I was thinking about all the people who travel for a long period (think 4+ weeks) and started wondering about how some high maintenance things get taken care of on the road. Such as people who color their hair - how do you deal with roots growing out? Or fingernails - if you have those artificial nails (I can't remember what they are actually called) - don't they need to be filled every few weeks?
Anyway, I was just wondering how women "maintain" on the road?
OK, I'm having a hard time with this, Eli. Everytime I see your replies, I think of you and the song "Eli's Coming" by the Three Dog Night. Some of the lyrics planted in my mind are--Eli's Coming, hide your heart girl...
So, back to the question at hand. Unlike most south OC gals, like the ones you see on BRAVO, I don't have to massage my silicone boobs, don't have my eyebrows threaded and don't go in for my regular botox injections.
Eli - you're a girl! (where I live, Eli is a guy's name :-)
You can always pick up a box of Clairol or similar anywhere if you feel the need. Or pack one.
Nails? Dunno, I would think they'd be a liability when hauling luggage around. I also think there are salons everywhere these days that do nails - and hair too.
I'm still working on getting off the plane and NOT looking like I've been in a cat fight and haven't slept in 3 days.
I don't color my hair, although I was thinking about coloring it right before we leave...same color...I just have really oily hair and thought that might dry it out some so I don't have to wash it every day.
I usually have acrylic nails, but took them off for the summer. I've jammed a fake nail before and lost the whole natural nail...one of the most painful things I can remember...and I didn't want that happening on my trip. Yes, I agree that fake nails would be a pain...and possibly painful...on a long trip. I guess you could get a fill while you're there, and it would be an interesting experience...it's just not something I would want to take the time for.
One maintenance thing I do is wax. I usually do it every 3-4 weeks. Since I will be gone 24 days, I plan to wax a few days before leaving and I should be good.
Unless you are going to the "hinterlands", most cities have nail salons and beauty shops if it's that important to you.
I was wondering about this too. But for me, its not fake nails or my roots. I polish my finger nails because if I don't, I have a bad habit of biting or ripping them. My conundrum is if I pack a bottle of remover and polish. That sounds like too much work to be doing on my vacation, but my nails will be rather destroyed if I don't! I also paint my toenails, but just because I think it looks pretty, I don't bite those!
There are plenty of beauty salons available.
I need no hair maintenance since my hair is salt ^ pepper.....more salt probably and I blow dry it.
I have my hair cut shortly before departing on vacation. Our longest trip was 8 weeks and I really needed a cut when we returned.
We find when traveling that anything anyone needs is available.
LOL -- when I saw this headline, I immediately thought you meant, "How do you maintain your weight while traveling?"
:)
Well, as a plug for the female sex, I have been traveling with my wife for several years now. She is a typical girl and doesn't seem to panic during a six week trip...not high maintenance. Remember, Europe is often more "natural". Have fun!
Before I left to travel for a year I got rid of my acrylic nails. There are loads of nail salons in big cities & even small towns in Europe, but it's just something I did not
feel like dealing with...getting a refill & a polish every 10-14 days. On occassion I did stop to get a pedicure but at home I don't get those more than 1x a month & typically only in sandal weather. For my hair, I refuse to use a home color kit & do it myself for fear of not distributing color evenly. Again, European women have the same maintenance issues therefore, plenty of salons to fit every budget. I did not get a full blown haircut while away. I kept it simple with a few trims at a salon & even cut my own bangs a few times & pulled rest up in ponytail or bun. There are also places to get legs waxed if you are going to be away for awhile.
Andrea,
This situation affects men to some extent as well.
"I have my hair cut shortly before departing on vacation. Our longest trip was 8 weeks and I really needed a cut when we returned."
I was travelling for two months this time, and after about five weeks I really needed a hair cut! I finally had the time to take care of that when I reached Switzerland.
