Are you tired of brushing knots out of your hair at the end of a day of riding your motorcycle? While it looks cool to see women riding motorcycles with their long hair flowing freely in the wind, it’s a nightmare at the end of the day to brush all the tangles out. And the exposure to the elements can dry and damage your hair causing split and broken ends.
Like me, you may have tried many ways to help keep your hair from being whipped around during rides to avoid this problem. Women Riders Now (WRN) learned about a great new product, called the Hightail Bike Hair Protector from a new woman-owned company that keeps your hair protected from the elements in its helmet-mounted pocket.
I installed Hightails Bike Hair Protector on my Arai Quantum-X full face helmet. I put my helmet on as usual, twist my hair and tuck it into the product’s pocket attached to the back of my helmet before the ride. The pocket stays in place with a strong adhesive while my hair stays tucked in protected from the wind. At the end of my ride, I didnt have any knots in my hair so I spent zero time brushing out knots.
The company’s co-creator, Jen Burch, rides a 400cc Suzuki sportbike and a Triumph Bonneville and was frustrated at the amount of damage her beautiful long straight hair would sustain on motorcycle rides, so she went to work on a solution. Three years after she and her partner, Jon, had the initial concept, and with the help of mentors from winning a spot in the MIC’s 2018 Gas Tank Mentorship, the hair protector was ready for its soft launch in April.
Jen and Jon had great momentum and a well-designed product, but getting the Hightail in front of customers has been extra challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The opportunity to promote it at events simply vanished. Always looking for great women-friendly products made for and by women riders, we at WRN are happy to help spread the word about how effective the Hightail Hair Protector is.
The Hightail Bike Hair Protector is $40 and comes with installation instructions and a template. You can also purchase two extra sets of adhesive helmet mounting clips for $15. I ordered extra clips so I could test the Hightail on several different helmets.
The Hightail Hair Protector will work with most helmets, but if you have any doubt just ask Jen. The key to the Protector working is having a helmet with a rounded shape at the bottom for the clips to adhere to.
Being a rider, small business owner, and a woman who understands what female riders go through, co-owner Jen Burch is happy to work with customers one on one. If youre unsure if Hightail will work with your helmet or if you have any questions, Jen encourages you to get in touch through her social media pages or website. Furthermore, Hightail honors the guarantee that if the product doesn’t work for you, your money will be refunded. There’s also a 6-month guarantee on the clips, so long as you follow installation directions.
I had originally intended to install the Hightail on both the Arai and the orange AFX-21 ADV helmet, but the AFX’s ridges and angles at the bottom of the helmet dont allow me to place the clips in the right location.
Jen originally designed the Hair Protector to work with full face helmets, but because I know so many riders wear open face and half helmets, I decided to try it on my Harley-Davidson Curbside Sun Shield X06. As you can see here it works perfectly.
To install the hair protector, first you need to attach two adhesive clips to your helmet as per the included instructions. It is super easy, especially since a paper template is included. But if you are nervous about screwing up, Hightail has several well produced videos on its website about how to install and use the product. I’ve also carefully documented how I installed it on my Arai here.
To install the Hightail Hair Protector, first you need to clean your helmet with isopropyl alcohol. I was lucky to have some in the cabinet. If you can’t find any at your local pharmacy, look for eyeglass cleaner swabs. They come in single-use packets and work just as well.
Make sure you wait until the alcohol dries completely before going to the next step. You can use a clean cloth to help dry it, but make sure theres no residue or dirt on the helmet.
Hightail’s included spacer has an adhesive strip on one side. It’s not strong, so it won’t leave any residue on the helmet after you use it.
Center the spacer on the bottom lip of the helmet and press hard. If it doesn’t stay in place, you can use some tape to hold it.
The clips have strong adhesive on one side. Remove the adhesive film.
Then press the clip along the bottom edge of the helmet, with one end lined up with the spacer.
Repeat with the other clip on the other side and remove the template. Save it to use again if you have other helmets to mount more clips to.
Hightail specifically instructs you to wait at least 72 hours before attaching the Hair Protector to the clips to allow the adhesive to fully cure. If you are impatient and can’t wait, you run the risk of the clips peeling off during use and Hightails guarantee is voided.
This is what the hair protector looks like. The black plastic tabs fit into slots in the clips, and the material stretches to fit because of the elasticized edge. The pocket has plenty of room so it will accommodate riders with a lot of hair.
This view shows the tabs and the notches in the clips a bit better.
Once the adhesive on the clips is fully cured, you can install the Hair Protector. It may be a little challenging to get everything lined up at first since youre working with a curved edge, but it gets easier each time you do it.
This is what the Hightail Bike Hair Protector looks like fully installed. I’m impressed with how well the product matches the design of the black rubbery material on the bottom of the helmet. It looks like it is part of the helmet.
The process is the same when installing the clips on the half helmet. I had to improvise to clear the slight upturn on this helmet. To be sure the pocket would line up to the clips, I held up the pocket to the helmet before pressing the adhesive to make sure everything lined up.
Now with the Hightail Hair Protector installed on my helmets, I don’t have to worry about knots, split ends, and wind damage to my hair. And I like that this product is attached to a piece of my motorcycle gear. I never forget my helmet, but I often forget to wear a scarf or headwrap.
It’s easier to put your hair in the Protector before you put a bulky motorcycle jacket on, but not impossible. For the purposes of clearly showing how to do it, I don’t have motorcycle clothing on in the following photos.
To protect your hair, first, put your helmet on. You don’t need to have your hair in a ponytail, but you can if you want to.
Gather all your hair up…
…and twist it.
Then just tuck it into the pocket of the Hightail Hair Protector.
Now your hair is safely tucked away and protected in the Hightail Bike Hair Protector.
Jen tells us that if the world returns to normal in 2021, we can expect to see her and the Hightail products at motorcycle events like Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Dream Roll, the Litas Black Top Ramble, and the Australian women’s motorcycle campout, Sheilas Shakedown.
