sea water

[PalomaSincera]

I tried to search for some information on this website, using the search method, but I didn't find any. :doh:

I'm about to go on vacation for a month. It's the same vacation we've been taking since before I was born. Our apartment is right on the beach and we get in the ocean and the pool (salt water) everyday, sometimes twice a day. Two years ago, my hair was WL and I cut it to CBL because it became dry and hard to manage (during the trip). I don't want to do that again... :wail:

What kind of things can I do to protect my hair this summer? Is sea water even good for your hair? Its the Mediterranean sea, so it's got extra salt... if that makes a difference. I could put it up but i really like to swim so that doesn't always work. It would bother me to have it in a bun the whole summer. :neutral:

[frodolaughs]

This is a timely question. I'm also wondering how to protect my hair during an upcoming beach vacation. Unlike you, I do expect to keep my hair in a bun--but I'm looking for suggestions for secure updos. I'm also wondering whether people have found that oiling their hair helps prevent damage. My hair is knee-length, and I don't want my week of fun to ruin it.

[Saldana]

I've found that more than anything, the sun and wind is what does a number on my hair, rather than the salt. But that being, said, here's my advice...

1. Go ahead and wear it down when not in the water. But when you're ready to swim - oil it, and put it in an updo (braid, bun). Cover with a swim cap, if you can stand it.

2. When you're done being in the salt water, take your hair down and rinse it in clean fresh water. No need to shampoo (especially if you think you might be going back into the salt water)

The main thing for me seems to be trying to make sure my hair doesn't dry with the salt water in it - that, and keeping it mostly contained somehow when I'm at the beach.

HTH. :blossom:

Just saw Frodolaughs post after I posted - for secure updo (when my hair was TBL), I found either a braided bun with spin pins, or a folded braid with a giant plastic claw clip worked very well to keep my hair secure. For maximum protection from the sun (didn't work for swimming, but just while out in the sun), I like covering my hair with a silk scarf and/or sun hat.

[PalomaSincera]

Saldana, I can definitely do those two things; at least most of the time. When I get home i can just take a quick shower without shampoo. Two years ago, I was actually shampooing my hair every day, sometimes twice a day... :oops:

[endlessly]

I haven't personally swam in the ocean, but based on what I've seen it do to other people's hair, I think I can make a few suggestions. The first thing friends, family, and really anyone that's gone to the beach has told me is that seawater makes your hair feel very dry and extremely tangled, so if I were you, I would soak your hair in conditioner/oils, then tightly braid it before you even get into the water. This way, your hair has already absorbed so much of the conditioner or oil that it can't absorb as much of the water. And, since your hair is braided, it will also help to keep it relatively tangle-free. This is what I've always done when swimming in pools to help keep the chlorine from massively damaging my hair and it works like a charm, plus, you're essentially getting a hair treatment at the same time.

[Larki]

I haven't personally swam in the ocean, but based on what I've seen it do to other people's hair, I think I can make a few suggestions. The first thing friends, family, and really anyone that's gone to the beach has told me is that seawater makes your hair feel very dry and extremely tangled, so if I were you, I would soak your hair in conditioner/oils, then tightly braid it before you even get into the water. This way, your hair has already absorbed so much of the conditioner or oil that it can't absorb as much of the water. And, since your hair is braided, it will also help to keep it relatively tangle-free. This is what I've always done when swimming in pools to help keep the chlorine from massively damaging my hair and it works like a charm, plus, you're essentially getting a hair treatment at the same time.
This is fine for pools, but I'd be concerned about the conditioner and oil polluting the ocean. Even trace amounts of some things can damage sea life and corals. For example, trace amounts of ingredients in sunscreen have been found to cause coral bleaching.

