Portable Hair Washing Basin
If you have ever had your hair washed at the hairdressers you will understand the concept of a hair washing basin - You just lean back and have your hair washed, without soaking everything else around you. So a portable basin works fantastically for people with disabilities as an accessible travel tool!
How It’s Used
This basin works by laying on a flat surface, such as a bed. You lay back, placing your head into the bowl, which has a comfortable groove for your neck and a support for the back of your head. The drainage pipe hangs out of the side of it and the water/shampoo that comes out of it drains into a container of your choice.
Why/How I Use My Portable Basin
If you’ve found yourself on this website then you’ve probably noticed that I love to travel. You’ve probably also noticed that I have a physical disability. This means that I often end up staying at places that don’t have showers that are particularly suitable for my specific needs, and I wanted a solution that would work wherever we end up. When we got our caravan modified we opted not to have an accessible wet-room, so this basin has become a life saver! It means that we can be totally self-sufficient, camping off-grid at sites with no facilities, and I can still have a good hair wash!
As described above, I lay (the wrong way up) on our caravan bed with my head in the basin and a folded towel underneath it to catch any splashes. The drainage hose hangs off the edge of the bed, into our collapsable bucket which sits on the floor, and we use our Colapz travel shower to wet and rinse.
How We Find It
It’s quite a rigid plastic, but I find it relatively comfortable for the duration of a hair wash. The head support makes it easy enough to wash around the back of my head, but if the basin is positioned off, the neck groove occasionally allows water to run down the back of my neck - This is where the folded towel comes in handy! Another thing I should note is that the drainage hose that comes with it is made of very thin, brittle plastic and we didn’t find it quite long enough, so we have replaced it with something else.
Overall, we find this portable hair washing basin really useful! It does what it’s designed to do, and taking it on our travels means that we can stay away for as long as we like, without having to worry about being close to somewhere with suitable facilities.
Alternatives
We opted for a rigid plastic basin after trying an inflatable one for a while. This was because the rigid one drains easier and doesn’t need to be inflated every time you use it, and we have space to store it in the caravan. But if you’re travelling light you might prefer an inflatable hair washing basin. We’d advise you to shop around to ensure you get the right one for you.
Where Can You Buy a Portable Hair Washing Basin?
You’ll find a large selection of them on Amazon, so please do look around for the right one for you. Click on the image below to see one like ours.
*Please note: There may be Amazon affiliate links within this article. It won’t cost you any extra, but should you choose to make a purchase after clicking a link then we’ll get a few pennies towards our next trip! All of our “Adventure Kit” write-ups express our honest opinions, but what works for us might not work for you, so please do shop around and make sure you’re getting the best item and value for money.