Vacation and Travel Hair- Tips from a professional
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Vacation hair is a struggle, whether you travel to the beach or hike the wilderness, hair can be an inconvenient struggle.
Vacation brings it’s joys, but post vacation brings a different set of struggles and disappointments. Especially for hair.
❌ Chlorine damage.
❌ Sea salt build up.
👎 Tangles and split ends from blowing in the wind- whether you were at the beach or not!
How to handle vacation and travel hair
Basic rule #1, bring extra conditioner!
Hair is like a sponge. Whatever is put on the hair, it will soak up.
So, if you are in and out of the pool, the hair will be soaking up all of the pool chemicals and will smell like chlorine for the rest of your trip. And for a week or two afterward as well.
Am I right?
Simple solution… Extra conditioner.
When swimming both in the pool and in the ocean, wet your hair with clean shower water first. And then put conditioner in it. DO NOT WASH OUT!
The hair will soak up the clean water, and then whatever space is left in the hair to soak up pool water, the conditioner will fill that space leaving no room for anything else to soak in. Thus protecting the hair by coating the outside, and keeping the internal structure of each strand free from welcoming unwanted chemicals that will cause internal damage.
After a few hours, rinse and repeat.
This conditioner technique is good for anyone, of any age, and any hair type.
Using hotel shampoo for a week
I will not bash hotel products. They are there for temporary use, some have better quality products than others.
But hotel shampoos are okay to use once or twice. If in the event that you don’t have your own good shampoo and conditioner.
However, I do not recommend using them consistently. So, for those who travel often, I strongly recommend for the sake of your sanity, your hair, and the long term health of your hair and skin, bring your own products.
If the poor quality of average hotel shampoos and conditioners are used often and more than a few days, the build up of the filler products will increase and it will take longer to get your hair to recover.
Travel and vacation hair doesn’t mean you let go and don’t care for your hair anymore. You just have to adapt.
Clarifying Shampoo
Clarifying Shampoo is gold!!!
Clarifying shampoos on vacation could be used as currency if people knew more about them.
What is Clarifying Shampoo?
But I also highly recommend clarifying shampoo for the kiddo’s in the summertime when the neighborhood pool is frequented more often.
Clarifying shampoo is a product that will strip buildup off of the strands of hair and scalp. Including chlorine.
But it will also strip product buildup, like hairspray for example.
❌ DO NOT use clarifying shampoo as your regular go-to shampoo.
If used constantly clarifying shampoo will strip all of the good oils and nutrients from the hair, causing extra dryness and encouraging the cuticle to lift, reaching to let moisture in but in the end just fraying and causing split ends.
If you, or your kids, are avid swimmers, I highly recommend Kenra Clarifying Shampoo. An excellent and strong clarifying shampoo, safe for all hair types and chemically treated hair.
How to Use Clarifying Shampoo – Ask a Hairstylist
How to Use Clarifying Shampoo Properly
👉 Clarifying Shampoo should not be used as a daily cleanser. It should only be used occasionally once a week, or every time you get out of the pool or salt water.
👉 Shampoo your hair with clarifying shampoo like you would any other kind of shampoo. Allowing the lather evenly over the head.
✔️ LEAVE THE CLARIFYING SHAMPOO ON THE HAIR FOR 1 MINUTE
This allows the shampoo to break down the buildup, whether it be chlorine, salt, or styling product residue, and the buildup will slide right off of the hair when you rinse.
👉 Rinse out your shampoo thoroughly.
👉 Use a hydrating conditioner. You do not want to leave the hair and scalp without any hydration, because the clarifying shampoo has just stripped all of the good oils as well as the buildup.
👍 And there you go! Your hair is clarified and buildup free! Just remember that over-using clarifying shampoo can damage your hair and scalp by stripping the good oils and even fade the color if it’s not being used specifically to strip product buildup, or chlorine out of the hair.
How to Use Clarifying Shampoo – Ask a Hairstylist
Easy hairstyles for travel
Braids! Braids all the way for vacation hair!
- Long braids
- French braids
- Twist braids
- Three strand braids
All of which are excellent for keeping the hair out of the face, looking stylish, and not tied too tight on the hair (unlike the pony-tail) causing breakage in the water.
Hair is elastic. The elasticity of the hair fluctuates as it’s wet and dry. Once wet hair stretches.
If tied too tightly, in the water the hair will stretch and the tie will cut into the hair, breaking the cuticle.
I, personally, still tie my hair in a ponytail sometimes, it is the easiest, but if my hair will cooperate I tie it up in braids.
Braids are also my personal go-to style for hiking. Because of the looseness, and the even distribution of the weight of the hair.
And when hiking, I want my hair to not tangle in the wind anyway. Braids are the way to go, in my professional opinion.
Buns
There is an endless count on how many fun buns you can tie your hair up into.
Fancy. Simple.
- Braided buns
- Twisted buns
- Top knots
- Low buns
- Side buns
There are innumerable different variations of the bun. I do, however, caution you when tying your hair in a bun and then going in the water. Like I mentioned above, tying your hair while soaking wet does risk breaking your hair.
But when the hair is dry and it needs to be pulled up out of the wind, or styled for dinner, a bun is the most elegant and timeless easy style that there is.
And if you need some more ideas for styles for vacation and travel hair, you can combine braids, buns, and ponytails with the ideas from the articles below.
9 Tips How to Remove Chlorine from Hair Naturally
Camping Hairstyles- Easy Hair Tips for Camping
Camping Hairstyles Part II – Easy Tips and Tricks for Camping