Women won't cycle because of concerns about 'helmet hair'

[Origamist]

Over a quarter - 27 per cent - of women aged 18 to 34 were concerned about "helmet hair", where their carefully styled tresses are ruined by wearing a helmet, while 19 per cent did not want colleagues to see them without make-up.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...le-because-of-concerns-about-helmet-hair.html

 

[PrettyboyTim]

I don't think my Wife would physically be able to fit her afro into a helmet...

 

[Trillian]

my girlfriend's only gripe with her helmet is that it sits lopsided on her head and wobbles round a bit!

i'll admit to avoiding certain hair styles due to the practicality of having a helmet on so no spikey hair but can do a tufty messed up look, sometimes just wearing the helmet on a morning does the work for me!

used to have really long hair to keep my ears warm in winter but it got chopped

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

Yup - that makes sense to me. The girls at my office are "no way" when it comes to cycling and it is because of their hair/clothes/make up. Although I have to admit we have NO facilities whatsoever to help out there.

No shower, nowhere at all to put clean clothes and more importantly nowhere to dry off wet clothes when you get here.

I wonder if we had a shower and a locker room would there be more people saying "okay" to it?

I am the ONLY person who cycles to this office and there are 85 of us and we all live within a 5-10 mile radius of the office too!

 

[BentMikey]

Easy, don't wear a helmet, then you don't get helmet hair.

 

[nilling]

Is 'helmet hair' the reason why some women wear a helmet perched on the back of their head, thus rendering it useless

 

[Origamist]

Easy, don't wear a helmet, then you don't get helmet hair.

That's just the silly newspaper headline. Apart from the gender imbalance, the most worrying figures are:

"The YouGov study found that 53 per cent of all women were concerned about safety on a bike, while 42 per cent said they lacked the confidence and necessary skill to cycle on the road. "

These perceptions are the true problem.

 

[Willow]

I work in a school and am lucky enough to have showers though I have to use the gents (ladies not working - only found out becuase I was the first one to use it in 5 years!). I keep a travel hairdryer (along with a pair of shoes and sundry toiletries) in my filing cabinet so can deal with hair when I get here. So far only cycling twice a week though I think I could have managed a 3 times this week if I'd bought the bike today. Next year when both boys in senior school it will be 5 times . In my younger days I worked in an office with no shower and practically bathed in the sink mind you I don't think helmets existed then.

 

[jassy-x]

I wonder if we had a shower and a locker room would there be more people saying "okay" to it?

I am the ONLY person who cycles to this office and there are 85 of us and we all live within a 5-10 mile radius of the office too!

.....my company built our new facility 3 years ago which includes a Gym, showers, changing area and lockers.....and out of a workforce of around 500, I am one of only two regular cyclists (there are also a couple or fair weather guys who make the odd appearance....which hasn't been often this summer.!!!)....
....even the modern high-tech gym, in which I use every lunchtime is greatly under utilised.......most of the girls in the office say they would use it if they had more time to dry/fix their hair etc....not an excuse a lot of the guys could use, but I don't see many of them in there either...
....it does seem a waste of good facilities...but hey, it's not holding me and the few others back from taking advantage....

 

[Bodhbh]

Didn't someone post a couple of months back that some researcher discovered wearing a longhaired wig was safer than wearing a helmet?

(i.e. drivers give you a wider birth, both as a helmetless rider and as a woman).

 

[GrahamG]

I am the ONLY person who cycles to this office and there are 85 of us and we all live within a 5-10 mile radius of the office too!

That's just called 'working in Birmingham'.

 

[summerdays]

I think that possibly some are put off by helmet hair/not looking their best, but that the more over-riding factor would be safety. Women I think are generally more cautious, less risk takeing; put them on a bike (without training), and they hug the kerb, cycle up the inside of lorries in order to keep them selves "safe". All the wrong things to do.

I think they need training, route help etc. Also quite a few aren't keen on getting lyrca'd up. What we could do with is more cycling in normal clothes, rather than it being seen as a sport. Does someone want to start taking photos of nice women in the UK cycling similar to the Copenhague ones?

I saw a lady on the Gloucester road cycling in heels the other day. I complimented her in them, but said I couldn't do it - but it doesn't make it wrong as a way to get about town. Same as me and my flip flops - I like them so why not wear them.

 

[goo_mason]

I think these days that there are far more blokes who're worried about helmet hair, since they're all spending silly money getting haircuts that look like they've been dragged backwards through a vat of lard !

 

[Sittingduck]

Does someone want to start taking photos of nice women in the UK cycling similar to the Copenhague ones?

Sounds like a dangerous but enjoyable mission

 

[Flyingfox]

I must admit I only started cycling into work when a shower was installed. I keep a towel, toiletries, hairdryer and makeup at work so I don't have to carry them in on days that I cycle. I also am lucky enough to have low maintenance hair.

I'm in agreement with Summerdays, most people (men and women) I know won't cycle to work due to safety concerns.