Beauty Tips for Glastonbury Festival
One of the main and few problems with going to a festival is keeping clean and staying fresh for the 5+ days. I stayed at Glastonbury Festival for 5 nights and 6 days – this is a long time for anyone to go without washing. Add to that the fact that you’re sleeping in a tent, weeing in a portaloo and sharing the ground with 100,000+ more people and you’ll soon realise things can get pretty dirty out there on Worthy Farm.
For me, this is something to enjoy. Getting dirty with the rest of them and being in it together means that you’ll soon become oblivious to how filthy you and your new festival friends are. This doesn’t mean that you should give up all together though, and so, here are my top beauty tips for Glastonbury Festival.
Watch me go through what to take to Glastonbury on YouTube
Keeping clean at Glasto
– Always take your wellies off when you get to your tent. If possible take an extra groundsheet to put outside your tent specifically for sitting on and taking your wellies off.
– If the top of your welly warmer long socks are dirty, roll them down before you go in your tent.
– Take as little as possible to keep your tent tidy.
– Have some old flip flops / slilders ready for late night/early morning toilet runs.
– Take a cheapo solar-powered shower between you and your friends, and then a bikini/good underwear too. Where I camped there was a little woods where you could go and rinse off, if I’d have thought to take one.
– Take baby wipes by the hundreds.
– And extra knickers so you can change at night to stay fresh.
– Pack extra carrier bags to deal with the rubbish and filthy baby wipes.
– Carry anti-bacterial handwash at all times.
– Take a bottle to fill with water to help you clean your teeth.
More on Keeping Clean at Glastonbury
Festival hair
– Some people swear by dry shampoo to keep their hair looking good at Glastonbury. Personally I don’t get it, but it’s a good tip if it works for you.
– When I went to Glastonbury for the first time I actually got my hair washed at one of the on-site salons on the Saturday. I was dubious at first, but went with one of my friends and it livened me up no end. It was ridiculously expensive, and you could achieve the same with the solar-powered shower I mentioned above, but it did the job.
– A foldable hat, or a headscarf wrapped around your greasy roots is always a cool and practical idea.
– Also flowers, hearts, clips, will all brighten up your hair and make you feel a bit better about life.
– Just give up and go with it. Trust me, by Sunday you’ll be beyond caring. Just break through that barrier.
READ MORE: The Festival Accessories You Need This Year
Festival make-up
– Again, like with your hair, there are on site beauty bars at Glastonbury where you can get makeovers done. Be warned that the queues for these places are quite long though, and you might waste quite a bit of your festival experience waiting to get it done.
– Glitter and face paint can cover tired eyes, deathly skin and spotty faces. Use excessively.
– I think you should either go all out, like the previous point, or just wear the same make up you do every day. Faffing around with fake eyelashes and any out of the ordinary make up is far too much effort when you need to make the most of the music and atmosphere.
– Having said that you will look back on your photos of Glastonbury for years to come so make sure you’re looking as good as possible.
– It’s always a good idea to take a decent-sized mirror for the tent and a little compact mirror to carry around too. Not all the Portaloos have mirrors on the back door, and even when they do you probably want to get out of there asap not spend extra time in there checking your lipstick looks right.
Glastonbury toilets
– Yes, they are as grim as they say. Monitor which ones are quietest at the start, and opt for trailer ones instead of the standalone Portaloos. Not all Portaloos were created equal so if you’re not happy with the first option, look again. If you’re not happy with the first three, you probably need to lower your standards.
– YOU NEED A TORCH! It wasn’t Glasto, granted, but this one time at Reading Festival I quickly scouted out the toilet before I went in, with my torch, and there WAS POO EVERYWHERE. Buy one now.
– Always have your own supply of toilet roll with you.
– A few weeks before you go to Glastonbury practice squatting and toughen up those thigh muscles. You don’t want to have to sit down on those toilet seats, trust me.
– If you need a poo on the last day, just hold off and save it for when you get home. This is when the toilets are at their worst.
– Being on your period at any festival is grim, but you’re just going to have to deal with it. You might want to invest in some of those Femfresh Intimate Hygiene tissues, and carry some baby wipes around with you too. Just to keep extra fresh.
