citronella in it, that’s all. Never sprays.
What do you mean with “strap” and “pad”? And in what form is the citronella?
It’s a velco strap you can wear on your wrist or ankle, it’s got a mesh pocket where you insert a little tab of gauze soaked in citronella.
Not a problem I have, but generally, I hate bug spray because of how greasy and smelly it is (and the fact that deet damages synthetic fabrics), so I will go to a lot of lengths to avoid using it.
I use long sleeves and occasionally a bug net if the mosquitos are really thick. They can bite through clothing, so I make sure it’s loose. I’ve actually been thinking about making a garment to wear under a long sleeve shirt to add another layer to my shoulders where gravity makes the fabric sit against my skin.
I also use permethrin treated clothes if im going to be somewhere with a lot of bugs. I do try to minimize that to when I really need it because permethrin is harmful to a lot of beneficial insects, too. You could use a permethrin treated buff or something similar to protect your neck.
Lastly, picaridin comes in a lotion that is not greasy or smelly, and it works just as well as DEET for mosquitos.
Not a hair person (curse you, male pattern baldness!), but picaridin based bug spray is effective, safe for skin and clothes, and non-greasy. Sawyer’s version works really well!
I’m not an expert on any of this, so grain of salt.
But for the bugs, can you just plant things that will help keep them away and use other methods that aren’t the sprays? Diatomaceous earth, lemon grass, CO2 traps, things like that? Or maybe just a big fan pointed at you so nothing can land?
For your hair, if you’re set on the sprays, maybe look up how sikh wraps work?
