How to wear headphones without messing up your hair?

Messy headphone hair, one of the dreaded consequences of wearing headphones for hours on end. You could wear earphones, but that would mean lower sound quality.

What’s a guy (or girl) to do? And, yes, it’s the 21st century, us men are allowed to care about our hair, and yes, ladies, you need to share some of your secrets every now and then.

How to wear headphones without messing up your hair?

If you don’t want to change your hairstyle, you can opt to throw your headphone band back a bit, or even all the way down to your neck, you could also pass your hair on top of the headphones’ head rest. If you don’t mind changing your hairstyle, wear hair ties, or a headband to mask the problem.

That being said, just getting your shape back isn’t always the only issue with headphone hair; let’s have a look at everything else that could be happening, and that could help you wear your headphones without messing up your locks.

How to reform a headphone hair dent

You can actually do a few things to reform the mess your headphones have made to your hair, and to get it back into shape.

Alternatively, prevention is better than cure. Luckily, none of these suggestions involve a buzzcut.

●      Drop your headphone band either to the back of your head or on your neck

This is the best answer for how to wear headphones without ruining your hair and works for most people.

By taking the headphone band off the top of your head, you’re taking the pressure off. This sample little trick often solves the problem.

●      Wear a cap to stop that infamous headphone hair dent

While this will sort out your headphone hair, it might cause new issues if you don’t normally wear a hat. Choose an option that fits your lifestyle.

●      Loosen your headphone band if it’s adjustable

By loosening your band, you’re basically relying on the grip to keep your headphones on your ears.

This usually works, but it can slide down from time to time. If you’re desperate to keep your hair neat for an event or party, this can definitely help, but I won’t say it’s a long-term solution.

●      Tie your hair up if it’s long enough

This will keep the top of your hair tight, leaving no room for dented hair. It will, however, give you hair tie marks in your hair. Replacing one devil for another.

●      Wet your hair a bit when you’re done wearing your headphones to get the natural shape back

This is a foolproof hair reform method. If you spray a bit of water all over, give it a ruffle, it will be back to normal once dry.

Just make sure you use filtered water because hard water can actually lead to hair loss. 

The calcium and magnesium present in hard water build-up and can damage your hair follicles, lead to dandruff, dryness, and eventually. Hair loss.

●      Style your hair with hair products each time you take off your headphones

While this will definitely fix your hair problem, excessive hair products that cling to your headphones can cause problems like blackheads.

The chemicals in wax and other products just aren’t great for your skin. If you can’t find any solution to your headphone hair issue other than this, just make sure you clean them regularly.

Which brings me to my next point…

Do headphones cause hair thinning?

Headphones won’t thin your hair. No matter how often you use them, it’s never going to be enough to cause hair loss. However, if you don’t look after your headphones, any tears in the material can catch your hair and accidentally pull them out.

If you’re worried about headphones causing hair loss, opt for the following:

• Make sure you get very comfortable headphones
• Get the lightest headphones available
• Wear your hair in the direction of your headphones
• Practice good headphone hygiene

And, finally, check out what else you can do to stop premature hair loss like changing your diet and talking to your doctor about medication side effects. And, one last common question – can headphones stop hair growth?

Headphones won’t stop hair growth. However, if you wear poorly fitted headphones, either too tight or too loose, they can make it more difficult for your hair follicles to push out the hair. This can lead to ingrown hairs and other issues.

Can you wear headphones with wet hair?

I’m guilty of this, even after a shower I’ll have my headphones back on, water still dripping from my hair.

Of course, I try to keep it away from my ear pads, but nothing has happened thus far. That leaves the question, can something actually happen to my headphones from damp hair?

Headphones are electrical, there is a current running through them, so if there is a short circuit, a surge or faulty wiring, wet hair could act as the perfect conductor. In addition, wet hair will damage your headband and ear pad material.

Needless to say, I’ll be changing my habits. Even the thought of damaging the material is enough motivation.

While I’m sure the voltage from the headphones wouldn’t be high enough to hurt me, any chance that your headphones can shock you is probably enough motivation for you too.

Do headphones make hair greasy

Short answer, no. Headphones have nothing to do with greasy hair. Your natural hair oil, or sebum, is produced by your sebaceous glands. While sebum is great for your hair, keeping it healthy and moisturized, an overproduction leads to a feeling of “dirty” hair.

Naturally, your hair isn’t really dirty; it just feels that way. This often means that people with oily hair tend to wash their hair daily.

One reason why people could associate headphones with oily hair is that the sebum ends up on the headphone ear pads.

You wear your headphones daily for a few hours; it’s only natural that the oil will transfer. We definitely don’t clean our headphones as often as we do our hair (even though we probably should).

