Holiday hair: caravanning + sea water = eek!

[pepperminttea]

I'm going to Belgium for a fortnight soon, and I'm in a bit of a quandary about what to do with my hair. I'm going with a friend's family, in their caravan, and I'm not sure what the facilities will be like with showers and whatnot. It's also apparently walking distance from a beach, and my friend's been hinting she'd like to go for morning swims while we're there. I love the beach, but my hair's not so keen. I was thinking of doing mini-braids (which given my patience will probably be about 8-12 braids in all), but I don't know if I could leave them in the full two weeks, and whether that would create problems with the hair not fully drying - like that smell you sometimes get from badly kept dreadlocks. When my hair's loose it takes 6-8 hours to fully dry, so it's not as if washing it would be convenient either. What should I do? :?

[paperwhite]

Would two tightly braided French/Dutch braids be an option? If they're done tightly enough, they should hold for a while. I'm not sure about the drying time, though. Do you think you'll be spending a lot of time in the sun? I'd imagine that that would help the braids to dry quicker--your scalp hair should dry quickly enough to not get smelly, and if you think the braids are, you could always just take them out on occasion and rinse and redo them. If there's only the two it shouldn't be that bad (depending on how well you braid your own hair, I suppose).

Regardless, enjoy your trip! :)

[*Aoife*]

I'm watching this too. I got roped in to going on a hosteling trip down the coast so my hair will probably get wet daily. I have no idea what to do with it :( My braids always fall out after a few hours.

[pepperminttea]

paperwhite: I tend to avoid twin braid styles - I have a cowlick in my back parting and it's impossible to get it to appear even, but thanks for the idea. :flower: But I will be spending a lot of time in the sun, which reminds me:

Can you apply sunscreen to your scalp? :hmm:

[paperwhite]

paperwhite: I tend to avoid twin braid styles - I have a cowlick in my back parting and it's impossible to get it to appear even, but thanks for the idea. :flower: But I will be spending a lot of time in the sun, which reminds me:

Can you apply sunscreen to your scalp? :hmm:

Ah, I can see where that would cause a problem. Hmm...maybe just one really tight French or Dutch? Can you do a faux crown braid on yourself? I had a spiral crown braid done last year and it was rock solid. I only took it out because I had to go back to work.

As for sunscreen, I've put it on/around my hairline without any problems. Maybe you can dab a little on your scalp with your fingertips if your hair is going to be parted (don't forget the tops of your ears! ouch!)? It sounds like you're going to be in and out of the water anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it getting all greasy on you.

Good luck working something out for your hair and have a great time! :sun:

[julliams]

I'm not the outdoorsy type at all - in fact the idea of staying in a caravan and swimming in the sea makes me feel exactly the same as you BUT....... this is an amazing opportunity to enjoy something new and experience a wonderful country. Try not to let your worries for your hair get in the way of your fully enjoying this trip. Just tie it up and forget about it. I really don't think that two weeks of sea swimming would do anything that would not be fixed with some babying when you got home. Perhaps bring your fav leave in or oil and lather up in the evenings.

Enjoy your holiday, take loads of pics and experience a new country. You could always go for a hat and tuck your hair up under it as best you can. Wear a cool bandanna if you are just going to be sitting around in the sun so you don't have to worry about burning your scalp.