Hi Wrapunzelers!
I have been on the road a lot this summer. And while packing for road trips, vacations, and extended trips has been discussed often on the Wrapunzel blog, what-to-wear while traveling hasn’t been as frequently mentioned.
I primarily find myself sitting in a car for 3-6 hours. Unfortunately, due to my current stage of life we tend to also spend every 45 minutes trying to find someone a bathroom. My tichel needs to hold up to some fairly high standards: I want to comfortably sleep in the passenger seat, but I also need to either remain in pristine condition or become presentable in a manner of seconds in order to rush someone into a random restaurant in the middle of no-where’s-ville US.
So, here are some of my tricks and tips.
- Buy one of those plane neck pillows. (Just trust me, you’ll want it in the car!) Then stick it around your neck when you are initially making your ponytail/bun and tying your tichel at home. I know, it looks dorky, but you are just leaving it on for a manner of minutes and then putting it somewhere where you can easily access it in the car. This will guarantee that your bun isn’t located in a position that it winds up squashed at the nape of your neck. During the trip, you can nap just that much more comfortably.
- I love sashes and headbands and gorgeous clips (I’ve never been a pin girl), but I leave them in my luggage during the traveling part of a trip. Pins, clips, and metal headbands are too “pokey” to wear for extended time, and an elastic headband can become viselike if there are too many things at the nape of your neck.
- I prefer to wear two 2 in 1s in a single braid. That particular tie looks nice, holds up to either air conditioning, heating, or rolled down windows, and doesn’t feel “heavy” (a thick tailed pashmina can make you overheat). When I’m in the car relaxing I take my braid and unfasten it so that it’s gently lying on my side. When I have to leave the car, I quickly lift it up around my scrunchy (or volumizer if you use one – most ladies like to take the volume down a notch in the car) and tuck in the ends. Why don’t I just leave my braid down? Well, going back to “particular stage of life” comment, I tend to find that an unpinned braid acts as a bell pull for my energetic youngest. If this does not apply to you, then feel free to never pin your braid up, but I spend a ridiculous amount of car time helping children in public restrooms. It just doesn’t work for me.
- Figure out which is your “napping side”. Most people don’t sleep in the car with their heads sticking straight ahead. The chances are that you lean your head towards your shoulder while sleeping. Figure out what side you tend to lean on, and then tie your tichel so that the braid will drape on the OPPOSITE side.
Happy road trip!
Love,
Tamar Adina
The Wrapunzel Blog 
Thank you, Tamar, these are very good tips! The problems are more or less the same, when you are sitting for a longer time in a plane or minibus etc. My hijab was always in danger when travelling and helping my girl on all those toilets… Yours is a very good way to cope with that 🙂
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Tamar Adina, I have learned a lot too since we drive cross country between Maine and Albuquerque, NM as well as to my parents in the San Francisco Bay Area. My husband loves to be on the road no later than 4 am which means, quickly getting ready and then trying to sleep in the passenger seat of the cargo van. The seat doesn’t go backwards due to the metal behind the seats to keep stuff from flying in case of a quick stop. We don’t have kids, but we do have a small dog who also needs lots of potty stops, meaning instead of dealing with bathrooms, it is walking all over various parks or rest stops or truck stops.
I love the idea of using the neck pillow for getting my tichel on. Usually, I don’t get to it until getting into the van. And, yes, I have had problem with bun too low. Also, need to watch for knots behind my neck as they can cause problems, too. I use a lot if the Israeli tichels or one 2in1. I don’t have time to mess with trying to get more than one on my head. And half the time, I need to redo it in the van while my husband drives. Since the cargo van is like a work truck it is very high off the ground meaning, I need a handle to help get in and out. So, I am more worried about my skirts not sliding up and ruining my attempts to remain modest. I do admit, that sometimes, I have even worn slacks with a tunic top to keep from getting into embarrassing situations.
So, our next trip back to Albuquerque in mid-October, I will use some of your ideas. Thank you.
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Great tips! For me, I find that braiding my hair (quite long) and then pinning it/holding it around my head like a crown is best for travel- it eliminates the bump at the nape of the neck issue entirely. Then I usually just go with something along the lines of a regal wrap- simple, but comfortable. The tails wrapped around the head give me some pillowing if I get the chance to lean my head against the window and take a nap (nearly never, these days, with a baby as a traveling companion, but as a once-and-future experience).
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I plan to head over to the pharmacy across the street tomorrow, if not tonight, to make this purchase. Sometimes the load on the back of my head gets so out of place and heavy I could fall over backwards. Hope this helps solve that problem! AND I can use it on the plane, too.
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I like the wraps with a braid or tails hanging to one side, but I will always end up tucking them in or throwing them over my head and securing them on the opposite side, because they tend to get in my way.
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