Knots and strands can wreak havoc on your hair and your holiday travel plans. Give locks a little lift-off with these first-class fixes for taming hard-to-handle tresses.

With the upcoming holiday rush, most will be expecting to take flight at some point between Thanksgiving and the new year. Here’s a quick, go-to guide to help fight “flight” hair and arrive looking your best, even if you disembarked looking a bit different.

Travel Light When Taking Flight

Prior to take-off (the day of or night before), wash and condition hair using a weightless, blowout-boosting shampoo and conditioner combo. It’s best not to board with unwashed hair, as this will only exacerbate any potential plane problems. “If I'm traveling for work, I like to book a professional blowout the day before because it lasts for days,” says Vanessa Yakobson, CEO of Blo Blow Dry Bar.

If your hair tends to grease-up midday or you wish to prevent amid-flight problem, stash a travel-sized can of dry shampoo in your carry-on to sop off grease and grime during the flight.

But, it’s how and when you apply them that’s the secret to a sexy style and to keeping dirty strands discreet. You want to keep your line-up of products very limited. The more stuff you apply to your hair, the more likely your style will suffer.

Next, you’ll want to protect tresses and save your style from frizzies and awkward sleeping positions by tying up hair in satin scrunchies or non-elastic ties. Either one will help keep hair from acquiring unwanted, telltale ridges and bends.

Dermatologist Rebecca Kazin suggests bringing a satin or silk pillowcase and place over your pillow to keep tresses from tugging and pulling. A beauty bonus is you won’t wake up with slumber lines etched across your face.

Reach Great Heights

Booking a blowout can make you feel instantly pampered and poised, so you’ll want to protect and prolong all that beauty and bounce. One great idea is to try spritzing your hair with a combo of sea salt spray and water, then pinning hair in place with bobby pins until dry.

Try a sea kelp-infused sea salt spray for that just-back-from-the-beach look, feel, and scent. Once hair has fully dried, loosen it from the bobby pins and scrunch it until the desired effect is achieved.

If strands begin to frizz and/or ends get funky-feeling, slather a small amount of botanical-rich, smoothing serum or balm over those areas for damage control. Your locks will love Hair La Vie Serum.

If you’re traveling to the beach, twist tresses into two low, evenly-braided plaits pre-flight. Right before touching down, let locks loose for instant, voluptuous volume and big, bouncy curls. No hot tools necessary.

If you have long hair and want to prevent limp locks upon arrival, the beauty buffs at Byrdie suggest this tip: flip your head upside-down and secure strands in a loose top knot for the duration of the flight. Right before your descent, let your hair down and tousle to perfection.

If, however, you want to play it straight with a sleek style, run a natural-bristle paddle brush through your hair before pinning it into place.

Pack a One-Two Punch

Upon arrival, get strands that sparkle—literally. Try a flexible-hold mist infused with light-reflecting mica minerals for touchably soft, manageable mane movement that won’t leave your hair feeling sticky.

If your look fell flat during the flight, don’t fret. You can always steal to the airport restroom after you’ve de-planed to blast some cool air from your mini blow gun at your roots for instant revival and “oomph.”  

Then add a few spritzes of dry shampoo to texturize tresses, as well as boosting bounce and body. This technique is the perfect post-plane pick-me-up for tired tresses.

If you have distressed, dehydrated hair, spray a light coating of dry oil from mid-shaft to ends with a moisture-imbuing dry conditioner that won’t weigh down hair. Infused with hydrating and healing dry oils, these take-anywhere, game-changing dry conditioners will add show-stopping shine while detangling tresses and smoothing strands for a star-status style—no matter where your travels take you.