Hairstyles That'll Last You Through This Summer's Festival Season

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It's mid-spring and—holy humidity and April showers, Batman—all we can think about is hair. Our hair, your hair, straight hair, curly hair, in-between hair, hairy hair. Summer is just around the corner, so to kick off one of most difficult hair seasons of the year, Racked introduces our first-ever Hair Week. Tune in for lots of hairstyle tips, product recommendations, It-Happened-To-Me stories, and more! First up, festival hair.

The Coachella mega-music extravaganza (and unofficial celebrity fashion playground) may have ended, but that only means that the summer festival season has begun. For those keeping count, we still have Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, and Glastonbury (a.k.a. where Kate Moss made Hunter Wellies a universal household name) to look forward to. Music festivals are amazeballs, of course, but there is one major obstacle to overcome. Whether it's sweltering in scorching dry heat or wilting in dank, muggy humidity: What are you going to do about your hair?

1) Embrace your natural waves
It's hot, it's sticky—there are only port-a-potties for bathroom breaks and if you're camping out, sorry, but forget about plugging in your dryer and straightener. Look at these perfect specimens of au natural coifs: Queen of the choppy bob Alexa Chung, Rilo Kiley frontwoman (and Jake Gyllenhaal Oscars date) Jenny Lewis and indie chanteuse Eliza Doolittle. No matter the length, cut or style, they're all rocking their natural waves. Although, we'd suggest a spot of anti-frizz serum, just in case.

2) Have some fun with an updo—more specifically, a retro updo.

Why follow the masses with the ubiquitous (and at times, headache inducing) editor top-knot? Try some throwback-themes instead. Dita Von Teese is working the 50's housewife look and we bet she has enough products up in there to keep the frizzies under control. Vanessa Hudgens is appropriately channeling Woodstock with pretty flowers pinned into her tousled (see rule #1) low-knot. We included Whitney Port's antennae buns on this list, thinking that "retro" in this instance was more a reference to how we'd wear our hair when we were kids.

3) Keep it in place with a headband

Headbands aren't as big of a commitment as a hat, but they still serve the dual purpose of providing décor while holding your hair in place. Model/actress Isabel Lucas looks lovely with her Pocahantas-style band and braids, Marina and the Diamonds (that's her stage name, not a band's name. Clever, right?) dons a cheeky bow tie number on stage and Katy Perry wears her 50's polka-dot wrap-piece like a tiara.

4) Go big with a hat
Chapeaus of all types were seen all over Coachella and like headbands, they look cute while serving the function of masking and controlling crazy, untamed hair. While Kelly Osbourne's 'do seems to be quite well-maintained, she's seems to be totally angling for an invitation to the Royal Wedding with her very posh, floppy topper. Hello again, Dita Von Teese and leave it to her to make a Popeye the sailor cap look chic. But always remember, if you're not feeling as adventurous, take a cue from Rihanna and opt for the requisite fedora.

5) When all else fails, style your 'do
Now this option works best if you have a personal stylist, you're staying at a hotel where you can plug in your styling paraphernalia and/or you're only planning on attending a few select shows and parties during the festival. Take Glee diva Lea Michele posing at the Lacoste pool party. Her gleaming, shiny mane is definitely the result of a professional styling session. And Nicole Richie's messy waves look fantastic, but a tad too perfectly tousled for a just-camped-out-overnight look. It is possible that Twilight's Ashley Greene has been blessed with naturally straight, lush and frizz-free hair, as it looks like she's in the throes of Coachella in this photo. But we're still including her on this list anyway, because if that's the case, we're just jealous.