Beach holidays are the best way of relaxing and unwinding. Just the thought of lazing around on the sun kissed sands with the waves rolling the wind playing with your hair makes you want to plan for the next beach holiday. Unfortunately, the beach holiday comes with a catch. The catch on your tresses! All that sun and sand can and does do a number on your hair. At the end of the day, the heat and the ocean saltiness leaves your hair feeling flat, frizzy, and greasy with a damaged scalp. The beach is not kind to your skin or hair. But you need not despair. With these quick and easy tips, you could be vacationing on the beach with your hair looking and feeling gorgeous before and after.

Hydration

Your body is 60% water. Staying hydrated is the holy mantra for both a glowing skin and lovely locks. The sun, sweat, and seawater all combine to suck out all the moisture from your body. The result is hair that is dry, frizzy, brittle and frazzled. The easy and most convenient way to counter that is to restore the moisture lost on the beach. So drink up and let your hair thank you for it.

Pamper Your Hair

Beaches are super fun for you but they are a cocktail of disaster for your hair. You have to indulge in your tresses if you don’t want a nasty souvenir from your beach holiday. Some ways of doing this are:

• Leave-in Conditioner: Apply a leave-in conditioner after you shampoo your hair. A leave-in conditioner works better than your normal conditioner by adding a layer to your tresses. This protects it from moisture loss. It further allows your hair to absorb the conditioner instead of the salty seawater when you go dipping in that sea.
• Coconut Oil: This is one must-have in your holiday bag. Coconut oil is a great multi-tasker. It can be used as an after beach care product or an at the beach care product. You can make a coconut hair mask by applying coconut oil and wrapping your hair with a towel after your day at the beach to revitalize your hair. Alternatively, you can apply the coconut oil before heading out to the beach to protect your hair from the sun rays and the saltwater.
• Right Shampoo: Beach hair protection starts in the shower before you even head out to the beach. Beach holidays call for a different shampoo than what you use at home. This is because you need a variety that helps combat the effects of humidity and sun damage. Look for one that protects against environmental damage especially UV rays.
• Brush: Don’t forget to pack a good quality detangling brush. All that exposure to the sun, water and wind will make your hair tangled and brittle. You will need a good brush to detangle your frizzy, dry and brittle hair without pulling it unnecessarily and damaging your roots.

Scalp Protection

Protecting your hair is all well and good but you need to concentrate on protecting your scalp as well. Some ways of doing this are:

• Hats and Scarf: The best easiest and even a fashionable way of sun protection is to sport a hat or a headscarf. This will automatically protect your scalp and your hair from the harmful effects of the UV rays. The scalp is the first to bear the brunt of sun exposure since those rays will be hitting your head directly. So wear a hat to create a barrier and look fabulous while doing it.

Apart from the sun a hat or scarf will also protect your hair from getting unnecessarily tangled by the sea breeze and wind.

• Oil: Don’t just oil your tresses but apply oil especially coconut oil on your scalp. Moisturize and soothe your follicles by letting them soak in the oil.
• Cold shower: After all that heat and UV rays exposure, do your scalp a favor by taking a cold shower. It will both calm and soothe any inflamed and damaged follicles.

Fresh Water Soak

This might sound a little weird but wetting or soaking your hair with fresh water before you jump into the ocean can help minimize the damage caused by seawater. This is because wet hair will soak up less of the salty seawater than dry hair. Trust this handy tip and your follicles will be very grateful for the freshwater soak.

Avoid Heating Tools

Your hair is fragile and delicate. Heating tools like a blow dryer and hair straightener always cause damage to hair. Complete avoidance is best but can be difficult especially when going for that lovely dinner in the evening. Make sure to at least minimize the use of these heating tools when on a beach holiday since your hair is already getting tremendous sun exposure.

Plaiting Your Hair

Another great way of minimizing beach effects on your hair is by simply plaiting it or pulling it into a bun. Tying your hair makes the strands less susceptible to the wind, sand, salt, and sun. This is because there is less amount of hair that remains directly exposed the rest is safely within the folds of the bun or plait.

Things to Pack

After these great tips on keeping your hair damage free on your beach holiday, it will be convenient to have a packing list. Some essential items that you need for a good hair holiday are:

• Coconut Oil
• Leave-in Conditioner
• Good brush
• Sunhat or Scarf
• Right kind of Shampoo
• Overnight deep conditioning hair masque if oiling is not your thing.

Half of the fun of your beach holiday is lost if you do not have that perfect picture to share and look at afterward. It’s simple to have a great beach holiday without compromising on your hair health. Just follow these simple tips on hair care and enjoy looking fabulous with your tresses.