How will beach salt water affect natural hair?

[Azure18]

Hi all... I have a quick question.

Has anyone had experiences with their natural hair at the beach? I'm going to the FL shore tomorrow, and I'm the type of person that likes to be all in the water. I'm afraid of what effects the salty sea water will have on my hair.
I'm a natural 4a about 9 1/2 inches and I plan of wearing some two stand-twists pinned up. However, all I can think about is salt, sand particles and sun drying out my hair and making it a tangled mess when I remove the twist.

Any suggestions or experiences you can share? Thanks a lot!

 

[Whimsy]

Salt water makes my hair dry and crunchy. i DC every night of a beach vacation to counteract it.

 

[GreenEyedJen]

^^^I'm the opposite! Ocean water makes my hair super soft and perfectly defined!

 

[NaturalBeauty<3]

^ Me too. Soft, perfect curls. But I believe it does my hair like that because of the conditioner I already have in before I hop in the ocean. Anybody remember the kiya-fizzle thread about adding salt in the DC and coming out with perfectly soft hair? I'll see if I can find it.....


And voila:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=262381&highlight=kiyafizzle

Maybe add conditioner to your twists to combat the salt in the water. My hair is fine..., if not more moisturized. Just got back from Myrtle Beach last week.

 

[JinaRicci]

Come to think of it, I've never had a problem with my natural hair either and I grew up on an island. When I was relaxed my hair would get bleached & dry because of daily long exposure to the water & sun. But for your vacation, you should be ok if you rinse really well (try a distilled water rinse-those worked for me) & use a moisturizing conditioner.

 

[Whimsy]

I'm jealous of you guys. I end every day after the beach with a brillo head until i DC overnight.

 

[choctaw]

Saturate your hair with aloe vera juice before taking down twists
Remove shed hairs and detangle each twist before washing

 

[ceecy29]

My 4b hair loved the salt water when I lived in Grenada. Instant softness!

 

[kandake]

^ Me too. Soft, perfect curls. But I believe it does my hair like that because of the conditioner I already have in before I hop in the ocean. Anybody remember the kiya-fizzle thread about adding salt in the DC and coming out with perfectly soft hair? I'll see if I can find it.....


And voila:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=262381&highlight=kiyafizzle

Maybe add conditioner to your twists to combat the salt in the water. My hair is fine..., if not more moisturized. Just got back from Myrtle Beach last week.

I was going to mention this.

 

[Azure18]

Thank you all so much for the great responses! I feel so much better about going. Here's what I'll do

1. Before: Saturate my hair in a good conditioner and re-twist
2. Enjoy the sun and salt water to the fullest
3. Afterwards: Rinse thoroughly w/ water or distilled water
4. Saturate hair with aloe juice and take down twists (removing shed hairs)
5. Co-wash and DC and re-twist.

I'll let you all know how it turns out!

 

[sensi sweetie]

I lived at the beach for quite a few years and while the salt water did make my hair look beautiful short term, in the long term it was quite damaging. I always take a bottle of cheapie condish like HE HH with me to the beach and put it in my hair before I get in the water to keep it moisturized

 

[NikStarrr]

^^^I'm the opposite! Ocean water makes my hair super soft and perfectly defined!

Mine too. After being in the ocean and after a good wash & condition, my hair is always extra soft and curls popping. Salt water is actually considered "soft water", which is why---chlorinated water is "hard water" which is why it usually has the opposite effect. That's why salt water pools are all the rage.