Dealing with long hair
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kittikat
Registered
Took some of the advice from this topic, and it worked really well in my last trip.
I have long hair with bangs and layers, and tight bandana was not good enough.
First thing first, I do sideswept bang braid, have it secured with elastic band, then tugged it behind my ear, then make one whole braid at the back.
Then I use hair buff (the long tube kind), have it cover past all my hairlines.
This has worked perfectly for me, and even when strong currents moved my hair buff, the braiding still kept my shorter layers off my face.
During intervals, I just rinse with fresh water, and cover it with hair buff until the next dive.
And the last thing is coconut oil (or any kind of organic oil), which helped me to detangle, and moisturize my scalp!
I have long hair with bangs and layers, and tight bandana was not good enough.
First thing first, I do sideswept bang braid, have it secured with elastic band, then tugged it behind my ear, then make one whole braid at the back.
Then I use hair buff (the long tube kind), have it cover past all my hairlines.
This has worked perfectly for me, and even when strong currents moved my hair buff, the braiding still kept my shorter layers off my face.
During intervals, I just rinse with fresh water, and cover it with hair buff until the next dive.
And the last thing is coconut oil (or any kind of organic oil), which helped me to detangle, and moisturize my scalp!
sharkbite13
Registered
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My dive buddy and I have been perfecting our diving hair for a while.
I'm a DM who mostly works in tropical/warm waters, although have done plenty of cold water diving. I have long blonde hair that is very quick to dry out (even without all the salt water!) its also vey thin/brittle so this has always been a challenge for me. My buddy has long brown hair thats slightly thicker and this totally works on her hair as well!
1. Get your hair wet (with fresh water)
---> this saturates your hair so that the salt water isn't absorbed and wont dry it out
2. Drench your wet hair with coconut oil (totally cool for the environment, not all conditioners are! don't kill our reefs!)
---> this creates a insoluble barrier between your hair and the ocean further protecting your hair (+moisturizing!)
3. braids, braids, braids, --> you choose your style! I personally do two dutch braids tightly down to the nape of my neck. My buddy can't do braids as tightly so she does a braid of her shorter hairs in the front (not quite bangs but close) and then braids that into a braid down below (at the nape of her neck). The key here is to get those front hairs so they dont fly out of the braid and interfere with your mask etc.
4. extra oil on those braid ends! - just do it trust me
5. NEOPRENE MASK STRAP
---> a lifesaver for mask tangles!
6. happy diving!
** your hair WILL be greasy afterwards but its for the health of your hair and you can usually just take a quick shower and wash the oil out effectively, coconut oil is not very thick
it seems like a lot of work but becomes routine very quickly
I'm a DM who mostly works in tropical/warm waters, although have done plenty of cold water diving. I have long blonde hair that is very quick to dry out (even without all the salt water!) its also vey thin/brittle so this has always been a challenge for me. My buddy has long brown hair thats slightly thicker and this totally works on her hair as well!
1. Get your hair wet (with fresh water)
---> this saturates your hair so that the salt water isn't absorbed and wont dry it out
2. Drench your wet hair with coconut oil (totally cool for the environment, not all conditioners are! don't kill our reefs!)
---> this creates a insoluble barrier between your hair and the ocean further protecting your hair (+moisturizing!)
3. braids, braids, braids, --> you choose your style! I personally do two dutch braids tightly down to the nape of my neck. My buddy can't do braids as tightly so she does a braid of her shorter hairs in the front (not quite bangs but close) and then braids that into a braid down below (at the nape of her neck). The key here is to get those front hairs so they dont fly out of the braid and interfere with your mask etc.
4. extra oil on those braid ends! - just do it trust me
5. NEOPRENE MASK STRAP
---> a lifesaver for mask tangles!
6. happy diving!
** your hair WILL be greasy afterwards but its for the health of your hair and you can usually just take a quick shower and wash the oil out effectively, coconut oil is not very thick
it seems like a lot of work but becomes routine very quickly
MelasLithos
Contributor
My dive buddy and I have been perfecting our diving hair for a while.
I'm a DM who mostly works in tropical/warm waters, although have done plenty of cold water diving. I have long blonde hair that is very quick to dry out (even without all the salt water!) its also vey thin/brittle so this has always been a challenge for me. My buddy has long brown hair thats slightly thicker and this totally works on her hair as well!
1. Get your hair wet (with fresh water)
---> this saturates your hair so that the salt water isn't absorbed and wont dry it out
2. Drench your wet hair with coconut oil (totally cool for the environment, not all conditioners are! don't kill our reefs!)
---> this creates a insoluble barrier between your hair and the ocean further protecting your hair (+moisturizing!)
3. braids, braids, braids, --> you choose your style! I personally do two dutch braids tightly down to the nape of my neck. My buddy can't do braids as tightly so she does a braid of her shorter hairs in the front (not quite bangs but close) and then braids that into a braid down below (at the nape of her neck). The key here is to get those front hairs so they dont fly out of the braid and interfere with your mask etc.
4. extra oil on those braid ends! - just do it trust me
5. NEOPRENE MASK STRAP
---> a lifesaver for mask tangles!
6. happy diving!
