Paul Barnard

If you don't want to wear a Headsweats or anything else under your helmet, use a zinc sunscreen. Zinc won't burn your eyes like many of the other sunscreens. Avobenzene is the culprit behind much of the eye burning. Read the ingredients.

freeranger

I picked up a Halo skull cap with a "tail" on it that covers my neck also. Happy with it: https://www.amazon.com/Halo-Headband...%2C781&sr=8-11. Wicking material so it doesn't get hot. If your helmet fits tightly, the head band on it can feel a little tight. Luckily, one of my helmets fit a little looser.. I also have just a lightweight skull cap if I don't feel the need for the neck protection.

BobbyG

Been very bald for 15 years. I commute ~45 minures twice a day at 6500' in Colorado Springs.
I learned to cover my head, arms and neck if I am going to be out in the sun for more than an 1/2 hour. My weekend rides average 2.5 hours.

While my arms and neck will burn while riding, my head does not, and has not with any helmet I have worn; usuall the inexpensive Bell or Schwinn from Target or Wal-Mart, with moderate venting.

I think it is because of riding leaning forward on my road bikes, and in similar position on my MTB-based commuter, and the vent hole on these cheaper helmets ar small and pointed forward while I ride leaning forward.

I wear sun-sleeves and a neck gaiter, both wicking and cooling, And now I am interested in a wicking skullcap for additional cooling, and any extra sun protection couldn't hurt.

Kedosto

A technical fabric doo-rag. As long as it's not cotton or a blend heavy in cotton it will wick moisture away. Also, light colors help with heat management. The Enduracool liner DrIsotope linked back at post #14 looks like a real winner. I added a white one to my Amazon shopping list for whenever I get ready to hit the buy button.


-Kedosto

DrIsotope

I just ordered a white one as well, because for some reason a fulfillment seller listed it for $8. The last black one I bought was $15. Now that I'm set for skullcaps, my bibs are all starting to wear out at the same time.

John_V 

Headsweats or try Walmart. They have cotton and polyester do-rags that tie behind the head and have a neck protector for $2.00 each. I have three of them that have lasted me about four years now. Since I bought mine a while back, they might be $2.50 ea.

09box

I wear a doo rag every time I ride and also I will not shave my head in the summertime due to the sun.

Clipped_in

This guy knows whassup:

UniChris

Interesting thought. Averbenzone is also the culprit behind pink stains on jerseys, specially if one so is so foolish as to try to get it out with something like oxyclean, which actually makes it worse!

I prefer full coverup up top, that zinc stuff is really hard to get off, best I've found so far to get it off my hands after applying is dish soap...

Hiro11

I have a bunch of inexpensive coolmax helmet liner / skullcaps I got from Amazon that work well. They actually make helmets a bit more comfortable as well. Sunblock on the top of your head is a bad idea on the bike.

indyfabz

no motor?

How long does the cooling effect last? I've been wanting to find a way to cool off during my ride to work, this looks like it should work. It looks like you could rewet it when it dries out and have it start working again, is that how it works? That would be handy for the ride home.

Koyote

The other day, my wife saw me, before a ride, rubbing sunscreen on the thin patch at the top of my head. She chuckled a bit.

"Hey, at least I'm honest with myself," I said.

linnefaulk

I wear https://www.buffusa.com/
The rest of me is soak, but my head is dry from the wicking. And I don’t have sweat running into my eyes.

Ogsarg

I also use the Pace skull cap. White naturally. No issues with sunburn on my follically challenged noggin, no sweat in my eyes, and on real hot days you can soak it in cool water and get some a/c going at least till the water evaporates.

Baldy1953

I use a spare water bottle and squirt it through the vents on the helmet if I get too hot. You can always take helmet off, wet the skull cap and put it back on so nothing drips when it is wet.

DrIsotope

For me at least, it seems to last the whole ride-- I can only think of a couple rides where it was hot and dry enough to dry out the cap. Usually when I get home it's still damp-- but just damp, which means the evaporative cooling effect is working. When I take off a Headsweats at the end of a ride, it hits the bench with a soggy plop.

If it's really hot, I'll just squirt from the waterbottle through the helmet vents, and the genuine cold feeling from the water lasts for probably 10-15 minutes. The Mission caps (I've found) are much cooler overall than others. Halo do indeed funnel the sweat away from your eyes, but they also seem to make a lot more of it.

I also take one of the Mission cooling towels (the kind that you wet and snap) with me when I know it's gonna get hot, and those are a miracle. I put it around my neck and it stays cold for over an hour, even in +100º weather.

BCDrums

Ordered one today on your say-so. Looking forward to trying it out.

no motor?

I'm ordering one also, thanks! A cooler head with protection that my thinning hair can no longer provide sounds like a winner to me.

Ruthless

USED TO wear a mossi fulface when I went riding on my motorcycle. There is no way I'm gonna do that again. I'm not dis mossi. I just need a change. Dehydration. 5 minutes tops.

Myosmith

I found some polyester tech fabric do-rags alongside the workwear area of the men's section at WalMart. They are safety yellow or orange but everything except the tail is under my helmet anyway. One thing I found is to have the do-rag a bit loose and loosen your helmet head band a notch or two before putting your helmet on. After you click your helmet band back down, the do-rag won't be tight to your noggin, which helps with the wicking and cooling. I find them no warmer than a helmet without the do-rag and no more Alien Nation scalp.

Fahrenheit531 

You should hit 'em up for a commission. Sounds like a real upgrade over my various caps for when it's brutally hot out. Sold!

SlowJoeCrow

That's a problem I've never though of, since my helmet vents don't line up with my bald spot. It occurs to me that a lot of pros have shaved heads so they must use something. Skull caps, cycling caps, or just sweat proof sun screen.

DrIsotope

I wore my new white Mission cap during the entirety of my (in retrospect) ill-advised journey on Wednesday, where over the course of 140 miles I spent 10 hours under cloudless SoCal skies, with temps soaring up to 116º. I gotta say, I think the white makes a difference. I never once had any sweat dripping, and I drank near enough to three gallons that day. I feel like ordering a couple more, as whenever I find something that truly works for me, the mfr. discontinues it and I have to start the search all over again.

Garfield Cat

Sweat: the sweat in the eyes is the big factor.

Sunburn: white color helmet liner that doesn't interfere with suntan lotion, not red color or black color.

Cooling: front, top, side vents are just part of the solution. Its how the air passes through those vents and out to the back of the helmet.

Variable solution: before you go out and buy a skull cap or liner, try a kitchen type paper towel that's known for its absorbance. I use Viva by Kimberly Clark.

https://vivatowels.com/en-us/viva-mu...e-cloth-towels

Why variable solution? Because that towel comes in perforation of three sheets, smaller sheets to fit the inside of the helmet and padded to where it counts, up front where the sweat pours down to the forehead and eyes. The other "variable"? Very absorbent because it was designed for kitchen use.

On very humid days, you may store extra Viva towels in your back jersey pocket. That way you may switch out while the used towel dries out. And yes, they do dry out very well.

On not so humid days, I find that these towels can be re-used several times.