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My wife had a short haircut during here Camino in 2013 , it worked ok .
And as stated there are hairdryers in many albergues .
Wish you well , Peter .
That's so true .At least it is lighter than the Rice Cooker!
Robo, you are a gem of a husband.I’ll be carrying a tiny one for my wife next year. About 200 Gms.
She catches cold with wet hair......
At least it is lighter than the Rice Cooker!Long story.....
Only some will fry. Most hairdryers I see on the US shelves these days, especially the smaller ones marked for travel, have a small switch to shift from 60V/120AC to 50V/220AC. Then all you need is a plug adapter to fit the European wall sockets.consider that the hair dryer must be 220 VAC, 50 Hertz. Hair dryers brought from North America will fry.
My wife and I walked the Camino Frances in 2015. It took us 35 days. My wife took her travel hair drier (110V/240V) along and afterwards said she was glad she did. And I think so were numerous other ladies along the Camino who borrowed it from her. Every single albergue that we stayed in had suitable outlets, so she never had a problem there. My personal view is that the whole weight discussion/issue is way overblown. Take what you want and forget about the weight. You are not walking in the wilderness, loaded down with food and other survival gear. You walk for a number of hours per day and rest for the rest of the time or whenever you want to. So, the "extra" weight of a small hair drier is not going to make a difference.hi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
And if one person has a hair dryer, everyone will want to use it to dry shoes, socks, and clothes. That's when the cost escalates.please consider that blow dryers use an enormous amount of energy, and Spain has the highest-priced electricity in Europe. Someone´s going to pay the bill for your "luxury item."
This makes me really glad I've never brought a hair dryer on the Camino! I usually don't mind sharing things, but by the time a "multi purpose" hair dryer makes the rounds, you may never get it back. Well, I guess you would after all as no one else will want to carry it in their pack!And if one person has a hair dryer, everyone will want to use it to dry shoes, socks, and clothes. That's when the cost escalates.
hi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
... Frankly, if you want a hairdryer, don't worry about what anyone else says, if it is something important to you, then what does it matter what anyone else thinks or says.
Although I never saw one in several months as hospitalero, I can believe it—since I saw all sorts of other things. Air mattresses, sleep sacks, shoes, clothing, electronics, sleeping bags, notebooks, …There are actually hairdryers in many albergues - left by pilgrims who didn't want to carry them...
Ha!Although I never saw one in several months as hospitalero, I can believe it—since I saw all sorts of other things. Air mattresses, sleep sacks, shoes, clothing, electronics, sleeping bags, notebooks, …
wow, thanks so very much everyone for your thoughts - what a wonderful community! So looking forward to being on the walk and meeting some fellow pilgrims! Love and Gratitude xhi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
Not a wilderness walk! take those things you think you need! In Santiago people leave behind liquids that cant travel in the cabin, so for many years I have showered in a kingly manner for the last few days .My wife and I walked the Camino Frances in 2015. It took us 35 days. My wife took her travel hair drier (110V/240V) along and afterwards said she was glad she did. And I think so were numerous other ladies along the Camino who borrowed it from her. Every single albergue that we stayed in had suitable outlets, so she never had a problem there. My personal view is that the whole weight discussion/issue is way overblown. Take what you want and forget about the weight. You are not walking in the wilderness, loaded down with food and other survival gear. You walk for a number of hours per day and rest for the rest of the time or whenever you want to. So, the "extra" weight of a small hair drier is not going to make a difference.
I have to chuckle at all the websites and videos offering advice on how to "travel light"—what to pack and what to leave at home. I always feel like saying out loud, "People! ANY country that has an airport has a place you can buy toothpaste!" (And probably at a lower cost than at home.)I throw away old items as I walk and buy bits and pieces from markets, keeps the weight down and feeds the local economy.
Truth.Ounces equal pounds..pounds equal pain.
Oh dear...Somewhere in a remote wilderness, miles from civilisation and electric power and where there may be one or two other parties sharing a campsite, one of us will ask in a loud voice if anyone wants to borrow a hair drier . The looks of delight and expectation followed by the realisation that it is a joke are priceless .