** your hair WILL be greasy afterwards but its for the health of your hair and you can usually just take a quick shower and wash the oil out effectively, coconut oil is not very thick
it seems like a lot of work but becomes routine very quickly
That's exactly what I am doing (except for the neoprene mask strap - should probably get one), and it works extremely well. Actually, my hair is always much nicer AFTER a dive trip thanks to this routine, since I usually don't take that much care of my hair in everyday life.
For info, I have a big mass of long, thin, dark hair.
Dizzi Lizzi
Contributor
I'm so excited, I will be going on my first dive vacation to Caymen Brac 
. I need some advice, I"m trying to decide if I should just get a bang wrangler and braid/oil my hair or if a buff would work better (braid under the buff). I usually dive in cold water with a hood so this will be different for me for sure. I have med length hair with medium bangs. I was trying to grow them out so I could braid them...well you know how that goes.
My second question is re oil. I use Wen product this is the ingredient list :
Glycerin: A humectant that provides moisturizing benefits to the hair.
Chamomile Extract: Used for its soothing and calming properties.
Wild Cherry Bark: Formulated to help condition the hair.
Rosemary Extract: Designed to soothe hair.
Panthenol: Designed to help strengthen hair and restore resilience. I've googled this and it doesn't seem to be toxic but I can't find anything specific in regards to the effect of use in the ocean.
Would this be safe to use instead of the coconut oil? I have a good supply of product and want to streamline what I'm bringing. When I'm swimming I wet my hair then apply this and then my cap. My hair seems to do very well with this I just rinse it out afterward (it's a cleaning conditioner). What do you think?
. I need some advice, I"m trying to decide if I should just get a bang wrangler and braid/oil my hair or if a buff would work better (braid under the buff). I usually dive in cold water with a hood so this will be different for me for sure. I have med length hair with medium bangs. I was trying to grow them out so I could braid them...well you know how that goes. My second question is re oil. I use Wen product this is the ingredient list :
Glycerin: A humectant that provides moisturizing benefits to the hair.
Chamomile Extract: Used for its soothing and calming properties.
Wild Cherry Bark: Formulated to help condition the hair.
Rosemary Extract: Designed to soothe hair.
Panthenol: Designed to help strengthen hair and restore resilience. I've googled this and it doesn't seem to be toxic but I can't find anything specific in regards to the effect of use in the ocean.
Would this be safe to use instead of the coconut oil? I have a good supply of product and want to streamline what I'm bringing. When I'm swimming I wet my hair then apply this and then my cap. My hair seems to do very well with this I just rinse it out afterward (it's a cleaning conditioner). What do you think?
Dizzi Lizzi
Contributor
So on closer inspection of the Wen bottle at home there are a lot additional ingredients that I can't pronounce or spell, so that's out.
Shannon Markusen
Registered
Hood. that's all. lycra or 2mm neoprene, or perhaps a fun hood with a shark fin. if I don't wear a hood, my hair gets massively tangled.
WrmBluH2O
Contributor
I have (to wrestle with) long hair, and I'm not on Facebook, so thought I'd give a wee bit o' feedback here. Stream2Sea's "Conditioning Shampoo and BodyWash" is lovely. And it is fab to have one product (instead of three) when you're on a liveaboard and trying to take quick showers. The leave in hair conditioner is very nice as well.
I believe the owner is a chemist and avid diver who collaborated with biologists to come up with concoctions that are about as truly reef-safe as they come. There have been other threads that mention their products, and they may be a ScubaBoard SURGE sponsor as well.
Stream2Sea's "Conditioning Shampoo and BodyWash" is lovely. And it is fab to have one product (instead of three) when you're on a liveaboard and trying to take quick showers. The leave in hair conditioner is very nice as well.I believe the owner is a chemist and avid diver who collaborated with biologists to come up with concoctions that are about as truly reef-safe as they come. There have been other threads that mention their products, and they may be a ScubaBoard SURGE sponsor as well.
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pelan-pelan
Contributor
2 mm bonnet - fastens under the chin so no struggle to pull on. Have been using for years. No bother with braiding, no tangling and therefore very small amounts of oil needed. Air did tend to collect in the top of it which made it look like a pixie hat but easily remedied by cutting two small holes in the top.
And then the big payoff - covering my head gives me at least another degree (Centigrade), so I can dive longer, more relaxed, warmer, air consumption minimised.
And then the big payoff - covering my head gives me at least another degree (Centigrade), so I can dive longer, more relaxed, warmer, air consumption minimised.
On the issue of dealing with long hair.
I know this is slightly off track, but there was one incident from the BSAC incident report (2016).
The British Sub Aqua Club has a safety presentation on the incident report at its annual conference. Because this was an unusual incident, it was included in the presentation. See the youtube video below. It pops up at about 31 minutes in (towards the end in the unusual/amusing incidents).
Gareth
I know this is slightly off track, but there was one incident from the BSAC incident report (2016).
The British Sub Aqua Club has a safety presentation on the incident report at its annual conference. Because this was an unusual incident, it was included in the presentation. See the youtube video below. It pops up at about 31 minutes in (towards the end in the unusual/amusing incidents).
Gareth
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