How to protect your hair!

Diving used to be only a mans sport. Technical divers going deep and staying long. But the world has changed and in the past decade the dive industry has exploded - opening up the world of SCUBA to everyone - man, woman, children. So to honor all the amazing women that love diving and doesn't care it's considered a mans sport, PADI has launched the annual PADI Womens Dive Day!

But as much a us girls love diving, it comes with some problems, with one in particular - the hair. The hair issue. We all know what I'm talking about. Coming back after the dive, with all the hair tangled in to one big dreadlock, salty, messy. And if you dive a lot like us dive instructors, permanent damage starts to happen sooner rather than later, because off the pool, the sun and the ocean. The snorkel and mask tears off parts of the hair - giving you the very sexy "snorkel fringe", and the tips becomes dry. So to help all you dive gals our there, we will list a couple of things to help you out - before and after your dive!

Before:

The main thing so think about before and during your dive is to protect it as much as possible. The tropical climates are not very helpful in keeping you hair silky smooth, so make sure that a part of your pre dive preparation if giving your hair the protection it needs. Try and apply pure coconut oil in your hair before the dive -  this help to put a protective coating all around the hair itself, making it less exposed to the water. Bare in mind though you might get a bit greasy. Once completely covered - try and braid you hair in either one or two braids, keeping the hair from rubbing on your equipment - but remember to NEVER use elastic bands - they are terrible for your ends. If you have got a hood - wear it! All the silicone we have on our mask, mask strap and snorkel makes the hair break easily -  especially if its wet.

After the dive:

Once your finished diving for the day - make sure you wash out all the salt out of the hair. I know we all want that natural beach hair - but it's actually very damaging. If you don't want to use shampoo everyday that's fine, but try to leave a highly moisturizing conditioner in for at least 3-5 minutes in the shower - just to bring back all the natural moisture you've lost during the day. Once you're finished in the shower, only use a comb to brush if your hair is still wet, and never ever put up! When your hair is wet its much more elastic than when dry, which makes it more vulnerable to breakage! Once your hair is all dry, give it another protective layer of argan oil before bed, just to help restore all the damage over night. The last tip is for a long term solution - make sure you get regular haircuts to remove the hair that's already been damaged.