@Mark Barnes, I can't help but think a hair dryer would be very useful in drying out your fluffy beard on the Camino!I met a guy who had a small hair dyer on the Camino Frances this past October. He was bald and had the dyer to dry clothes. This seemed like a great idea as that time of year nothing was drying overnight.
please consider that blow dryers use an enormous amount of energy
Your hair will dry and a dryer is a luxury to be left behind. If you have very long hair consider cutting it shorter to dry quicker.hi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
Now, if someone could but invent a lightweight solar powered hairdryer that doubles as a rice cooker and coil immersion heater.....
A great invention indeed and @Robo would be the first one in line to purchase one for his wife.Now, if someone could but invent a lightweight solar powered hairdryer that doubles as a rice cooker and coil immersion heater.....
It would have been, but I already was carrying many items I did not need and should not have brought. Live and learn.@Mark Barnes, I can't help but think a hair dryer would be very useful in drying out your fluffy beard on the Camino!
Now, if someone could but invent a lightweight solar powered hairdryer that doubles as a rice cooker and coil immersion heater.....
Yes, I've been known to do that, too.Confession: In hotels where the room comes with a blow dryer-- I use the blow dryer to dry my socks.
hi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
Well, I look for beauty everywhere, but it's true that honesty is more important—everywhere, not just on the Camino. And, Monique, I am 63 years old and I don't remember ever meeting a woman who needs make-up.When you are on camino appearance means nothing, no one looks for beauty, only for honesty. Leave it.
hi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
wow, thanks so very much everyone for your thoughts - what a wonderful community! So looking forward to being on the walk and meeting some fellow pilgrims! Love and Gratitude x
I brought two luxury items in my 8 kilo backpack: a Braun dual voltage travel hair dryer and an electric toothbrush. I would take them again. The hairdryer was also used to spot dry the wet, rinsed out sheet after an ‘body accident’. We stayed in a hostel because my husband had bowel trouble, the hairdryer came in handy.
Wishing you a pleasant Camino.
hi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
If you are staying in donativo albergues, please consider that blow dryers use an enormous amount of energy, and Spain has the highest-priced electricity in Europe. Someone´s going to pay the bill for your "luxury item."
As for "luxury items," the Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage, an opportunity to shed all the extras, to experience the freedom of living without all the doodads we feel are so essential to our lives. Please, just try it for a little while. If you really must have a hair dryer, buy one in Spain.
Walking a Camino gives male pilgrims the opportunity to see what they'd look like growing a beard.One can donate a bit more if using a hair dryer in a donativo.....what about guys carrying electric shavers, all the electronics......I had just a phone to charge.
hi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Hi Monique, I am an expert on hair dryers on the Camino. There are some very small hair dryers that you can carry I even bought one and use it everyday at home. However after I packed my pack I realize I would be a lot more comfortable without the extra 8 oz. All you need to do is be creative.
number one you do not wash your hair everyday on the Camino. I have fine short hair and I found leaving my hair a little dirty for a few days made it look better and was better for my hair. And then many albergues and all hotels have a hair dryer. When I arrived at Albergue I would ask if they had a hair dryer sometimes just by pointing at my head and buzzing. And you would be surprised how many have them. One of the best lessons of the Camino is learning exactly what you need and how to be creative about finding lightweight alternatives. I'm a bit of a planner so I plan a hotel every few days and that's where I do that hair drying leg shaving cetera. By the way nobody will laugh when you ask for a hair dryer. In fact they smile approval when I returned it and I fluff my shiny hair and say I feel beautiful. So it's your Camino bring a hairdryer if you want but know you will be able to find them many places and don't forget your baseball cap. Which you should be wearing anyway because of the Sun. I start my 6th Camino May 8.
Monique
hi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
Hi, I will go CF from Pamplona fm the last week of March for 25-28 days. Thank MoniqueW to bring the issue of hairdryer here.