However, there was a "language issue", as the young lady in the Salon didn't speak any English. Fortunately, the Hotel that I was staying in was right next door, and the Desk Clerk kindly translated my wishes. The young lady in the Salon did an outstanding job!
Cheers!
Thanks a lot, MD! I was drinking a soda and when I read your post, I started laughing and spit my soda all over my keyboard!
In decent size cities, you should have no problem finding a place where someone speaks English to do your hair. There are nail salons everywhere too, for manicures or pedicures.
I get my eyebrows threaded at my local salon that happens to be Turkish. Can't bear plucking my eyebrows and threading is ten times faster and not near as painful. I was fascinated the first time I saw this done.
Be brave, and go to a salon over here.
(Walk - but you'll never get away, no you'll never get away from the burnin' a-heartache...)
Me too, Denise! (pardonnez-moi, Eli!)
While sometimes I think I really should do something about my, umm, 'maturing' hair, I don't really want to start down that path of constant maintenance. Perhaps one day I'll see something in the mirror to help me overcome my laziness! In the meantime, I'm trying to be brave and natural.
As for artificial nails, they can be filed down more thinly at the cuticle end so that when they grow out there isn't such an abrupt demarcation line. Bring some polish, and fill in the gap (or not - whichever looks better) if necessary.
For natural or artificial nails, I've found that a polish with a little bit of frost in it helps to deflect the light and hide chipped/flaked places. Lighter colors are usually better, too. If your gloves or socks flake a bit of polish off of the tip of your nail and you're wearing a strong, matte red polish, that missing corner of 'red' will really stand out. You can use an emory board to lightly file the loose edges and just paint over the missing polish. That way, you don't need to mess with remover (or you can bring the saturated pads). Of course, clear polish is the easiest.
Remember to leave room in your 3-1-1 bag for that polish and/or hair color from home..I go to Wal-Mart and buy those teeny-sized bottles of nail polish; I like them OK for a trip, and they fit much better in that (stupid!) 3-1-1 bag.
There are rinse products that you can use to temporarily hide a part line. They work well. If you get your hair done, just before you leave, you're generally okay, but the rinse works well in a pinch. Pam
Wow...I can't believe how many responses already!!!!!!
I don't have fake nails, and I don't even use nail polish (on my fingers anyway), because I wash my hands so often it starts coming off in a couple of days. I do color my hair, but haven't been on a trip long enough for it to matter. Yet! I was just curious what travelers do over a long period of time.
I'm not trying to exclude the guys, but I figured that their only maintenance need would be a haircut. If they do their nails I don't think they would announce it here... :-)
I am a girly girl and I have no issue maintaining anything whislt on vacation. Anything you can get in the states is readily accesible in Europe.
Any maintenance issue can be an opportunity for a cultural experience. Greet it as opening a new door to the country you are traveling in, and voila!, You will feel and look al la naturale as when you left home.
...I walked to Apollo by the bay
Everywhere I go though, Eli's a-comin' (she walked but she never got away)...
Girl(s), Eli's a-comin', you better hide!
As a young girl, I always hoped I'd have a song named 'after' me. Then it finally happened: UGH! Hated it before I even heard the lyrics! Bummer. I think I'm gonna adopt 'Eli's Coming'... 8^D
Eli, thanks for the indulgence!
(Mary) Eileen (yep - love the name, NOT the song)
Mary, Along Comes Mary is one of my favorite old songs. Why don't you adopt that one?
Wow, I never thought about what I would do with my hair if I was gone for more than four weeks. I hope I have that problem some day!
I just couldn't resist this topic, it's too fun! I wouldn't consider myself too high maintenance in general but I definitely do some 'primping' in my normal day-to-day life. Last summer we were in Europe for 3 weeks. I had my normal cut and highlights about a week before we left so I wouldn't be irritated with my hair (aside from humditiy and other factors!). I put a very neutral 'champange' toenail polish on the night before we left knowing that if it chipped or faded it would still look okay (which it totally did!). I have a small, travel sized flat iron that I take, and other than that it's just he normal stuff... shave your legs every now and then, put on a little makeup when you want, etc.
