Dive Hair - How to Care
If like me you love going on long diving holidays, doing multiple dives per day and have long hair you’ll know that they do not really go hand in hand! The combination of salt water and sun can cause knotting, dryness, frizz and damaged hair - in my case my brunette long curly hair becomes one giant deadlock that resembles a birds nest made of beavers tails! Having travelled with a small hair brush and limited hair conditioner, evenings after a day of diving have been filled with stressfully dragging the tiny brush painfully through this dry mess of my hair. Imagine having to go through this routine day after day, its a sure fire way to really take the shine off of your holiday, but don’t worry, with a few simple hints and tips you can make sure that you minimise the damage to your hair and reduce the stress trying to brush all the knots out.
Fresh Water Rising
The biggest friend to your hair when diving is fresh water, I make sure I rinse my hair before and after every dive where possible, as soon as I have gotten off the boat I’m seeking out the shower as soon I enter the dive shop, almost barging others out the way (sorry, but I love my hair!) The other tip here is to try and rinse your hair before a dive, the fresh water coats and can add some protection from the salt water and sun.
A fresh water shower helps to protect your hair before a dive
Leave in conditioner
Another great tip is to use a “leave in conditioner” before heading out diving for the day, similar to using fresh water it helps to coat and protect the hair from the salt water. Its become part of my pre-dive routine where I use an amount about the size of a walnut and spread this through my hair right from the roots to the tip before setting out for the day, once back and straight after my first fresh water shower I top up the leave in conditioner to ensure my hair can fully recover. This may seem excessive and I used to worry about the impact this would have on the reef, but I have recently found some great reef safe conditioners such as “Stream2Sea” that help to protect my hair and minimise the impact I have on the fragile coral ecosystems.
Using reef safe products such as Stream2Sea helps protect your hair and the environment.
Deep Conditioning Masque
Pulling out a tub of thick hair conditioning masque (coco yoyo/kheils) after washing my hair with a shampoo bar (lush lemon) is crucial for long and dry dive hair alongside an anti-tangle vented brush or wide-toothed comb. After returning home from a dive trip, treating my hair to a full masque; splitting my hair into sections and brushing in deep conditioner and letting this soak in for a good 20 minutes before giving it a good rinse restores healthy beautiful hair.
Treating your hair to a deep conditioning treatment, such as a hair masque really helps to revitalise it
Diving Hair Styling
Having experimented with almost every conceivable hair style possible from a ponytail to a plait and everything in-between (french plait, plait to one side, bun, top bun) I usually settle with a simple plait these days. Its easy to do before heading out for the day, helps to hold in the leave in conditioner and feels secure enough that it won’t get caught in the mask or regulator hoses. A bandana or buff are also super handy, they help to hold your hair in place and offer a little bit of extra protection too. Another great tip to help save your hair during a dive is to put a neoprene strap on your mask, it helps to keep your hair from being tangled in the mask strap and generally feels more comfortable underwater.
A buff can help to hold hair in place and also add a little bit of extra protection
Lets face it, diving is not a hobby or sport that is kind to your hair and those those of you who like me take a great deal of pride in how my our hair looks it can be incredibly frustrating to see the effect the sea water has on it. It may sound like a petty gripe considering the impact we humans are having on the ocean, but I feel its important to feel good while helping to highlight the impact we have on the reef and help to save them. Hopefully these simple diving hair hacks will help you to save your hair and also save the reef.
Happy diving and healthy hair!