Curly Hair Travel Kit And Techniques From A Curly Traveller

I have curly hair. 

Real, genuine curly hair that I’ve had my whole entire life.

And despite the numbers of people who still – regularly – ask me if my curls are natural (someone literally asked me this week) – I can confirm that…

• perms did in fact go out of fashion in the 80s 
• yes, I did get horrendously bullied about my hair all the way through school and 
• no, I would not pay cash money to do this to myself. 

My hair does this all by itself.

Don’t get me wrong, now that I’ve finally learned how to manage and style my curly hair, I do love it now.

Despite the fact that having curly hair is a massive pain in the derrière a lot of the time, it has a mind of its own, requires constant upkeep and looks like a hurricane-ravaged hedge if I don’t give it enough attention – when I do look after my curls they are actually quite a cool feature.

I’ve been recognised at events, complimented by strangers in the street, and someone once told me my hair is ‘iconic’. 

I guess this makes me a curly hair expert now?

The challenges of curly hair travel

But as a frequent traveller, having curly hair is an extra challenge. 

Congratulations if you’re someone who can travel hand luggage only, but that’s something I’ll never be able to do.

With the number of different products I need to get my curly hair to behave, I simply can’t get everything into one small airline plastic bag, no matter how many small travel-sized bottles I buy (too many, clearly).

And then there are the environmental issues. Rain, dry heat, humidity, wind, dust, sand, sea water, chlorine… the list of things that will attack your curly hair while you’re travelling goes on and on.

Bald people don’t know how easy they have it. 

Not to mention the activities. Swimming, snorkelling, camping, hiking, sightseeing all day in the sun, skiing, zip-lining, anything that requires a hat or a helmet or a hair wash afterwards has to be carefully factored into the planning and scheduling. 

And then there’s the issue of safaris (which I do a lot of) – where you’re often limited to only 15kg of luggage and the solar power in many safari lodges can’t support a hairdryer. 

Honestly, if you travel with curly hair, you deserve a medal!

The Curly Girl method

Fellow curly girls (and guys?) looking for curly hair tips might like to know what my normal curly hair technique involves.  

I did experiment for a while with something called the Curly Girl Method – which involves strange things like ‘co-washing’ – washing with conditioner only – and ‘plopping’ – some sort of weird technique for scrunch-drying your hair. 

But I found it all too much of a faff, and not using shampoo left my hair dull and not properly clean. 

Besides, my very excellent specialist curly hairdresser doesn’t advocate it, so personally I think it’s just a fad.

My curly hair technique

So here’s what I do. Click the links to take you to the various products.

1. Wash my hair with curly hair shampoo and conditioner. I’ve tried loads of different brands, but I still like the original – John Frieda Frizz Ease. I use the Miraculous Recovery Shampoo and Deep Conditioner (which I use as a regular conditioner as my hair is very dry).

2. I comb the conditioner through with a wide comb. Never EVER brush your hair when it’s dry!

3. Squeeze out the excess water: but don’t towel dry it. 

4. Add 6-7 pumps of serum: again, John Frieda Frizz Ease Extra Strength. I only put it through the front where I get lots of frizz around my hairline. 

5.  The magic step: 2-3 pumps of TIGI Curls Rock Amplifier. This stuff is the G.O.A.T. for curl definition without crispiness. I rake this liberally through my hair with my fingers, all the way from roots to tips, making sure every strand is coated. Then I tip my head upside down and scrunch. 

6. Blow dry, with my head upside down, using a hairdryer with diffuser attachment. I use the hottest/fastest setting because it’s quicker and I haven’t noticed much difference if I use other settings.

The hairdryer I have at home is this one – it’s not the fanciest or most expensive but it does the job. However if you do want to splash out, I once used the amazing Dyson Supersonic and it really did give amazing results.

7. Style with wet fingers. Drying upside down gives lots of lovely lift and bounce at the roots, but it does make my hair fall in strange directions.

So once it’s mostly dry-ish, I use wet hands and a small splodge of Umberto Giannini Curl Jelly Scrunching Jelly to arrange the curls slightly less chaotically with my parting in the right place. Then, standing upright this time, I give it a quick final blast with the hairdryer at the roots to set it in position.

8. I let it finish drying naturally, and once it’s fully dry, I scrunch and tousle it with my hands to break up any crispy curls and make it soft and natural. 

9. At night, I sleep with it in a simple ponytail. I just use regular snag-free hairbands and I use a silk pillowcase to prevent frizz. I tried various sleep turbans and the like but they kept coming off (and also I think they look silly). 

10. For Day Two and beyond, I wet my hands and rake them through to fix kinks where I’ve had it tied back. Sometimes I’ll add a little bit of extra serum or curl jelly to fix frizz. Then I let it dry naturally (or give it a very quick blast) and scrunch out any crispiness as necessary. 

Top tips for curly hair

If you’re new to embracing the curl, or the parent of a curly child, here are my top five golden rules that I wish I (or my mum!) had known from birth.

1. NEVER brush it when it’s dry! Brushing or combing curly hair when dry is the WORST thing you can do. Only ever comb it with a wide toothed comb when wet – and ideally with conditioner in.

