British Festival Hygiene: Top Tips
Festivals are all about having fun and enjoying yourself but they aren’t always the most sanitary environments. With everything from rain, mud, hot sun and days without a proper shower, you need all the help you can get to keep up your personal hygiene.
When a double layer of deodorant no longer cuts it you’ll need some ideas for how to stay healthy and hygienic – here are some of our top tips.
Avoid jeans
It’s all about choosing the right clothes. It’s important to remember that even though festivals typically take place in the spring and summer months, in Britain, yeah, you can expect it to rain.
You’re going to need to bring a waterproof jacket, but it’s also a good idea to choose clothes that are light and fast-drying. Jeans might look cool, but are neither of those things. There’s nothing as unpleasant as walking around in heavy, soaking jeans – it can lead to a really awful festival experience. In most cases, shorts are a much better idea as they’ll keep you cool when it gets hot but will dry off quickly when the inevitable downpour strikes.
Bring your wellies
Good footwear is vital for your festival wellbeing so make sure you bring a pair of wellies. Failing that, a pair of sturdy walking boots will be fine – just expect them to get quite muddy.
If you don’t have wellies or walking boots you will need to buy some, but make sure you break them in before the festival. If you don’t, you’re likely to end up with painful blisters which won’t be much fun when you’re on your feet all day.
On the same note it’s a very good idea to bring more changes of socks than you think you will need. Even with boots or wellies, it’s probable that your feet will get wet at some point and if it rains especially heavily you could find yourself in need of dry socks quite often.
Important products
There are some products and items that are absolutely essential to keep your health and hygiene at optimum level at a festival.
Probably the best multi-purpose tool in the festival goer’s arsenal is the wet wipe. Covering all manner of sins, wet wipes are even effective as a shower alternative. Along the same lines it is also a good idea to bring along dry shampoo. You will also benefit enormously from hand sanitiser – perfect for when you just need to clean your hands quickly before eating or drinking.
Finally, you absolutely need to bring toilet roll. There are good and bad festival toilets but you are always going to need to bring along your own toilet paper; do not make the mistake of assuming it will always be provided.
Watch out for the sun
Everyone wants there to be plenty of sunshine during their festival experience but if you are lucky enough to have fantastic weather you need to be prepared for it as well. It’s amazing how hot it can get and you need to make sure that you keep nicely hydrated (and not just by drinking beer). Drink plenty of water throughout the day along with any alcohol.
You also need to remember to apply plenty of sun cream. Pick one with a high factor and re-apply at least once a day. You’ll thank yourself when you see fellow festival goers sporting burned backs and legs.