When you think of beach hair, you can’t help but imagine those healthy, long and wavey blonde locks. Unfortunately, especially for water women, we know the reality is quite different. It’s a daily battle against dreadlocks, tangled hair ties and getting beaten up by waves after duck diving, because your hair covered your eyes. The list goes on and after many lost battles, I’ve found some tips and tricks that have genuinely made my life easier and hair healthier. Here are my top tips for how to care for beach hair:

Brushing

You might scoff and roll your eyes, but, I recently discovered there’s a lot more to brushing hair than you may have initially thought. Brushing not only detangles our hair, but it also removes loose dead hairs and distributes our natural oils throughout our strands. This is best when your hair is dry, as wet hair can stretch up to 3 times resulting in breaking and weakening. I personally find it easiest to segment the hair, tie the top half in a bun, whilst I slowly brush from the ends of my hair and work the strokes up to the roots. If it’s particularly knotty, I use a wide-tooth comb to start and then change to my paddle brush. Once I’ve brushed all the segments through, I turn my head upside down and brush from the roots all the way down to the ends.

My Hairbrush Quiver

I was always a believer of one brush does it all, until I ended up with more than one brush. I now use Tek Brushes and genuinely LOVE them. They are handmade in Italy and use only certified wood from responsibly managed forests with 100% organic, eco-friendly and sustainable materials. This also means they’re easy to keep clean and can get wet. Here is my hairbrush quiver:

Paddle Brush with Short Pins

I use this for when my hair has minor tangles and just needs a little tidy up. It gives a sleek look whilst distributing natural oils.

Big Oval Brush

This is my go-to when my hair is a little wild and needs some TLC. I work on a lot smaller sections of hair at a time and work from the hair ends to the roots.

Wide Teeth Comb

The comb is my post-surf saviour. The wide teeth mean you can gently detangle your hair when wet. I also use it when applying a hair mask or conditioner in the shower.

Tek Brushes

Styling

One thing that reduces the amount of brushing we need to do and minimizes hair related distractions during sport, is how we style our hair. It feels so free to have hair down and flowing but the wind and waves wreak havoc. Not only does it weaken our hair making it susceptible to splits and breakages, for me it also gets in the way. I’ve had a fair few instances where I have been kiting, mid trick, about to spot my landing when my hair gets stuck in the gap between my centre lines and bar, or when I come up from duck diving a wave with my hair over my eyes, so I have to stop paddling, move my hair to discover a set wave above to crack me over the head.

I’ve found the best way is to wear your hair in a plait or in a tightly wrapped bun. This means you can secure all of your hair, including the hair at the front, which normally takes the most brunt and can break easily. Ponytails work, but they still end up in my face and the ends are free to get tangled up.

I also use scrunchies to fasten my hair rather than the thing elastics. I find they don’t get tangled up in my hair meaning fewer breakages and they feel a lot more secure!

kitesurf hair care

Products

There are millions of hair care products out there all promising to improve your hair health, so it’s hard to narrow it down to the ones that work for your hair. Conditioner is the number one for most of us and we all have our favourites. As there are so many choices, the key is in the ingredients. To soften the hair, conditioners that contain oil like coconut, olive, avocado, almond, argan oils and shea butter are best, alongside fatty good oils like Cetyl or Cetearyl alcohol. I often condition my hair without shampooing as I don’t want to wash out the natural oils.

Leave-In Conditioners and Oils

Leave-in conditioners are also miracle workers and we can conveniently spray or apply at the beach after rinsing the salt water off. One of my favourites is the Sun Bum 3 in 1 leave-in conditioner. It comes in a small spray bottle so you can toss it in your beach bag, it smells amazing and leaves your hair looking and feeling healthy. It’s A 10 Keratin Leave-In also seems to be a popular go-to for surf girls like Kelia Moniz, although I haven’t got round to trying it yet.

Before bed is my favourite time to give my hair some love. I’ll thoroughly rinse the salt out, apply conditioner, comb it through, rinse it all out, let my hair dry naturally and then apply oil. Any of the oils I listed above will work. I personally use the Sun Bum coconut & argan oil or just plain coconut oil. I only apply oils at night as it allows them to soak into the hair meaning I wake up with soft, healthy and hydrated hair. It’s also important not to apply oil to your hair before going out in the sun as you can burn and damage your hair.

Last but not least in our hair care regime is not only what we put on our hair, but what’s on the inside. Staying hydrated and getting enough vitamins play key roles in our overall health, but can also boost hair health and growth. The main ones are Vitamin A, B-Vitamins like Biotin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Vitamin E. There are so many foods that are delicious and packed with this goodness so you can add them to your breakfast or in a quick smoothie. If you struggle to get enough, supplements can be used.

I recently tried a haircare supplement packed with vitamins from natural sources from Kera Health, and I did notice a remarkable improvement in my hair health. My hair felt stronger, softer and thicker whilst looking more glossy after just a 30-day trial. I still made sure I was getting enough vitamins and water through what I was eating and drinking at the same time.

It’s important to note that everyone’s hair is different. My hair is naturally blonde and very thin so what may work well for my hair, may not work so well for others. However, I hope you can take something away from this article that makes your hair care that little bit easier. If you have a tip that you use and I missed out, please let me know in the comments. I would love to hear more products or tricks that have worked for you!

Much love

Georgina xx