Oh yes, kids definitely kids get messy, and mine had thick curly hair too, like me. Some of them still do.
I wiped and washed as we went along, and they often got soaking wet several times a day just because of the activities they did.
At serious risk of stifling their creativity I stopped them rubbing food into their hair though. If they were curious about what would happen if they rubbed food into their hair they found out that it resulted in having hands and hair cleaned with a dripping flannel. I felt if they kept at it they were probably not hungry any more and were signalling that mealtime was over.
Overall, wrt playing with food, I hoped I would be able to take my DCs out to eat even at a young age and I felt that letting them use mealtimes as a sensory experience would be a step in the wrong direction and inconsistent with my longer term aim of teaching table etiquette. We ate out about once a fortnight even with babies and toddlers in tow and I wanted it to be an enjoyable experience for all with no need to leave a massive tip to the server and bussing staff by way of apology. 'Start as you wish to continue' was my motto. I can understand that others may well have different perceptions of what is important at mealtime or may prioritise different aspects of the eating experience though.
Our incredibly hot and humid summers meant playing outdoors for long stretches wasn't safe, and we often had to take shelter indoors when thunderstorms blew up. We would go to the public pool in the morning for an hour or so (rinsing chlorine off in the pool showers afterwards) or to the playground for a similar amount of time, again in the morning, because leaving it til later meant that the swings and slides and climbing equipment became too hot to touch. They dug in the sandpit and there was a fountain/splash area they ran about in too. If we stayed home they often played in the garden sprinkler, but again not for extended periods because the heat was too much. I used a zinc sunscreen on their faces that could be washed off with a flannel, and they wore rash tops and hats.
On days with an air quality warning or heat warning we stayed indoors in the AC. They liked painting, colouring, drawing, building with Lego and blocks, sliding down the stairs on an old cot mattress, bouncing on an old mattress in the basement, building forts out of every cushion and blanket they could lay their hands on, playing with various toys, banging the piano, and >shock horror< I let them watch TV too. We had a shaded back garden dominated by a massive old tree that they could dig in - DS and a friend unearthed many toys and treasures left behind by previous occupants of the house in a massive hole they dug there one summer. We spent many an afternoon in the local library.