How will oily hair affect headphones?

Oily hair is usually the worst affected by headphone hair. But, that isn’t an oily hair person’s only worry. Leather is a common ear pad and headband cover material.

Both leather and sebum are natural, and thus they can and will interact, leading to the breakdown of your leather pads.

Leather isn’t the only material to be worried about, the oil will soak into anything, and after a while, it can start to smell.

If you have oily hair, it is essential that you clean your headphones daily (even opt to give them a light wipe down multiple times a day) and then a deep clean weekly.

Unfortunately, this will happen to any material, but you can get replaceable pads every 3-6 months if need be.

They’re inexpensive and just make things easier. You can also use a dry shampoo to soak up the oil and keep it off your headphones.

As an added bonus, this should help you avoid dents in your hair, as it will be more springy.

In addition to this, play around with the shampoo you use. Your daily shampoo should never have added “oil”, and trust me; a lot of brands are going “natural”. You’d be amazed how many contain extra plant oils.

How to get rid of oily smell on headphone ear pads

Yeah, we all know that smell. The first time you get your headphones it’s like getting into a new car, but soon the kids are spilling drinks, you’ve taken the dog to the beach, and that smell is gone. The smell it is replaced with is anything but pleasant.

That’s kind of what happens to your headphones. You got them out of the box all squeaky clean and fresh; then they start soaking up sebum, sweat, hair products, cigarette smoke.

It sucks, but it’s life. How can we turn things around and get rid of that oil smell?

1.     Clean your oily headphones daily

This is the best way to keep them smelling fresh and prolong their life span. Your daily cleaning routine doesn’t have to take up a ton of time. 1) Take some isopropyl alcohol, 2) wet a cotton swab with it, 3) remove any excess liquid, and 4) give your entire headphone a good wipe down.

Focus on the ear pads especially, you touch them multiple times a day, and if the sponge picks up bacteria or mold it can quickly grow and start to smell.

By reducing the population on a daily basis, you’ll stop anything before it even starts.

2.     Deep clean your headphones every two weeks

This is really important, even if you forget to clean your headphones for a day or two during the week, you can’t miss a deep clean.

It’s similar to the basic clean, but you’re going to 1) remove the ear pads, 2) soak them in a tub of lukewarm water and soap, 3) press out the water a few times and resoak, 4) remove all the soap in a new bowl with lukewarm water, and finally 5) leave them to dry in the sun or use a hairdryer on its lowest setting.

Be careful with how you wash your headphone ear pads. Don’t be rough, and don’t forget them in the water, as this could ruin the material.

You want to make sure you get all the sebum, dust and also hairs out. This will really prolong your headphone ear pads.

3.     Use silica gel packets to soak up the moisture from your headphones and keep them dry

Headphone ear pads can become a humid breeding ground for bacteria, viruses, and mold. You want to try and keep them as dry as possible.

Not always easy for people who like to run with their headphones (cue the sweat) or who live in humid areas.

A nice little hack for this is to place a few silica bags inside the padding next time you’ve finished your deep clean.

Silica bags have been used in pharmaceuticals and electronics packaging for ages. They soak up any moisture in the surrounding air, keeping your pills fresh and your circuits protected.

An even better trick, keep all the silica bags to find in your pills to use for your headphones. You’ll need to replace them every few weeks, so you’ll need a constant supply.

4.     As a last resort, replace the ear pads

I do this every now and then. What can I say, I like fresh, soft ear pads. It has the added bonus that any smells are then a thing of the past.

While there are pretty good knock offs on the market, the only issue I have with them is finding the right fit.

I eventually found one that fits my Astro A50 Gen 4 perfectly. If you’re not up for the effort, just buy the original manufacturer’s replacements. To give them some credit, they’re usually worth every penny.

As a Final Thought

There are quite a few ways you can wear your headphones without messing up your hair. Try shifting your headphone band to the back of your head or to your neck. That’s the easiest solution, but you will have to compromise on comfort and sound quality.

In addition, if you have very oily hair that tends to take an unwanted shape easily, consider:

1. Using a dry shampoo to soak up excess oil.
2. Wash your hair with a “zero added oil” shampoo. This will make your greasy hair worse.

Finally, all of this oil and headphone shifting is going to leave your headphones dirty. Make sure you clean them properly and frequently.

If any smells develop, consider using silica gel bags to soak up the moisture that is making your headphones a breeding ground of mold, and if all else fails, you can simply replace your ear pads.

I hope my tutorial on how to get rid of headphone hair was helpful in solving the problem, and maybe even a few other connected issues. Happy hair day!