I think to bring a hairdryer or not, depends on what cold or hot month we go. Thanks for many suggestions here. For me, I will bring a 35l bag without a hairdryer and memorize ‘secador de pelo’ (thank t2andreo).
gronze.com provides very good info abt what services n equipment each albergue or hostel provides (such as kitchen, bar, blankets, towels, washer n dryer....BUT no mention of dryers). Hope gronze will add ‘hairdryer’ into the equipment list in future.
Thank you.
Mai
Most pilgrims shower when they finish walking for the day. Very few shower in the mornings. A hair dryer is unnecessary and heavy. Don't bring one.
Everyone showers when they finish the day. Most wash clothes by hand soon after. I don't know what people who stayed late into the mornings did with that time but everyone I walked with was out and walking by 7:00. There's no time for morning showers when you leave between 6-7:am. Fwiw - none of the women I walked with had hairdryers in their backpacks or showered in the morning. Maybe that's more of an age thing than a gender thing.Lol said like a true man LOL
Don't bring a North American hair dryer unless you want to buy and carry a heavy transformer. You see, in the Americas, we use 60Hz, 120 V. Europe uses 50Hz, 240 V. Electronics power supplies are designed to work on either, so they only need something to handle the difference in plug shape. Things that make light, heat, or motion need a voltage transformer, and the more power they need, the heavier the transformer. So if you need a hair dryer, buy it when you arrive.However if you feel the need to bring one with you and are from a country with different electrical plugs, I'd suggest buying a small travel hair dryer in the airport once you reach Spain since I blew out my favorite hair straightener during another European adventure even though I had the plug adapter.
I sat on my bed one night trying to sort out what weight I could lose and was trying to decide between a holy card and a brochure I wanted as a souvenir. Kept the holy card. No way would I carry a hairdryer.Let the Camino provide. The last thing you want to find yourself doing is sitting on a bed in an albergue somewhere with all your belongings set out so you can decide what to leave behind because you cannot continue walking with all that weight. It is a quick realization that the heaviest of items are the ones that we put the most importance in and in sometimes cases, we may use the least.
This is why it is imperative that the full pack is worn on a few all day hikes around town or on a nearby trail. It helps get the kinks out, adjust the pack, and what is in it, before the Camino.
I take the hair dryer it’s a dual purpose item drying hair and blisters but please leave the blender at homehi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
Everyone showers when they finish the day. Most wash clothes by hand soon after. I don't know what people who stayed late into the mornings did with that time but everyone I walked with was out and walking by 7:00. There's no time for morning showers when you leave between 6-7:am. Fwiw - none of the women I walked with had hairdryers in their backpacks or showered in the morning. Maybe that's more of an age thing than a gender thing.
Truly shocked at some of the posters who tell others to "just cut your hair". How rude!
To the OP, it is YOUR Camino, so don't let the judgemental posters get you down. Take what you want to take.
I’ll be carrying a tiny one for my wife next year. About 200 Gms.
She catches cold with wet hair......
At least it is lighter than the Rice Cooker!Long story.....
But the OP did ask for "Any thoughts/ guidance"Truly shocked at some of the posters who tell others to "just cut your hair". How rude!
To the OP, it is YOUR Camino, so don't let the judgemental posters get you down. Take what you want to take.
We walked the Frances in September/October. I carried a small (folding) dual voltage hairdryer - it weighed about 6 oz. - and it got a LOT of use, not just so I wouldn’t have to sleep with wet hair, but to dry socks, underwear and t-shirts on those days when the sun wasn’t hot enough to dry them, or we arrived too late at the albergue and there was nowhere left to hang wet clothes. It was well worth the extra few ounces.hi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
@Jodean, I doubt anyone was intending to be rude. I for one was simply sharing my own experience of how freeing it is to no longer have to deal with long hair, and encouraging an exploration of that. Whether people bring hairdriers (or not), or cut their hair (or not) is less important in the long run than what's going on in the heart.Truly shocked at some of the posters who tell others to "just cut your hair". How rude!
