Campfires were a beloved summertime tradition where I grew up. In fact, I’m going to go as far as saying that some of the best moments of my teenage years were around a smokey campfire.

While the smell of campfires, that sweet comforting smokiness, can evoke memories of cozy nights by the fire, it also reminds me of how frustrating it can be to walk around with the smell of campfire in your hair!

Having your hair smell like smoke can be uncomfortable and highly embarrassing. The acrid, pungent scent can be overpowering, especially if you are sensitive to strong smells. The smell of a campfire is very clingy, meaning it tends to stay in your hair unless you take the right measures.

What a nuisance!

Thankfully, there are a few, easy-to-do tricks that can help you remove the campfire smell from your hair. So, 

How Do You Get The Smell Of Campfire Smoke Out of Your Hair?

To get the campfire smell out of your hair, start by rinsing your smokey locks with apple cider vinegar to neutralize the pungent aroma.

Then treat your hair with a paste made out of baking soda to absorb as many smoke molecules as possible.

Finally, wash your hair using a specialty clarifying shampoo to remove any remaining campfire residue and smokey buildup.

Follow this advice and you will notice an immediate reduction in the intensity of the smoky smell in your hair. By the time you rinse out the shampoo, you will notice that your hair smells fresh and not like a campfire at all.

Removing Campfire Smoke Smell From Your Hair Can Be Hard

Steps To Remove Campfire Smoke Smell From Your Hair

If you’ve been around campfires at all, you know that the smell of campfire smoke can penetrate deeply and linger in your hair for days, making it one of the hardest smells to get rid of. Thankfully, there are effective and easy-to-use methods to remediate this pesky side effect of this beloved summertime activity.

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse

The first thing you should do when trying to get the smell of the campfire out of your hair is to do an apple cider vinegar rinse. No, I’m not crazy!

The acidity of the vinegar will break down the odor-causing molecules that are stuck to your hair, which causes a neutralizing effect on the smell. 

To rinse your hair with apple cider vinegar, mix equal parts vinegar and clean water. Then, in the shower pour the vinegar/water mixture over your hair, making sure it penetrates down to your scalp.

Let it sit for at least 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with fresh water.

Baking Soda Paste

After you’ve completed the apple cider vinegar rinse, you will need to treat your hair with a simple baking soda paste. This method is extremely effective at getting the smell of campfire out of your hair because baking soda is one of the world’s best, all-natural odor absorbers.

Applying a thin baking soda paste to your hair will allow the baking soda to absorb as many smoke molecules as possible, making them far easier to remove.

To do this simply mix 3 heaping tablespoons of baking soda with enough water to make a thin paste.

Apply this paste to your wet hair and scalp, massaging it thoroughly to ensure that the paste reaches every last odor-causing smoke molecule.

Clarifying Shampoo

The final step to remove campfire smell from your hair should be washing it with a specialized clarifying shampoo.

This is the coup de grâce because clarifying shampoos are specifically designed to deeply cleanse and remove unwanted buildup, dirt, and other impurities from your hair while restoring its softness and natural shine.

To do this, wet your hair thoroughly from your roots to your hair tips making sure to squeeze out excess moisture.

Then apply a bit of your chosen clarifying shampoo as close to your scalp as you can, and lather. After a minute or two, rinse the product out with cold water, and, voila!

Clarifying ShampooPro-Tip: OUAI Detox Clarifying Shampoo (from Amazon) is one of the best shampoos I’ve ever used. It’s going to cleanse your hair without stripping it, and leave it feeling fresh and completely free of buildup.

Follow these simple steps, and you are guaranteed to get the lingering smokey campfire smell out of hair in very little time and with minimal effort. So, next time you want to enjoy a night around the campfire, you can do so knowing full well that you won’t have to put up with a smokey head for days on end.

How To Prevent Your Hair From Smelling Like Bonfire Or Campfire

What if you could avoid getting the smell of a bonfire or campfire in your hair in the first place?

Well, prevention should start with limiting exposure of your hair to the bonfire or campfire. The longer you hang around a source of smoke, the more deeply that that smoke aroma will penetrate and the harder it will be to remove completely.

Prevent Your Hair From Smelling Like Bonfire

Consider wearing a hat or a scarf to cover your hair, and thus reduce the surface area that will come into direct contact with the bonfire or campfire smoke.

Something else you can do to prevent your hair from smelling like a bonfire or campfire is to pre-treat it with a dry shampoo product such as this Ultra Gentle Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk from Klorane (from Amazon). This will help to absorb some of the odor-causing smoke molecules before they penetrate your hair fibers.

Finally, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil scent to help mask the smell of campfire in your hair and reduce any discomfort and prevent you from being too self-conscious about having smokey hair the day after you’ve sat around a campfire all night long.

Last update on 2024-03-24 at 00:04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API