Hiya!

Just a question to see what all of ye do when at the beach...

My husband and I are going to Cancun next month. Neither of us have ever been there before, so we are very excited as you can imagine!

Does anyone have any recommendations as to caring for your hair while on the beach?
I live near the beach, but it doesn't get that hot here, and so I don't go swimming much. When I have, I lash on loads of olive oil in my hair which seems to help a bit with the sea water.

Any other suggestions? Any chance sea water is actually good for your hair? (I know that one is a long shot...lol)

Thanks a million!

Salt water is very drying for your hair.  Putting olive oil on your hair before going into the water is a good preventative measure.  Some will use conditioner.  Either will work best if you first rinse your hair with fresh water, then put the oil or conditioner on.  This allows the hair to absorb GOOD moisture which will minimize absorbing the bad salt water.

Covering your hair in the sun and wind is also recommended to prevent damage.  Find a cute hat or scarf and protect your precious hair.

Thank you. I always forget that about wettin your hair with freshwater BEFORE gettin in the sea. It makes a lot of sense though.

Hmmmm. What is really happening here? Isn't the damage to your hair (from sea water) caused by the salt drying on your hair? I would assume that the water is pulled out of the hair by osmosis because the concentration of salt is higher on the surface of the hair.

But when you are actually in the sea water, is anything negative happening at all? I mean, the moisture content of your hair can hardly be higher than the actual ocean. So shouldn't it be enough to rinse your hair thoroughly with fresh water when you get out? (and preferably condition as well, since I suppose that all gets stripped off your hair)

*scratches head in bewilderment*

EKatherine, you're our science teacher - give us the straight dope please! :-)

/Kate

My educated guess is that yes, the damage is done while drying the hair. So if you have access to a shower, I'd rinse as soon as possible after getting out of the water, rather than allow the salt to dry on my hair.

Someone on one of the other boards decided to do some sort of sea salt treatment to her hair and caused lots of damage.

I think that the best thing you could do is the following: before going in the water, apply oil to your hair to the point where it's waterproof.  I like coconut oil, it's nice and goes on light, without feeling greasy. It looks like some of those hair products they have out now. If you're out in the sun all day, this means the sun is warming the oil on your hair, which is not a bad thing.

My feeling is that conditioner is sufficiently soluble that it will probably rinse out in the water.

Yes, I would have to agree with that regarding the conditioner. So then should I still wet my hair with freshwater and THEN put the oil in or just put the oil in on its own?

Sorry to ask such a dumb question! My hair is so fragile that all I have to do is look at wrong and I go bald. Just trying to make sure that doesn't happen on me holidays!

I rinse my hair with fresh water then oil it.  I feel the oil helps to trap the good water/moisture in the hair.

Hope you have a great vacation!

Thank you! I hope that the caribbean sea is as blue in real life as the pictures I've seen!

And thanks for the sea water tips too everyone!

I thought that oil and water don't mix together that well.

I recently bought both coconut oil (solid) and jojoba oil.  If I wet my hair first would that "prevent" the oils from "taking" to the hair shaft ?

OK - what does everybody else do ?  Don't be shy !!!

If you spread oil on wet soaked hands, the oil still sticks. The same goes for your hair. The basic idea is to saturate the hair with fresh water, so that there's no "room" for the saltwater to seep in, and then the oils serve as additional protection. It's best to do both. Good luck and have a great time 8)

I just have to say that the anti-profanity checker on this site cracks me up. Salthingyer? LOL! I had a post once where I wrote (apparently) about thingytails ;D

/Kate

I didn't even know there was a profanity checker on this site. That's hilarious! While I was reading Anais post, I kept reading 'salthingyer' over and over again thinking to myself, "What on earth does that mean? Is it another word for salt?" LOL

Actually, what Anais says about oil sticking on wet hair makes a lot of sense.  Now that I think about it, after I get out of the shower I put a bit of oil in my hair while it's still wet and my hair slurps it up. There is hardly any oil my hands when I'm done....as opposed to when I do it while my hair is dry. Then I have to wash my hands for an age to get all the oil residue off them.

S-a-l-t-w-a-t-e-r. I don't see any profanity. :P :P  Must be British slang for something. LOL I've written "thingytail" many times too.  

I dunno! I've never heard of saltwater being used as slang in Britain. Maybe it's australian slang...LOL

LOL, you two. Read the word between the "L" and the "E." It is too British slang ;D

/Kate

Ooohhh, I see it now. It's American slang too... Thanks Kate. ;D

Ah yes! You're right! LOL

Well, I'm just back from holidays today and my hair is still on my head after having been in the salt water everyday.

I did the things as suggested on this particular forum and it for the most part worked. I brought along a bottle of Sweet Almond Oil and soaked my hair in fresh water, and then lashed on the oil before I set foot in the sea.

My hair colour is a bit faded from the sun although it's quite shiny. I still think I've come home with more split ends than when I left, so I'm not too sure what to do about that.

I guess it's time for a trim...

All in all, I just wanted to say that the oil/water combo really does help a lot when you are swimming around in Cancun! I think my hair would've been much more wrecked if I hadn't done that!

But the real question is:

[glb]Did you have fun??[/glb]

LOL!

BB, you're a gas!

YES! We had a ball. It was so lovely and warm there. Never seen water so clear blue and beaches so white in all my life.

And as we are on an all inclusive plan at the hotel - with all food and drink included on the price, I ate for Ireland while we were there.

I can't seem to stop eating these days. Hmm...I wonder why...

;D ;D ;D

Ah yes, the all inclusive plans are wonderful!  Years ago I had the opportunity to go to Club Med with hubby and son.  We had tons of fun (even though I had to work part of the time we were there).

I'm sure Ireland appreciates all the extra food you ate for them.   :-X

I think we passed Club Med on the way to the Occidental Caribbean Village where we stayed. It's right down the bottom of the strip. Did you like it?
Pity you had to work while on holiday!
:(

We had a great time.  It was a family oriented site, so they are fantastic activities for our son who was 10 at the time.  As for working - it was worth it - as I didn't have to pay for the vacation  ;D

Ah well, thats brilliant then! Nothings better than a free holiday!

Whoo-Hoo!!

;D ;D ;D ;D

Glad you had a good time, Rua! I envy you! Some warm
sun and beach sounds good right now.

Thank you Babyfine! Sun and warmth was definately a nice change from the damp, cold, dreary Irish weather we've been having!