We're off to Spain in a few weeks and I'm doing the exact same thing, and looking forward to it!
I've saw a dual voltage hair straightener at Target. It was tiny. I don't have ton of hair, but I can't imagine how long it would take to straighten my hair with that small thing. Maybe if someone had fairly straight hair to begin with it would work okay. My hair is curly...and not in a nice way. Nevertheless, I am not even bringing my hair dryer on my trip. I think all the places I'm staying have one. If I have to go without for a few days until the next place, so be it. Of course it is easy for me to say that now. When it comes down to it, if that happens I might just have to go hat shopping...and I hate wearing hats! :)
I get my highlights done right before I leave since I only have it done every 3 months I'm good to go. I don't take my own hair dryer because even though it is a travel one it takes up too much room in my carry on. I do miss it though as the ones in the hotels just don't do the job as well. Magellan's also has tiny flat irons.
I never used to do my nails. Way too hard on my hands and if I had a manicure, by the time I got to my car, it would already be ruined, LOL! Then I started seeing Solar nails on people and asked about them--no chipping, no popping off. Hmmm, I thought, they just might work for me. It took spending a day with a bunch of men at a hunt test (for dogs) and knowing I was later going out to dinner for me to finally take the plunge. That day I had my hair shampooed and blown out at a hair salon and then went next door to the nail salon and got my first Solar Nails. I just wanted to be feminine after hanging out with hunters and bird dogs all day. Now I get a fill every two weeks (and sometimes change my tip color from white to something funky if I am in the mood--for July 4th the tips were sparkly red and my toenails were sparkly blue) and a deluxe spa pedicure... Heaven! An adventure to look forward to indulging in the next time I am in Europe, too.
@Jo--are most of the nail salons there owned by Vietnamese immigrants like they are here? Just curious since you mentioned going to a Turkish salon for your threading.
For a bit of irony, I rarely wear makeup. Go figure, LOL!
I think it is divided between Viet Namese, Korean, Chinese, and Thai.
Had the best manicure in my life at the one in my neighborhood. It seriously lasted 3 weeks and I am hard on my nails. I think she had about 5 coats on it and I only touched it up once towards the end. Well worth the 25 euro.
My husband goes to the neighborhood Turkish barber too. So if you husbands need a trim, it is usually only 10 euro.
I get my hair and nails done right before I leave. My hair grows slowly so I don't worry much about it, as for my nails I do wear acrylics but they're active length and have never had a problem. I'm the owner of a nail salon plus a nail tech so if I did break one I'd just stop by a salon and get it fixed, I'm always curious about other salons and what services they offer compared to mine, so it would be an interesting stop in my journey.
my roots definitely show after 4 weeks and YES i do care. "tween times" stick you paint on covers them nicely. get it at beauty supply stores.
I get my streaks (or highlights and lowlights) done just before I go,, they are good for at least 2 months as I am not going way outside my natural root color. My nails I always clear coat with OPI Nail Envy, which I bring to redo every 4-5 days. Takes a few minutes while watching tv. at bedtime in hotel . Pedicure done right before I go , and that lasts usually 3-4 weeks, but I do attend to feet myself also.
That's fine James, as long as we also get a "Hunkiest Men of Rick's Travel Forum." Do I hear any volunteers to be a judge?
I'd like to volunteer to be a judge...although I'd probably give Rick, Karel and Simon extra points! Back to the original question: I get my hair cut the day before departure but I don't worry about my "silver highlights". I always have my acrylic nails short (aka functional) anyway so have those also done the day before departure. I use a light colored polish such as opi's Nomad's Dream so that the grow-out isn't quite as noticeable. I also take one of the tiny bottles of polish from Sally's filled with the same colored polish for touch-ups.
I think I'll just judge the men...and Yum to Karel and Simon (giggle).
