How To Stay Clean at a Festival?

A long weekend spent in a field is hardly the most sanitary of surroundings. Bacteria and germs thrive without appropriate shower facilities, unavoidable dirt, and less-than-perfect toilet facilities. However, this should not prevent you from having fun with your friends.

how-to-stay-clean-at-a-festival
  1. Give yourself a thorough clean the morning you leave for the music festival.
  2. Freshen up with dry showers, wet wipes, baby wipes, or a portable shower gadget at the festival.
  3. Be sure to pack a microfiber to towel dry off and remove any residue from your skin.

Seasoned festival-goers know that several simple, golden tips will help you stay clean and feel fresh while you dance the weekend away. Following these guides will ensure that you get the most out of your festival experience.

🚿 What is a Dry Shower?

A dry shower is a phrase that describes using gels (not body wash) or aerosols instead of water to clean dirt and sweat from your body and eliminate any unpleasant body odour. Since festival showers are rarely the best of facilities, taking a dry shower is your best chance of staying clean.

Dry showers have evolved past sweaty teenagers dousing themselves in deodorant to avoid a wash. These specially formulated products are designed to cleanse and moisturize your skin while leaving you smelling fresh.

Examples of dry shower formulations include:

Muc-Off Dry Shower is an antibacterial foam cleanser. Simply rub one pump of this product between your hands and lather it onto your skin. The cleanser can be left to dry or wiped off with a towel.

Shower in a Can is an antibacterial and antiviral foam cleanser suitable for your body, face, and hands. This formulation aims to condition, exfoliate, and moisturize skin, leaving you feeling squeaky clean and dry.

DRYBATH® is an antibacterial gel that eliminates odour and nourishes the skin with essential oils. This formulation dries to leave your skin feeling fresh without any sticky residue.

🧼 How Do You Wash Your Hair at a Festival?

Dancing the weekend away can leave your hair looking less than desirable. Since you won’t have easy access to showers and outlets for hairdryers, you will need to improvise. There are several techniques to manage your mane at a festival, regardless of how messy the weekend gets.

Dry shampoo is the one essential that every festivalgoer swears by. It will absorb extra oils and debris, providing your hair with much-needed nourishment. To thoroughly freshen up your hair, go for a scented dry shampoo. Keep a travel-size can of it in your bag for mid-day touch-ups.

Bring a bucket along. Although this is a messier method, it allows for a thorough wash. Simply fill the bucket with bottled water or clean water if available, and give your scalp a scrub at your campsite.

Ditch drenching your hair with bottled water and opt for a Sunncamp Solar Shower instead. This nifty gadget hangs from the top of your tent to form a makeshift shower head. For a warm shower, hang this gadget to get plenty of sunlight that will warm the water in the pouch.

The secret to keeping your locks looking fresh is preventative hair care. It is a good idea to wash your hair the morning before you leave and limit products that will promote greasiness.

Pay homage to the 70s festival fashion with braids to avoid tangled, dirty hair. Alternatively, step up your festival style by throwing on a funky hat to hide greasy roots.

how do you wash your hair at a festival
Keep those locks looking lush. 📸 Unsplash

🦷 How Do You Brush Your Teeth at a Festival?

While maintaining your personal hygiene can prove challenging during the festival season, skimping on dental hygiene may rapidly lead to the accumulation of foul-smelling plaque. Furthermore, sugary drinks, greasy food, and alcohol can lead to gum disease and tooth decay. Limited bathroom facilities at festivals may leave you wondering how to practice good oral hygiene.

You may be surprised to know that dentists and environmentalists agree that brushing your teeth without using water is better for oral hygiene and the planet. Simply apply toothpaste to your dry toothbrush at your campsite, and be sure to spit it into a bin when you’re done since chemical toothpaste is harmful to the environment.

Additionally, you can try gargling with an antibacterial mouthwash, using floss or toothpicks, and chewing sugar-free gum to eliminate bad breath during festival season. Remember to responsibly dispose of your used products while you wash up.

🧴 How Do You Take Care of Your Skin at a Festival?

When you’re living in a tent for the weekend, your priority is catching the next act and having fun with your best friend. Among all the excitement, your skincare routine can easily fall to the wayside. However, there are simple ways to care for your skin that won’t interfere with your fun.

·      Cleansing is a must since sweat and bacteria can disrupt your skin’s natural balance and cause breakouts. Pack a travel-size of your regular cleanser and make use of a bucket or a Sunncamp Solar Shower to give your face a thorough cleanse.

·      Facial wipes refresh your skin and remove makeup without water. This is especially useful if you don’t have easy access to a bathroom tap.

·      Keep supple with a moisturiser. If you’re going to be drinking and partying till the early hours of the morning, you’ll want to keep the moisture levels topped up to give you a youthful glow.

·   Staying fresh with a facial mist. This will give you a glow in the morning, pick you up mid-afternoon, or refresh you after hours of dancing. Choose a travel size to carry in your purse for on-the-go use.

·      Pack some emergency pimple patches. Partying the weekend away may lead to an unexpected breakout, which can put a damper on your fun. Hydrocolloid pimple patches help protect inflamed areas and reduce breakouts.

🥵 How Do You Not Get Sunburned at a Festival?

Because you’ll be outside for most of the day, it’s critical to protect your skin from sun damage during festival season. A sunburn causes painful, discoloured, and flaking/dead skin, which can put a damper on your fun. Be sure to take preventative measures by taking note of the following tips.

·      Thoroughly apply sunscreen. Sunscreens are vital for shielding your skin from the sun’s UV radiation. To provide optimum protection, opt for an SPF50+ sunscreen. It is also critical to reapply sunscreen at least every two hours and after sweating. Protect your face by applying an SPF 50+ facial sunscreen beneath makeup.

·      Wear protective clothing. You may want to show off some skin at summer music festivals; however, you can tweak your festival style and garb to protect your skin from sun exposure. A funky wide-brimmed hat embodies festival style while protecting your face from UV rays. Flowy pants and long-sleeved shirts with a close weave will help to guard your skin against the sun.

·      Wherever possible, seek shade. Make use of the protected stages at music festivals to get some shade and protect your skin from the sun’s UV radiation. It is essential to remain hydrated and to have plenty of water with you.

how do you not get sunburned at a festival
Avoid getting roasted red at your next festival. 📸: Unsplash

💭 Final Thoughts

Following nifty tips and packing the essentials will help you feel refreshed while letting your hair down and dancing a few days away during the music festival season.

It can be as simple as bringing along a bucket and some bottled water or as lavish as investing in a portable shower gadget.

Whatever your preference, you are guaranteed to stay fresh in the great outdoors. Unfortunately, dirty clothes full of mud are another issue altogether.

If you found this interesting, then you may also like to read about these other topics and how to deal with them:

How to recover from a bender
Post-festival blues: Tips & Strategies
Is the festival flu a real thing?