More on How to Avoid Festival Toilets
Festival beauty kit list
- Extra groundsheet – £1.95
- Baby wipes – £1
- Flip flops – start at 34p
- Sun powered shower – £6.48
- Bikini
- Extra knickers
- Carrier bags
- Dry shampoo – £2.84
- Hat or bandana
- Glitter – from £2, but I bought this £6.99 one
- Mirror that you don’t have to hold – £3.99
- Toilet roll
- Hand sanitiser – £2.37
Click through for the entire kit list for Glastonbury Festival – I’ve thought of everything.
Hi Vicky!
I am going to Glasto for the first time next week (Ekkk!) Super excited about it but also a bit stressed out as I still have things I need to get.
I am going with my boyfriend and group of mates – they have already been so are really organized about camping etc.
I am writing my list at the moment so I feel a bit more organized and your blogs has really helped me!!
🙂 🙂
Hello Mary, that’s great to hear! So glad I can help. There’s a lot to organise isn’t there? The fact you’re going to be camping for 5/6 nights takes a lot of prep. That’s great that they’re being the organised ones – takes all types to make a successful camp! Just make sure you pack something warm and remember that everything else, well, and that, can be bought there. So as long as you have your phone and money there’s no need to stress. See you there!
Some great tips for glasto here! I’ve never been, but it is definitely on my bucket list. You can cover all manner of sins with dry shampoo, a head scarf, and buckets of glitter and face paint – pile it on!
Yeah definitely. It’s all about the glitter!
Hi Vicky,
A really enjoyable read thank you! Some great tips on surviving Glasto!
Vicky
Thank you – hope I’ve helped!
Visited your site for the first time. Loved the entries. Will look forward to seeing more of your blogs.
Ah thank you Kenneth. Glad you’re enjoying my work!
I am going to Glastonbury for first time this year to be an Oxfam steward having done 2 stints at Camp Bestival – fantastic way to go to a festival alone if husband unwilling to go…..anyway, love your tips Vicky.Regarding personal hygiene, my best tip is to take a bottle of water and tiny bottle of shower gel into least smelly loo to wash important places while hovering over the loo. Also, have had some incidents with loo roll, esp in bad weather, I now just take a packet of 10 tissues in my pocket each day. Good luck to all going to Glasto or any other festival this summer
Oo that’s such a good idea to go as a steward! I might try that. It’s getting harder and harder to get friends to go, yet I don’t want to miss out. Thanks for the tips – that’s a good idea. I hate how grimy you can get at festivals!
Hi,
Just wanted to leave u a note to say how cool ur page is!! I’ve never been to Glasto but my boyfriend has 5 times and from a girls point of view there was alot of stuff to think about!! I found ur page unbelievably helpful and you have literally everything thought out so thanks 🙂
Aw, thank you Serena. That means a lot and I’m happy to have helped. I read this morning that Glastonbury is set to be a wet one – make sure you take your wellies!
Then going to festivals its so hard to keep and maintain your beauty treatments as a girl! Most just give up and allow what happens to happen. But There are a few things you can do, and these are certainly some of the kind of things i have adopted over the years.
Just posted some tips on my blog as well, getting a little too excited too early!
http://thepotofstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/glastonbury-2014-20-tips-advice.html
my first time on your site. been reading a few entries and I really like the way you write esp the 7 deadly sins. 🙂 thanks for the tips, haven’t experienced Glastonbury Fest yet but seems tips here are applicable to other festivals too. thanks for sharing! 🙂
No worries. Glad you enjoyed hanging out on the site for a bit. Please come back again soon!
I agree on the portaloos, you-do-not-want-to-sit-on-those. I guess I have perfected squatting (lol) because even on public toilets like in bars, specifically those which feature metal bands, yeah aren’t that always clean. These are awesome tips indeed, pretty much practical.
The line up for this year’s festival is overwhelming; almost all of my favorite bands are there! U2, Biffy Clyro, Two Door cinema Club, The Naked & Famous, Jimmy Eat World, Coldplay, Mumford & Sons! I can’t wait.