Women's hair and hoods

[gb_williams]

My wife is wondering what other female divers use to make it easier and less painful to get a neoprene hood on and off. Conditioner? Shower cap? Combition or something else?

 

[TSandM]

A number of my friends rub conditioner into their hair before putting on their hoods. Not only does it make donning and doffing the hood easier, they claim it reduces the salt water damage to the hair.

I cut mine off . . .

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Deleted

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Your mention of salt water damage to hair caught my eye: what sort of damage does it cause? So far I've felt that my hair is "happier" after a week of diving, but then that could be the hardness/softness of the shower water at the lodging, the amount of conditioner I put in it, or some other factor. If saltwater has negative effects, I'd like to know what they are (won't stop diving, but might alter my routines).

I'm still working out what to do with my hair while diving. A single braid or ponytail is great for keeping my mask strap from sliding down, but is continually "bonking" the first stage. One side pony/braid fixed that, but it still gets kind of snarly, and - worse - removing/replacing my mask is a real pain due to stray hair.

I've also read that conditioner is harmful to the reefs, so I've only been putting conditioner in after diving and before combing my hair out/showering (very helpful). Is that a myth?

I've just got a small neoprene beanie - will see how that works. I haven't figured out yet whether I'll try to cram my hair into it, or braid it below.

Since I will also probably want to wear a full hood at some point in time, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

 

[B4UDIVE]

I have used a thin nylon cap here on Maui to keep my hair in place and to keep my BCD from rubbing my neck raw (little to warm for neoprene) but my dive buddies from Washington loved it, and they are using the nylon cap UNDER their neoprene hoods, to help slide them on and off easier.

 

[drl]

Salt water isn't good for color-treated hair--it can make the color fade. I don't know that it's harmful to untreated hair. I typically use a light spray-on protective oil to protect my color against both salt water and sun; not too much since I don't want it to rinse out and damage the reefs. My hair is too short for the hood to tangle it much. When it was long I used the spray and french-braided it. After diving I use a spray conditioner before I attempt to comb it out.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

What's the spray-on product you use? That sounds interesting.

And yes, the conditioner after dive but pre-combing is a good one; I read that tip here on SB

 

[kathydee]

It's nice when I do remember to toss a bit of conditioner in my hair before slipping into my hood. Hair is much less of a tangle after the dive and smells good. Also the hood goes on/off easier.

 

[ligersandtions]

I have a spray bottle that I fill with a water-conditioner mix....I spray a bit in my hood before I don it each time. I know some people say they use a 50/50 mix, but mine's probably closer to 20/80 (conditioner to water). I don't need a ton of conditioner to make the hood slip on easier, but a little bit sure makes it nice

 

[tstormdiver]

I cut mine off . . .

I did mine too, but may have overdone it, when I get called "sir" everywhere I go .