You made it back. You survived the weekend. Now what? If you’ve just got home from a music festival, this article is for you!
You’ve had the time of your life, you’ve made memories that will last a lifetime, you’ve learned new things and seen about 438 bands and artists that you can’t even name. But all good things must come to an end.
It now time to relax and recuperate before your next festival adventure!
1. Take your wristband off
Stop what you’re doing and remove that filth-encrusted sentimental piece of glitzy fabric off your wrist. Right. Now.
I knooow that you want everyone to see your festival wristband, so everyone you’ll see will know that you went a festival – but you don’t want to keep that thing on your arm a moment longer than you have to.
The good news is that you don’t have to cut it off! It’s easy to remove a festival wristband while keeping it in one piece. If you want to learn how (including the infamous plastic carrier bag trick) read our guide here.
See also: 10 ways to repurpose your old festival wristbands (and savour the memories!)
2. Have long, hot shower (to wash away your sins)
You stink. Sorry to say it, but you do. I love to have a shower as soon as I get home from a festival. There will be no better feeling than getting out of those smelly clothes right after you get home from the festival. The sooner you do it, the better! If possible, take an extra-long shower to make up for the days you’ve had to go without!
Make sure you do a double cleanse of everything, and scrub those feet, seriously.
3. A deep conditioning skin or hair mask
Even if you’re not feminine, your skin and hair will be in desperate need of some TLC after a music festival. If you’ve been out in the sun, rain and all the elements for the last 4 days, your poor hair and skin have really been through it all.
Use your favourite face mask and/or hair conditioner to relax and hopefully restore some balance into your hair and skin.
The sun’s UV rays can cause bleaching of your hair as well as drying it out. A deep conditioning mask will help repair any damaged hair so that it looks healthy again. If you have dry skin from being in the sun all day, then this will help moisturise your skin while repairing damaged areas.
4. Scrub your fingernails
If you’re wondering why it’s important to spend extra time scrub your fingernails after a festival, it’s because they are the most common place for bacteria to hide. At a festival, you’re probably not washing your hands as often as you should, when paired with spending time outdoors (usually on farmland) that results in dirt getting encrusted under your skin and nails 😳
To scrub your fingernails, use a nail brush or toothbrush with soap and water. Scrub thoroughly under each nail and around the cuticles. If you have time, leave your nails to soak in warm water for 10 minutes before scrubbing them again.
After scrubbing your nails, dry them off using a clean towel or let them air dry completely before putting on any hand cream or lotion.
5. Air out your tent and sleeping bag
Presuming you had a nice, dry festival, you probably won’t need to clean your tent (unless something wild happened) but you should definitely air out your camping gear unless you want a nasty surprise next time you use them.
After you use your tent, make sure to air it out as soon as possible. If you’re not planning on using your tent again for some time, try letting it sit in the sun (if possible) until you can use it again. This will help kill off any bacteria and mildew that may have built up during your trip, making it smell better when you need it next time.
If you plan on using your tent again soon after bringing it home from the last trip, then leave the doors open and let it dry out for a few days before packing it away again. You can also hang up the rainfly outside by itself if desired so that any moisture inside is able to evaporate without affecting other parts of the tent too much.
You can also drape your tent and sleeping bag over your washing line for a few hours so they can fully air out. Trust me – you really don’t want to be faced with a mouldy tent!
6. Get a good night’s rest
Let’s hope you had the foresight to book an extra day off work. On your first day back, go to bed early — and sleep in the next day if possible! Your body needs time to rest after being on high alert for days on end so try not to stay up too late doing whatever it is that you usually do during the evening (playing video games, watching TV shows etc.)
7. Eat a Nutritious meal full of vitamins
After a music festival, it’s important to eat a nutritious meal.
What do you eat during a music festival? A lot of delicious street food, probably. The typical festival diet is composed of carbs, alcohol, sugary drinks, and anything else that can be bought from one of the many food vendors at a festival like Reading, Download or Glastonbury. It’s not exactly healthy — but that doesn’t mean you have to make it worse by eating nothing but junk food for the next week or so too.
Here are some tips for getting back into good eating habits after a music festival:
Eat something green. Green vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals that help your body recover from long days spent in the sun, high temperatures, and physical activity.
Drink plenty of water. You’re going to be dehydrated after a long day at a music festival, especially if you drank alcohol or got overheated in the crowds. Water is an easy way to rehydrate without having to consume too many calories or sodium (which can cause bloating).
8. Put some laundry on
It may seem like a daunting and frankly boring task, but the sooner it’s done, the better. You don’t want to end up with week-old festival laundry stinking out your house. Just pull it all out of your backpack and stick it on.
9. Organise your photos and videos
If you’ve taken lots of photos and videos at the festival, you’ll be itching to watch them back and re-live those memories!
After the festival, download all of your pictures onto your computer or smartphone as soon as possible. This way, if anything happens to your phone or camera, you will have a backup copy on your computer. Don’t lose your memories, be smart, take a backup.
Sort through all of your pictures first by date taken or event name (if there were multiple events). This will help you see which ones are best suited for sharing online.
If you have enough space on your computer or smartphone, save all of your original photos in case someone wants to print one out later on.
Create folders for each event so that everything is easy to find when needed. You can also add additional tags like “band” or “location” if necessary.
Check in with your friends, ask for their photos too. Then you can plan whether to get any photos printed, framed, or for use in a scrapbook.
10. Cure the post-festival blues by Planning for your next festival
Got the festival bug? It’s almost time to start planning for your next festival! Give yourself a few days to recover and you’ll be itching to get going again! Fortunately, in the UK we have dozens of festivals every single weekend, so there’s something for everyone.