[PraiseCheeses]

Last summer I spent a good amount of time at the beach. These were the first post-LHC hair-conscious beach trips, so I had to do some experimenting to protect my fine, hip-length hair without turning it into an ordeal. What worked best? Soaking my hair in coconut oil from ears down before leaving the house (giving it time to penetrate), braiding it, and saturating my hair with tap water before swimming in the ocean. I tried bunning to swim, but when wet, the bun became very heavy and the waves pulled at it - it got really uncomfortable. Braided hair is more.... hydrodynamic? :lol: The pre-soak with oil and water helped prevent my hair from absorbing the seawater - I noticed a HUGE difference that one time I neglected to do it. Obviously, wash and condition as soon as possible after swimming.

Oil, freshwater soak, braid, enjoy, wash and condition. Pretty easy. Your hair might suffer some (especially after a straight month in the Mediterranean - lucky you!) but that routine really saved my hair last summer without interfering with anything I wanted to do.

Oh - I don't know if this applies to you, but if you're usually a head-flip upside-down washer (I am), THAT DOES NOT WORK AFTER YOUR HAIR HAS BEEN IN SALT WATER. There was way too much...."texture" to comb my hair around into the upside-down position. I got about halfway through the combing process and everything got tangled and stuck - it took 30 minutes and tons of coney conditioner to right that mess. Washing upright is normally difficult for me, but after a salt water swim it's so much better to just wash it down my back.

[memeow]

I've been working on strategies to deal with this. I think coconut oil and/or coney serum beforehand seems to help me. I rinse with fresh water and conditioner after getting out, but I've found it's actually very difficult for me to get all the salt out. As long as the salt is in my hair, it gets very tangly, so I try to avoid serious combing or brushing until I've shampooed. Instead, I use a few drops of mineral oil and finger detangle, then putting it up. For the actual swimming part, I either make a high cinnabun with spin pins, or a French braid. English braids seem to result in my nape hairs matting.

[dancingbarefoot]

When I lived in Hawai'i, I put tons of coconut oil on my hair before swimming in the ocean. It really made a difference for my hair type.

[PalomaSincera]

Wow, I'm so glad I asked. These are great suggestions. I already bought a glass bottle where I'm putting my favorite oil.

But... I hope my hair doesn't burn with the heat of the sun and the oil.

Dancingbarefoot, you lived in Hawaii?! Nice!!

[memeow]

But... I hope my hair doesn't burn with the heat of the sun and the oil.


This shouldn't be an issue. Heat from the sun isn't enough to burn your hair. You want to watch out for the UV, but some oils actually offer mild sun protection. Keeping your hair up and covered with a scarf or a hat will help even more!

[Larki]

If you're going to be soaking your hair in conditioner, go for a biodegradable one.

[Ishje]

I agree with the coconut oil. I live right next to the Mediterranean and I swim in it often, in summer time at least 3 times a week.
Coconut oil has done the best for my hair, but there is also monoï oil, or if you don't mind silicons there are several leave ins.
Where I live there is also a range of shampoos to protect hair from the sun, I think it is the brand L'oreal Elseve that carries one line. (here in France at least)

The popular beaches around here have sweet water showers, it helps to shower and wetten your hair before you get into the water.
it might be good to also rinse as soon as you get out of the water.

Also: Wear a hat with a wide brim, maybe with a low bun. This will protect your hair very well. It should not be a problem to wear your hair down on the beach, but take in mind that your skin under your hair does not tan, so eventually you might get a weird white mark on your back :p You can also wrap your hair in a light scarf, that one is easy to swim with as well, if you'd like to keep your hair dry.

[Freija]

As others have said, I would really avoid having conditioner on your hair in the sea.

This (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2291018/#b7-ehp0116-000441) is a study published back in 2008, on the impact of sea-swimmers' sunscreen creams on coral reef ecosystems. Four of the ingredients tested in the paper - three chemical UV filters found in a vast number of commercial sunscreens and face moisturising day creams (oxybenzone, octinoxate and 4MBC), and one preservative commonly used in all kinds of personal care products, including hair-care stuff (butylparaben) - were found to cause substantial bleaching (damage) to the reefs, by promoting viral infections of the coral, even when those chemicals were present only at low concentrations in the water. The study also demonstrates just how much of this stuff can actually wash off our bodies and into the sea every year, just through swimming and snorkelling. I think it was between 4,000 and 6,000 tonnes of cosmetic residue that the paper's authors suggested actually ends up getting into the ocean each year in reef areas: with millions of people going into the sea, and about 16,000 to 25,000 tonnes of chemical sunscreen being made and sold each year, it only takes each person to use a tiny bit to build up a high concentration of it in the water.

