Astronaut Hygiene: How to Wash Your Hair In Space (VID)

All the recent talk about Mars exploration in the media got me thinking how does one get along hygienically in a shuttle on the way to Mars? This will be a problem for many people HOPEFULLY soon enough. This awesome woman astronaut Karen Nyberg has first hand experience.

From SPACE.com

On Earth, washing your hair is a simple act of standing under a shower and lathering shampoo on your melon. But there's no shower on the space station, and even if there were the water wouldn't fall down — it would spray everywhere in weightless blobs.

According to Nyberg, there are some must-have tools she relies on to wash her hair: a small pouch of warm water, a bottle of no-rinse shampoo, a towel and a comb.

To wash her hair in space, astronaut Karen Nyberg uses a towel first to help add no-rinse shampoo to her hair, then to dry her hair. Reusing towels is vital since there is a limited supply, she says.

"Sometimes I'll take my comb and help work it all the way to the ends. Then I like to take my towel while I have the shampoo in there and work it," Nyberg said while demonstrating the technique. "Because without standing under running water, you kind of need to use the towel a little bit to help get some of the dirt out."

Staying clean in space seems like a BIT*H..lol BUT if thats the worst of it no biggie at all...

Well if you had a water tight chamber with big spongy wall panels...

You could wet them and then rub yourself all over them. Then, soak them again and wring them out. The floor could have a grate and a suction mechanism to suck/dry the sponges attached to the walls when you get out.

I dunno?

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
Well if you had a water tight chamber with big spongy wall panels...

You could wet them and then rub yourself all over them. Then, soak them again and wring them out. The floor could have a grate and a suction mechanism to suck/dry the sponges attached to the walls when you get out.

I dunno?

Lol now thats brainstorming!

Count me out Mars.

My mane is my crowning glory.

I just couldn't help laughing while watching the video. She looks like one of those troll dolls.



Really though, I always wondered how they kept clean in space. Now I know. Thanks.

Love her!

Note.. she said "wash the dirt out" .
There's no dirt in space, other than dander.

The other. She said they use towels for a while.
So with that left... Do they wash their clothes up there?
No not for outside worldly stuff... but sweat and BO stuff?

None the less, a good post.

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
Count me out Mars.

My mane is my crowning glory.

Me too. I got butt length dreads so they won't even have space helmets that fit.

Seriously though I'm surprised they even bother to wash their hair.

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
Count me out Mars.

My mane is my crowning glory.

You can keep it if the ship were large enough to be rotated to generate artificial gravity.

As for me, i'd probably tie it up in a nice ponytail.

originally posted by: Bigburgh
Love her!

Note.. she said "wash the dirt out" .
There's no dirt in space, other than dander.

There's plenty of dirt in space. I think you just mean inside the space station.

The fact is that on the ISS, there can be particles, not just dander but particles of packaging materials, small food particles, even micrometeoroid dust brought in from spacewalks.

All of that stuff qualifies on the ISS as "dirt".

a reply to: DjembeJedi

"Because without standing under running water, you kind of need to use the towel a little bit to help get some of the dirt out."

Dirt?

Where are you getting dirty in a space shuttle? Oily, probably....But I doubt there should be much dirt in a shuttle or in the space station....I guess maybe grease, but that is a rather odd choice of wording I guess if you ask me....

It is probably not very effective cleaning this way either, but you have to do what you have to do I guess! If I was a woman in the space station I might shave my head to save on the trouble...

ETA: Apparently others thought this too above! I didn't read any of the posts other than the OP....Sorry!