You smell smoke.
And you realize it’s coming from your hair.
The smell is insanely strong and right now you just want to remove the smoke smell from your hair. But you have no access to a washroom or a shower.
Or you’ve already tried washing it, but the smell is still there.
What do you do?
In this post, I’ll talk about a few ways you can remove the campfire smoke smell effectively from your hair.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may make a commission at no extra cost to you if you decide to click on a link and purchase something. Click here to read the full disclaimer.
1. Use baking soda
Baking soda has been used for years to eliminate foul odors and toxic smells.
The reason is most smells are acidic in nature and baking soda is a pH neutralizer. So, it neutralizes the acids that cause bad smells.
However, for the baking soda to be effective, you have to spread it nicely across your hair.
Once you dust some baking soda on your hair, use a brush to quickly brush through the sections of your hair so that you can coat your hair strands uniformly with baking soda.
Baking soda will neutralize that campfire smoke smell in your hair and the smell will be gone.
Just make sure you don’t use too much baking soda because it is going to leave behind a powdery residue.
2. Use a smoke spray
Because this is a common issue faced by people, there is an actual smoke spray you can buy online that gets rid of the smoke smell from hair, clothes and skin.
If you tend to be around a lot of smoke (cigarette, barbeque or cooking), then this spray is the perfect solution.
3. Use a dryer sheet
If you have a dryer sheet on hand, just rub it all over your hair.
A dryer sheet will absorb all the smoke smell and leave your hair smelling fresh and clean.
Make sure you partition your hair into sections so that you get all the smoke smell out.
Take the dryer sheet and clamp it down on your hair going one section at a time. The dryer sheet will absorb the smell and leave behind a clean, fresh scent.
If you have a hairbrush with you, then put the dryer sheet in the hairbrush by poking the bristles through and brush your hair section by section to get all the campfire smoke smell out.
After you’re done using the dryer sheet, blow dry your hair. The smoke smell should be gone now.
4. Use Dry Shampoo
Whether your hair smells of cigarette smoke or campfire smoke, dry shampoo is a great way to get rid of that pesky smoke smell.
Instead of rubbing the dry shampoo on your scalp, rub some all over your hair.
Remember to rub the dry shampoo along the length of your hair and the tips.
The dry shampoo will absorb the smell.
5. Use a homemade citrus spray
If you have a spray bottle lying around and some lemons or oranges, then you can use this hack.
- Squeeze the lemon or orange and get out all the juice.
- Cut up the rinds/peels into small pieces and just mash them up.
- Put the juice and the peels/rinds into a spray bottle with some water.
- Leave the solution for 15 minutes so that the concoction becomes strong.
- Divide your hair into sections and spritz the solution on your hair generously while working through your hair with your hands.
You can also use this citrus solution to remove the smoke smell from your hands.
Just don’t rub it on your face because it will burn. And if you are in sunlight, you will get skin damage since lemon juice makes your skin very prone to tanning.
6. Use cornstarch or baby powder
Now if you have none of the above ingredients but have some corn starch or baby powder lying around, then you’re in luck.
Don’t apply this directly to your scalp because it is going to become messy.
Instead, put some cornstarch or baby powder in your palm and then use a make-up brush to apply it to your hair and roots.
Brush your hair so that you can uniformly coat all the hair strands with the powder.
Leave it for a few minutes. It’s not as powerful as baking soda so it needs some time to absorb the smoke smell.
After waiting for half an hour, you can brush it out so that it doesn’t leave a residue in your hair.
7. Apply Hair Perfume
Hair perfume is a pretty neat invention. It isn’t as old as body perfume but it was designed for people who work around a lot of smoke and different smells.
So whether you’re trying to get out cigarette smoke, campfire smoke, or sweat smell, then hair perfume is something that will definitely help.
Hair perfume neutralizes strong smells and adds a nice scent to your hair.
This hair perfume by Pacifica Beauty is currently one of my favorites.
It works as a hair perfume and a body mist. You can carry it whenever you’re spending a night, going to the gym, or going out camping.
8. Use a hairdryer on the cool setting
Put your hairdryer on the cool setting and gently blow dry your hair by going over 1 section of hair at a time.
The hairdryer will lift the smoke particles on your hair.
If you have a hairdryer, you can then use a hair perfume or essential oil afterward.
9. Use essential oils
Use any essential oil that smells nice like jojoba, tea-tree oil, or lavender oil.
Just mix a few drops with some water and spritz some on your hair and scalp.
Run your hands through your hair to make sure that your hair is coated evenly with the solution.
Essential oils like tea-tree oil are anti-microbial. It will mask the smell and leave your hair smelling fresh and nice.
10. Use a rose water spray
Now, you can make a rosewater spray at home by just putting rosewater in a bottle and spritzing it in your hair. In India and UAE, we get rosewater in most grocery stores.
But if you live in a place where rosewater is not readily available, you can get this rosewater spray.
This is one of the strongest rosewater sprays and the smell is strong enough to mask the scent of the smoke smell in your hair.
11. Use normal perfume
If you have absolutely none of the prior tools, then don’t give up.
If you have some perfume lying around, you can use some on your hair to get rid of the smoke smell.
Please don’t apply it directly to your hair because perfume is pretty strong and it will be quite obvious you’ve sprayed your hair.
Instead, spray it on a comb or brush and then brush through your hair.
The perfume won’t neutralize or get rid of the smoke smell but it will mask the smoke smell by being more powerful than the smoke smell.
This is a last-minute resort.
12. Use Febreze
This should be your last resort since Febreze does dry out your hair.
Febreze is pretty effective because it will absorb the smoke smell and leave your hair smelling fresh and breezy.
However, please don’t spray more than 1-2 times. Remember to run your fingers through your hair to get out the smoke smell.
13. Get some sunlight
If all else fails or you just don’t have any of these ingredients lying around and you have no access to a shower, then just get some regular old sunlight.
The heat from the sun and the open air will air out your hair and the smell should go away on its own.
It will take some time compared to the other methods, but it should work!
Why does my hair still smell of campfire smoke after washing it?
Hair is very porous.
If you wash your hair frequently, you are removing the protective oils that coat your hair strands.
This leaves your hair very vulnerable to absorbing odors.
It will absorb both – pleasant and unpleasant smells.
How do I make sure my hair doesn’t absorb any smoke smell?
If you know you are going to be outdoors around a campfire or you’re going to smoke, try not to shampoo your hair frequently.
When your hair is protected by its natural oils, it will tend to absorb less smoke.
If you are washing your hair, make sure you use a serum or a cream to coat the strands so that they are less prone to absorb any smells.
Make sure your hair is always moisturized by using a hair cream and lots of water. When your hair is hydrated, it will be moisturized and won’t be able to absorb smells.
The best way to keep your hair smelling clean and nice is to just use a hair scarf like this.
If you’re inside your home and around smokers, you can use a hair bonnet like this.
I used to use this at home whenever I was frying something because I didn’t want my hair absorbing any smoke smell.
These preventive methods will help you avoid getting the smell of smoke in your hair.
