[EDIT] Nevermind, apparently these two helmets look very similar, and I was beind dumb! :P
I started my character with the Spiral Tailed Helmet, and after creating more head-armor-; the Emberbreak Helmet, I removed the starter helmet completely (I unequipped it, it's not in the Helmet slot, or costume slot) and the Emberbreak helmet appears, but the poofs that sprout from the back of the Spiral Tailed Helm don't go away.
Help? :)
Does zoning into another area not fix it? That should load only the graphics of the things you have equipped, without recollecting any remnant graphics from previous equips.