Bless you.Well, I look for beauty everywhere, but it's true that honesty is more important—everywhere, not just on the Camino. And, Monique, I am 63 years old and I don't remember ever meeting a woman who needs make-up.
Hi Moniquehi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
Your wife is probably very attached to her her hairdryer, so if it broke on your walk she'd have the quickest replacement ever!Hi Monique
I'm not sure how or why this happened but my wife took 2 hairdriers on our recent 180km walk from Le Puy! It was a magical trip, even with the little extra weight that I often carried.
Did the Camino in autumn , most girls had a small portable hair dryer , else it would take a long time to dry and they would have got head cold ,I'm not sure about summer timehi there, new to the Forum, we are starting the walk in late March 2018, very excited about it! Have been looking around the forum, and only saw some old topics about hair dryers, so wondering what the thoughts are today. Not sure whether to take a travel one or not - not to style my hair, but to avoid having wet hair for too long? Appreciate any thoughts / guidance?
Monique
last week of March for 25-28 days
depends on what cold or hot month we go.
The weather in March/April will be mild , could be cold and hopefully before the spring rain
It will not be hot.
The hairdryer situation in the alberques is not good unless you get the more upmarket private ones which do not cost much more.
And please Mai do not start the dryer early as the bathrooms are beside beds in many cases.
Hmmm, I find I am agreeing with both views on the subject of hair dryers...how can that be? I personally did not bring one and it felt very freeing to let my hair be natural for those weeks, especially since wearing a hat most of the time anyway.
On the other hand, when I stayed in hotels a few times and used the hair dryers provided, I smiled because a more attractive gal was looking back at me in the mirror!
Well no hassles, bring it then!But this is not about looking good! For me my hair never dries if its cold like it probably is in middle march, and thats the only reason why I also is thinking about bringing the hair dryer with me, 300 grams is it´s weight, I also always wear something like a hat on my head so for me it´s definitly not to look good, its for the hair to dry so I won´t be freezing!!
Well no hassles, bring it then!
Yes, you are walking earlier in the year than I do. I can see why you are more concerned about having wet hair.But this is not about looking good! For me my hair never dries if its cold like it probably is in middle march, and thats the only reason why I also is thinking about bringing the hair dryer with me, 300 grams is it´s weight, I also always wear something like a hat on my head so for me it´s definitly not to look good, its for the hair to dry so I won´t be freezing!!
I don’t quite understand this. Do you shower and wash hair in the morning before walking? That would be unusual. If it’s after you arrive, why would you be freezing? If it’s not hot and sweaty, you’re not washing your hair all the time anyway? Of course, you should do what you want. I’ve never considered carrying a dryer on any trip.
Completely understand as I have the same problem. I have that crazy in between hair, on a daily basis its not quite sure if it’s curly or straight but at it’s roots its stubbornly grey over this young face. Although 50 she is long in length and takes a long time to dry. I dont feel the need to cut it so I will do the best I can. No need for dirty hair. I think brading , good buff and using a detangler product with a leave in conditioner will help.....errr i hope .Hahaha, well, no I don´t wash my hair in the morning, I used to be sweaty even if its cold outside...If I wash my hair here at home and don´t dry it with a hair dryer and then it´s not dry next morning....but anyway can´t help my self laughing it seems so silly to even bother to explain....I have now taken the decision not to bring it....wow it will be to much to carry on, I believe, so dirty hair or wet hair, that´s the question :-D
buen Camino, and thanks for your thoughts ;-)
Completely understand as I have the same problem. I have that crazy in between hair, on a daily basis its not quite sure if it’s curly or straight but at it’s roots its stubbornly grey over this young face. Although 50 she is long in length and takes a long time to dry. I dont feel the need to cut it so I will do the best I can. No need for dirty hair. I think brading , good buff and using a detangler product with a leave in conditioner will help.....errr i hope .
If that doesnt work at some point she will be relaxed in a chair getting groom and pampered. .
Treat yourself yesssss... Buen Camino to you too!relaxing in a chair getting groomed sunds just awsome Well we just have to deal with it I´m not keen on cutting my hair either buen Camino!!
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