What will swimming in salt water do to my hair?

[Kitty34]

I haven't been in salt water since I was a kid. Since the pool on deck is salt water what will my hair be like all week??:p

 

Any tips for the hair would be much appreciated!:)

[fredandbeth]

I was just at my stylist today and asked the same question. He had me purchase some leave in conditioner (Bumble & Bumble). He said when I get out of the water and will not be able to wash it before it dries - to run the conditioner through my hair with a comb.

 

 

Hope this helps

[Happy ks]

There is also a shower right next to the swimming pool, usually by the hot tub. I would suggest rinsing your hair out if you possible can. Salt water really may not do much damage as long as you make sure you wash it out completely (twice). It might make it feel a bit dry, but a good conditioner will help that. I would worry more about sun damage or any chlorine, such as in the hot tubs or therapy pools. If you have any color work done to your hair, make sure you take along a shampoo formulated for colored hair, do not use the shampoo they provide on the ship.

 

All that said, I have never been able to tolerate the cold water in the pools onboard any ship I've been on, I can only make it up to my ankles. I don't think they heat the water at all and it is coooolllddd! We take along a tiny mist bottle to cool down a bit.

[Kitty34]

The water is that cold, Kathy!! Yuk!! I love to swim. I guess I'll have to take my mister bottle than, too.

 

Speaking of cold water.....how cold is the water at the beaches of Cozumel the first week in April?

[trish1c]

Salt water will do far less damage than chlorine.

[Tess2mommies]

I would bring a leave in hair conditioner or a moisterizer after getting your hair wet in sea water or on the cruise in general. If you aren't from a humid area, the humidity does wonders to your hair!

[BlueHerons]

Living on the beach I can tell you exactly what salt water does to your hair.

 

Do you color your hair now? If so the salt water will bleach your hair.

 

I wear conditioner in my hair and try and use one that has an SPF. I also reapply the conditioner when I get out of the water.

[newbiecruiser54]

I have an appt. to have my hair highlighted in 2 days, and am leaving for a Caribbean cruise in 6 days! Not planning on a lot of chlorine exposure, but will be in the ocean a lot. Will I be OK with just good shampoo and conditioner for color-treated hair? I have pretty healthy hair normally, just fine-textured.

[Happy ks]

When I am going to the beach, I apply a deep conditioning treatment, along with a sunscreen applied to my scalp (they have these formulated for hair). Then, I just comb my hair into a ponytail or clip it up, I also try to wear a hat in the sun. That way, if you do go swimming, your hair will not absorb as much salt water/chlorine. If you don't have anything available, just wetting it down with plain water before swimming will help a bit. I was a hairstylist for 15 years, it is unbelievable what kind of damage swimming and sun can do to your hair, especially chlorine and colored hair. Prevention is always better than trying to fix the problem afterwards.

 

I wasn't going to mention this before, but it seems there is a bit more interest than I expected.

[MamaParrotHead]

is the spray leave-in conditioner OK for this "spray it and clip it up" plan...or are we talking the heavy duty conditioner, like you get with hair coloring (my mom refuses to condition her hair,:eek:, and gives me all of the little tubes)?

 

thanks for posting this, Kitty34!

[Happy ks]

If you wet your hair first, the leave in conditioner will be fine. If you don't, you will have to use too much product ($$) to saturate your hair. Or, use those little bottles of conditioner your mom gives you. It's not so much product related, it's actually more of a "saturation so the salt/chlorine does not penetrate the hair shaft as much" solution. I just personally use the opportunity to deep condition my hair, any conditioner will do. The sunscreen not only protects my hair, I hate having my scalp sunburned. It hurts to comb/brush you hair, then you have what I call "potato chip" dandruff when your scalp peels.

[BlueHerons]

I do the exact same thing Kathy does. I saturate my hair with conditioner. I put it on my hair when my hair is dry because it seems to absorb more conditioner. I find an inexpensive conditioner that has a silk or soy protein and just glop in on and slick my hair back. Great time for a deep conditioner.

 

I know they are a fashion no-no but a scrunchie is one of the least harmful things to your hair.

[lovetovak]

why is a scrunchie a fashion no-no? If you are going to the beach or pool isnt it the most comfortable thing to wear. I find alligator clips so uncomfortable if I am laying in a lounge chair.

[Docdan48]

I haven't been in salt water since I was a kid. Since the pool on deck is salt water what will my hair be like all week??:p

 

Any tips for the hair would be much appreciated!:)

 

 

WET!!!!!!!!! Wear a Flowered Shower Cap LOL

[celbercrz333]

I doubt that you will be in the ship's pool that long. Which ship are you going on and where? When we did Celebrity Zenith, the 2 pools were small. When the ship was really moving, the pool water slish-sloshed back and forth and they put a net up. No one swam in them during that time. Carnival Fascination, on the other hand had a larger pool area. Still, with the amount of people in the pool, we didn't go under much. We spent most of the time in the whirlpool. On Fascination, they did have a curved slide into the water, so if you on a ship that has that, you might be under more often! You might be more concerned with being in the salty ocean water. Having grown up in Maryland, we get to the Atlantic ocean a lot. What you wind up with is "gummy hair". Shampooing it is the only option to getting it back to normal. Even the salt air will wreak havoc on your hair. Just don't worry about your hair that much unless you are going to dinner on the ship or you are in port.