Although this paper sets out to look only at sunscreen, there are obvious implications for all cosmetic products applied before going into the sea - first, because one of the ingredients found to be damaging was a general and widely-used preservative, not a sunscreen-specific ingredient; and secondly, because it's probable that the four chemicals identified in the paper aren't the only problematic ones out there. There hasn't really been much further research published yet, so we really don't know what is and isn't okay at the moment. It would make sense, though, that if e.g., butylparaben is damaging, then so other, similar chemicals (i.e. other estrogenic preservatives like methylparaben and propylparaben, both of which are found in loads of products including the hair conditioners and body stuff that Lush makes) could be, too.

So... I'd go with caution - I'd actually rinse off thoroughly in fresh water before going into the sea, in order to get all/any product residue (moisturisers, makeup, lotions, perfumes, styling products) off my skin and hair. Then I'd just apply a biodegradable, natural, reef-safe sunscreen to my body. For my hair, plain (unscented, unpreserved) shea butter and jojoba oil are both used very commonly in lots of sunscreens that have been designed to be biodegradable and safe for marine ecosystems, so I'd imagine they should both be fine. I've also seen sunflower oil, cocoa butter and coconut oil used in 'reef safe' products. : )

Maybe you could layer a penetrating oil - like coconut oil or shea butter - onto your damp hair first, then add a layer of a non-penetrating oil like jojoba over the top to seal it in and keep the sea water out, before plaiting it up?

[PalomaSincera]

That's incredible. It's more than sad what we are doing to the planet.


So, jojoba is ok? I was going to take argan oil, but I guess I'll have to take jojoba instead. :)

[Freija]

Jojoba should be okay. : ) I really can't find anything on argan oil - I don't imagine anyone has researched it! - but I can't imagine it would cause a lot of problems as long as it's pure and unpreserved? I'd be surprised if much came off into the water at all, given that it's just oil and would therefore be hydrophobic.

[dancingbarefoot]

Dancingbarefoot, you lived in Hawaii?! Nice!!

Yes, I was lucky enough to go to grad school there. It was where I was living when I discovered LHC, actually (in a previous incarnation before we got this awesome forum setup).

Hawai'i is a great place for long hair. So many locals have long hair.

[Priska]

Hasn't anybody else got lovely curls from Mediterranean (or some other) sea? With only swimming (and diving) in it? I'd really like to get them again, but the salt sprays didn't have the same effect on my hair...

[SandyBottom]

What's your hair type normally? Does it have a wavy inclination naturally that might be enhanced by swimming? I spend loads of time in the ocean and before being more conscious of my hair's health, broke many of the rules of good hair care! I think this thread was one of the ones I found when I was a lurker and really changed my mindset as far as protecting it from sun and sea and still maintain some level of doing it responsibly so as not to harm the sea life. I still spend just as much time in the water. I don't 'try' to get beachy waves, but I have them due to my 2c hair and some ocean water exposure. The pre-care days had my hair naturally sunbleached in some areas, loads of splits and breakage, and the bleached areas were spiderweb fine and very fragile. I loved the salty hair and let it dry like that.I remember my braids would swell up hideously and have lovely braid waves with sun bleached highlights. I still swim with it loose sometimes. Whatever waves I get are the ones I ride.

[Liria]

I'd imagine most oils (except mineral, obviously) would be just fine. (After all, how many coconuts must fall into the ocean naturally!)

As for conditioner, the ocean is big enough that you don't have to worry in the same way as with a small lake, so biodegradable/greywater safe/what-have-you should be plenty.

(Generally, it's recommended to do all your cleaning 200 ft away from water sources to let the soaps filter through the ground.)