Ganja Guides

How to Get Weed Smell Out of Hair

woman with flower in hair

There is a lot to love about weed, except perhaps its powerful lasting scent when you’re trying to be discreet. While many stoners like the pungent aroma it leaves behind, the way stale weed smoke can stick to your hair, can leave you in quite a tangle if you catch my drift. So if you’re wondering how to get weed smell out of hair, we’ve got a few tips. Light up your pipe and read on.

Photo: Unsplash

Does Weed Smell Stay in Hair?

Hair blowing in wind
Keeping your locks fresh (Source: Unsplash)

Unfortunately, weed’s strong smell lingers in anything it can hold on to. And this applies to your mane as well. For instance, after an especially long smoke sesh with a larger group, you might find your hair may continue to smell like weed for up to 7 hours afterwards.

Weed has been described with a variety of unsavory words, including “dank” and “skunky.” So, naturally, it’s understandable that most people want to make sure they don’t go around smelling like an animal fresh out of the wild.

Thankfully, you don’t have to.

How to Keep Weed Smell Out of Hair

While you can’t remove the smell of weed entirely, you can limit its potency considerably.

Choose Your Strain Wisely

Weed strains
Choose your fighter (Source: Unsplash)

Not all strains are made equal. Some deliver a punch like no other, especially where smells are concerned.

So if the smell is an issue for you, opt for a strain that has a more fruity, piney, citrusy, or similar profile. Additionally, pick one that has a weaker scent, to begin with.

Zip Up

Hood up
Hood up (Source: Unsplash)

If you know you’re going to need to head out after your smoke sesh, it would help to wear a thick hoodie you can zip all the way up. That way, when you’re ready to leave, you can just take it off and most of the smell with it.

Not only will these prevent the smell from lingering in your hair, but they will also keep your clothes from smelling as well.

Keep It Up, Then Let It Down

Whip your hair back and forth
Whip your hair back and forth (Source: Unsplash)

If you’ve got a shorter mane, then you’re in luck. There’s less of it for the weed smell to latch on to. That said, if you prefer to keep it under a cap or beanie, it might help prevent too strong a smell from staying in your hair. For longer hair, putting your hair up while you toke helps.

Once you’re done, take your hair out or down, and shake it out. Flipping your hair helps even if it was already down and exposed to the smoke to begin with.

For most, it takes about an hour of letting your hair breathe for the weed smell to come down to unnoticeable levels.

If you’re in a pinch, however, there are a few things that work quickly.

Keep Your Toking Airy

Fan
Keep it airy (Source: Unsplash)

To prevent the smell of weed from lingering too long, it helps to toke in a well-ventilated space. Naturally, smoking up outdoors with plenty of fresh air would be ideal. But it isn’t always accessible.

If you have a balcony, backyard, or similar space to smoke in, that works too. If not, try using exhaust fans, vents, and chimneys to your advantage. You could also keep the space closed but direct a standing fan toward a crack in a window or door. This creates a draft that will waft some of the smell and smoke away.

Get Some Sun

Smoking in sun
A sunny toke (Source: Unsplash)

Another way to limit how much smell lingers in your hair is to allow your mane to soak up some sun. If you can toke in bright daylight, this is a great way to air your hair out and prevent the smell from latching on quite as strongly, to begin with.

But after you let your hair down post-toke, it helps to sunbathe a little. Weed doesn’t always respond too well to heat. In fact, too much heat is known to damage your stash and render it largely useless.

So it shouldn’t be surprising, that a bit of sun helps deal with the smell. It can take nearly an hour of soaking for the smell to go away almost entirely, but it’s a pretty good way to get your hair fixed on your way to your next appointment.

How to Get the Smell of Weed Out of Hair

Preventative measures, of course, won’t work for very strong scents. If, after taking a few precautions, you still end up with a skunky mane, there are several ways to deal with it.

Use a Deodorizer

Hair spray
Spritz the smell away (Source: Unsplash)

There are plenty of hair deodorizers available on the market to help you deal with hair smells. Most of these would work for weed smells as well.

That said, in a pinch, hair perfume or hairspray, especially ones with strong citrus scents, could work too. Scented dry shampoo would also work, but it doesn’t work quite as well on all hair types, so it’s a less preferable option.

In most cases, these options work pretty instantly. And in the absence of these, a dryer sheet would also have a similar effect.

Try a Strong Shampoo

Bath time
Deodorize in style (Source: Unsplash)

If you have some time to spare, a quick wash will always work better than most options. But make sure you use a strong enough shampoo, or some of the smell will still linger.

Hit it With Lemon or Apple Cider Vinegar

Lemon and vinegar
Mask the smell away (Source: Unsplash)

When it comes to dealing with the smell of weed, fresh lemon or apple cider vinegar works surprisingly well. But some people find the smell of apple cier vinegar impossible to tolerate and note it tends to linger as well. So, use it at your own discretion.

Let Your Hair Down

Toking is a wonderful experience. And it can stay that way, so long as you don’t have to carry the post-smoke scent around with you all the time. With these tips on how to get weed smell out of hair, you can comfortably let your tresses loose without fear.