2. Try not to touch or play with it too much when it’s dry. 

3. Put products in when it’s wet to lock in the moisture. 

4. Serums and curl creams are best. Jellies and mousses tend to dry crispy so use sparingly.

5. Use a diffuser and dry upside down for maximum lift and bounce.

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My curly hair travel tips

As you can see, all this faffing makes travelling with curly hair a challenge. But it’s doable!

I still follow exactly the same steps – but I decant everything I’m going to need into small travel bottles (I like these ones as they are easy to refill and don’t leak). So I know what’s in which one, I simply mark the outside with a sharpie.

Unfortunately I simply cannot use the shampoo and conditioner that they supply in hotels – it’s always completely rubbish for curly hair.

The only exception is when there’s conditioner supplied – that stuff is never good enough to use as a proper conditioner, but it can be useful to rake through dry ends as a leave-in conditioner when you’re hair’s feeling dehydrated (such as when you’ve been out all day in the sun).

Do you need a curly hair diffuser?

Unfortunately, despite me complaining loudly about it, almost no hotel I have ever stayed in has supplied a diffuser with the hairdryer.

Plenty of times they give you that skinny nozzle for straight-haired people, but in all my many years of travel, I’ve only ever seen a diffuser three times. THREE! Yes, I’ve been counting. It’s discrimination!

Interestingly, two of the three times were in the same hotel chain in Guatemala, so kudos to them!

So unless I’m going on safari where I know a hairdryer is banned, I always pack a travel diffuser.

If I have room in my luggage, I pack a small travel hairdryer with a diffuser. 

Or, if I know I’ll be staying in hotels where a decent hairdryer is provided, I’ll pack my universal diffuser attachment. 

I used to have a collapsible one which was OK. It was cheap and light and packed down well but it didn’t fit every hairdryer and it fell apart quite quickly.

Now I have this more solid one – it does weigh more and take up more space but it seems to fit more hairdryers and is less flimsy.

However it’s still not 100% universal, and it does sometimes fall off. But I have yet to find a better one. Any designers reading this – please help! I’m sure it’s possible to do better! 

How to travel with curly hair 

As you can see, my hair is quite long – and often gets in the way when I’m travelling. For hiking, sightseeing and photography it can be very annoying, especially on humid, windy or rainy days. 

So I recommend a very simple solution – tie it back in a ponytail or clip. I’ve tried various types of hairband or scrunchie but I don’t think they make much difference, so I buy these snag-free ones because they last well, don’t go loose too quickly, and are cheap so it doesn’t matter when I lose them. I have several in every bag and usually one on my wrist too!

When my hair is up I always get frizzy flyaways around my hairline, especially at the sides. I find smoothing them with this hair finishing stick (like clear mascara but for your hair) helps.

In hot, sunny countries, especially if you’re on safari, hiking or outdoors a lot, you’ll need a hat.

I usually wear a baseball cap so I can feed my ponytail through the hole. I recommend finding one with a stretchy band or a slider. The baseball caps with Velcro or those plastic press-stud adjusters are terrible as your hair will just get caught.

If you want to look smarter, I recommend a packable sun hat. I suggest buying a size slightly too big so your hair doesn’t end up too squished and flat (of course that will still happen, but it’s somewhat reduced). But as a general rule, once the hat is on, it has to stay on for the entire day! 

I like this little magnetic hat clip that you can attach your hat to if you don’t want to wear it.

I also quite like these sun visors with a ponytail hole for sun protection without messing your hair up too much.

If I’m going out in the evening, obviously I need to make time to go back to the hotel and refresh my hair using the water / curl jelly / scrunching method mentioned above.

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What’s in my curly hair travel kit

Here’s a handy list of all the hair-related products I have for travelling. I don’t take all of them every time – obviously it depends where I’m going and what I’ll be doing. 

You can find the full list – plus some bonus useful travel products that I recommend for all travellers – at my Amazon storefront here.

• Travel diffuser – essential for not having limp, flat, lifeless curls on the go, and for not having to walk around with wet hair in cold climates.
• Travel hairdryer – more reliable than hoping your travel diffuser will fit, and often much better than some of the terrible hairdryers that are supplied in hotels. Get one that has an adjustable voltage for different countries’ electricity supplies.
• TIGI Curls Rock Amplifier – my holy grail product for definition without crunch – light, effective, and reliable in all climates.
• John Frieda Frizz Ease Serum – tames flyaways and adds shine.
• Hair finishing stick – to smooth that frizz halo.
• Mini bottles to decant into – saves space and meets airline liquid restrictions while letting you bring your favourite shampoo, conditioner, and curly hair products.
• Clear plastic wash bag – makes it easier to find what you need fast, especially in tight or dark hotel bathrooms.
• Hair bands – for tying hair back when you’re active or just want it out of your face – absolute must.
• Baseball cap – practical sun protection with a ponytail hole that fits curly hair comfortably.
• A satin-lined beanie – great for cold weather or bad hair days, and the satin lining helps prevent frizz.
• Foldable straw sunhat – for when a baseball cap just isn’t stylish enough.
• Magnetic hat clip – to attach your hat to your bag when you’re not wearing it.
• Wide headband or scarf – for looking stylish even on really bad hair days.

And there you have it! I hope you’ve found my curly hair tips helpful. Feel free to get in touch via social media if you have questions or simply to commiserate on the trauma of growing up with curly hair!

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Where to next?

If you liked this post, why not try some of my other tips and reviews?

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