Long haul hairstyles – how to arrive looking like you flew first class

Hair Romance x Batiste collaboration

These are my hair secrets to help you to arrive in style when you’re travelling long haul. I don’t often get to fly at the front of the plane, but these hairstyles and tips will have you exiting the airport looking like you flew first class.

Living in Australia, you get used to long haul flights. The shortest international flight is 3 hours to New Zealand – and it’s 7 hours+ to Asia. I’ve just returned home from England and it took 24 hours to get here via Singapore.

I’ve been travelling long haul flights for years now and I’ve tested so many ways to style my hair so that it looks like I was seated in the pointy section of the plane.

Here are my tips for what I’ve found works so you can start your trip with great hair from take off.

Remember it can be a long time before you check in to your hotel and wash your hair, so you need to plan ahead.

What to pack

With airline restrictions, you can’t carry any liquids or creams over 100ml on board. I check in any larger products and carry miniatures of my must haves in my hand luggage.

For inflight styling, I keep it minimal. I take off my makeup, moisturise my skin and then put my hair up.

When it comes time for landing, it only takes me a few minutes to be ready. My secret is dry shampoo. I can’t live without it!

The Batiste minis are perfect for travel, but I even keep one in my handbag at home for my day-to-day styling.

A quick spritz and my flat hair is bouncing back.

How I style my hair when I fly

I like to keep it pretty simple when I fly and choose hairstyles that work double time. They look good when you’re wearing them and your hair is great when you wear it down after the flight.

Three things you should never do

1. Too tight

I love a sleek style, but anything that’s too tight would be really uncomfortable when you fly, especially long haul. Save the stress on your scalp and chose a hairstyle that’s looser and more comfortable.

2. Plain ponytails

A ponytail is fast to do, but they are the worst style when you’re flying. Sometimes a high ponytail can work, but I find it pulls on my scalp after a few hours in the air. A mid ponytail is the most uncomfortable hairstyle to fly with; it stops you resting your head back and relaxing in your seat. A low ponytail can be okay, but I find that my hair gets in the way. Your hair is also more likely to get tangled and knotted when it’s sitting on your shoulders and down your neck for that long.

3. Too perfect

If your hairstyle needs a perfect finish, you’re setting yourself up for a tough landing. Flying could be fun, but it’s not that comfortable to sit and sleep on a jet for a whole day. Choosing a looser style helps hide the kinks of your bed head as you wake up in your seat.

Three hairstyles I love for flying

Before I fly I like to wash and blowdry my hair. I know I can get more mileage out of a smoother style and arrive looking like I flew first class.

By getting some of the frizz under control before I fly, I know I’ll be able to manage it better when I arrive.

A tip for smooth blowdrys: Batiste Heat and Shine Spray helps lock the style in your hair before you fly. It’s humidity resistant and makes sure your hair will last the distance. If you know you’re prone to a lot of frizz, the Batiste Frizz Tamer spray adds in that extra level of protection.

1. The loose top knot

I usually board the plane with my hair out, freshly blowdried, and as I get comfortable in my seat I pop my hair up into a loose top knot. Similar to the way I clip my hair up to sleep at night, I put my hair up on the plane in to a loose twist and then get cosy.

When the captain announces that it’s almost time to start the descent, I pop into the bathroom and let down my hair, give it a spritz with dry shampoo and brush it through. My hair still has so much volume and I’m ready to bounce off the flight.

2. The Half French Braid

This style is the best of both worlds. It keeps my hair back and off my face, but it’s comfortable enough to wear all day.

Make a loose French braid, taking in only about four or five sections, and secure it with elastic below the occipital bone at the back of your head.

This hairstyle is best suited to medium-length hair. The braid detail helps hide any frizz that forms as you’re sleeping in your seat.

When you get ready for landing, add in a little spritz of dry shampoo, brush it through and quickly redo your hair. The braid helps hide any kinks that have happened in your hair during the flight and looks effortless when you land.

3. The Dutch side braid

This braid sweeps your hair off the back of your head and almost creates a little cushion at the side for you to sleep on. Keeping the sections big makes the braid loose and more comfortable to wear without it pulling on any hair.

This style is ideal for long hair as it keeps all of your hair together and out of the way. There’s a bonus with this style: if you want to take your hair out when you land, you’ll be left with beautiful soft waves. Just freshen your roots with dry shampoo, loosely brush it through with your fingers and you’re ready to go.

I tend to mix and match between these styles depending on how long the flight is and where I’m headed. The Dutch side braid is ideal for when you’re flying from winter to summer as it will help control any humidity-related frizz when you land.

They say the best cure for holiday blues is to plan another holiday, so tell me where are you off to next and what are your tips for flying in style?

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