We’ve all been here! getting ready for a vaca and trying to decide what to do to our hair so it remains pretty and low maintenance. Having great vaca hair on a baecation is such an important part of the trip because it can be the difference between having a great time or a hair nightmare. For a curly girl, this struggle can become so real because there’s 2 main factors that come into play:

1. Staying cute the entire time with minimal work
2. Making sure you packed your whole bathroom in your suitcase.

But realistically speaking these two things may not occur on a quick island vaca. Sudden urges to dip in beach water and your carrying all products will cost you, as those airline baggage fees game are strong!

I recently went to Cartagena, Colombia with my husband. I had my hair laid! I decided to try a cute comb/finger coil set and was certain this would get me through the weekend. I thought – “just wrap my hair, wake up and go.” The plan was set.

If you have traveled to Colombia, you know the humidity is on 100,000! My curls had no chance. Before we got to the AirBnb – I was already sweating buckets, and the coils had started to unravel in the back. This was the beginning of my bad hair nightmare. There were 2 problems:

1. The curls will not survive the humidity, sweat and sudden urges to jump in the beach water.
2. I wasn’t about to waste half a day searching for hair products to save the day.

Filled with regret for not braiding my hair, I had to think of quick a short-term solution for my curls to survive the weekend of sweat, cute selfies and an amazing time with hubby. I had to create a ‘curls survival kit’ on my baecation overnight!

Here’s what I did:

1. My head wrap was my best friend.

As soon as I realized my curls were unraveling from sweat, I wrapped my head with my Ankara print head wrap. It absorbed all the sweat and gave me a chance to redeem whatever curls were left.

2. Pack a set of curl wands, curl formers, flexi rods, rollers (whatever you use to curl your hair)

Had I done this, I would have been in better shape! I used the stash of pencils that the Airbnb host provided in the room. Yes! Pencils. These helped my curl set survive lunch and dinner with hubby. Tip: if you are in a hot area with high humidity – save the styling for later in the day. Wrap your hair in a cute style for the morning and early half of the afternoon. Make sure you have twisted your hair or prepared the style before wrapping.

3. Accept the frizz!

Frizz is inevitable. You can bring your favorite frizz control product in a travel size container. I had Shea Moisture Frizz Free Mousse stashed in my carry on. It helped tame frizz for a few hours – but my sweat game wouldn’t let any style stay laid for more than 3 hours!

4. Braids by default

If you really don’t want to be bothered with styling, get braids. If you’re in fear of your edges falling off, research some cute low manipulation styles that will last a weekend. If you are away for more than a week – weave or braid it up.

Needless to say – with the hair drama and my newly found ‘curlvival’ skills, I still had an amazing time in Cartagena!

 

This article was re-blogged from Everything Girls Love by the author.