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While everyone loves those fun, textured, beachy hair waves, it's also true that a beach vacation can be hard on your hair. Sun exposure, saltwater, ocean winds, salt spray, and sand particles can all damage your hair. Additionally, scuba diving and snorkeling masks can also rub and irritate the hair shaft, which means you’ll need extra hair protection while at the shore. To keep your hair smooth, shiny, and healthy near the ocean, it's important to use the right beach hair products.
To help you choose which items are right for your hair, we’ve gathered a simple guide to the best options on the market today. Here are 5 of the best hair products for beach holiday getaways, sure to keep your hair healthy and happy at the seaside!Comparison Chart
Best Hair Products For Beach Holiday Getaways
1. Stream2Sea Sulfate Free Leave-In Hair Conditioner
Review
This hair care product makes it easier than ever to treat your hair after it has been exposed to sun damage. Not only does it help to moisturize your hair, adding back any moisture that was removed in the sun, but it also makes your hair appear much shinier and healthier than it did before, giving users a boost of confidence.
You have two choices of how to use this product -- as a conditioner or a hair treatment. Depending on how you are going to use this hair product, you can rinse it out immediately or leave it in your hair and style it as desired. As long as you don’t use too much of the product, you won’t have to deal with a greasy or flat hair style.
Not only does this product moisturize and help improve the health and appearance of your hair but it also offers a slight hold. This gentle hold is great for anyone who wants to be able to naturally control his or her hair for a fresh, beachy look without adding a lot of other products to the style. It’s perfect for summer care and for a carefree look at the pool or beach.
This beauty product helps undo some of the damage that your hair experiences when you are in the sun for long periods of time. It can help you maintain natural and dyed color, keep your hair looking moisturized and healthy, and also help protect your hair from damage when brushing, styling, or washing your hair.
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2. Sun Bum Revitalizing 3-in-1 Leave-In Hair Conditioner Spray
Review
The Sun Bum Revitalizing 3-in-1 Leave-In Hair Conditioner Spray is a leave-in product that will condition your hair and provide lasting UV protection. It detangles both wet and dry hair, perfect for before and after swimming. It deeply penetrates the hair shaft to control frizz, prevent split ends, reduce color fading, and leaves your hair smooth and shiny. It prevents sun and wind damage, and resists humidity, without weighing down the hair.
The Sun Bum Revitalizing 3-in-1 Leave-In Hair Conditioner Spray is made with banana pulp, quinoa protein, coconut oil, and sunflower seed oil. It contains no alcohol, sulfates, gluten, or parabens, and is safe to use on all hair types and colors. It is also cruelty-free.
For best results, apply to clean, towel-dried hair. It can either be sprayed directly onto the hair, or spray into your palm, rub your hands together, and use your hands and fingers to finger-comb the product evenly through the hair. Follow with combing to ensure that the product reaches the ends of your hair.
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3. Stream2Sea Sulfate Free Leave-In Hair Conditioner
Review
The Stream2Sea Sulfate Free Leave-In Hair Conditioner is a light and non-greasy detangler, to restore your hair's beauty and shine after sun or saltwater exposure. The formula has UV protection but also moisturizes and nourishes hair to improve strength and condition. It's safe to use on color-treated hair and can be used on damp hair before exposure to water, or afterward, to help seal and protect from salt water damage, or detangle and protect from sun damage on the beach.
The Stream2Sea Sulfate Free Leave-In Hair Conditioner is made of a powerful antioxidant blend of green tea, tulsi, wakame, and olive oil. It is free of sulfates and parabens. Even better, this formula is biodegradable and not harmful to freshwater or saltwater marine life, so you can use it without damaging the marine ecosystem. It's made in the US, and comes in environmentally responsible packaging that is 97% post-consumer recycled.
For best results, dampen hair with clean, fresh water if possible. Then apply Stream2Sea Sulfate Free Leave-In Hair Conditioner and finger-comb to distribute evenly, making sure to reach the ends of the hair. Do not rinse it out.
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4. AquaGuard Pre-Swim Hair Defense
Review
Swimming in chlorinated water can be very harmful and stressful for the hair, especially hair that is color treated. Many people use after-swim treatments and shampoos to try to remove all the pool chemicals and prevent further damage to the hair. Unlike traditional after-swim hair treatments, AquaGuard Pre-Swim Hair Defense protects your hair from water and chlorine damage before it starts. It protects your natural hair color and prevents greening or bleaching from swimming pool water. It smooths and protects hair from damage, maintaining hair health. It seals the hair and prevents salt, minerals, and pool chemicals from damaging the hair. It contains natural aloe, sweet almond oil, argan oil, and shea butter.
Simply apply to damp hair 3-5 minutes before swimming, paying special attention to the ends, and then swim as normal. You can use it while swimming with or without a swim cap. Wash as normally after swimming, with or without a swimmer's shampoo as you prefer.
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5. Klorane Protective Oil Hair Treatment
Review
This spray is designed to help protect your hair when you are on the beach and dealing with a lot of sun exposure, making it a great option for anyone with fine or lighter hair. Rather than risking bleaching your hair in the sun or damaging it by exposing your hair to salt and chlorine, this spray forms a protective barrier around your strands that you are sure to love.
Unlike some sprays that leave your hair feeling sticky and wet, this Klorane oil spray manages to leave your hair feeling silky and incredibly supple. This means that in addition to protecting your hair, the spray can make it look much healthier than it actually is, giving you a boost of confidence when at the beach or a pool.
Since this spray is free from alcohol, which can dry your hair, and parabens, which have been linked to major health concerns, you don’t have to worry about whether or not it is safe to use on your head. The ingredients are all plant-based and were harvested in safe and sustainable ways, which is important for anyone who wants to protect and respect nature.
The durable pump on this product won’t easily clog, which means that you never have to worry about being frustrated trying to use it. Because it can be used on both wet and damp hair and reapplied throughout the day, it continues to offer all of the protection that you need in the sun.
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Choosing the Best Beach Holiday Hair Products: Buyer’s Guide
When you’re packing for a beach vacation, it’s important to consider the products that you’ll need to keep everyone safe. A trip to the seaside requires the right products to protect your skin and your hair. While there are many health benefits of going to the beach, it’s also important that you take the proper steps to protect yourself and keep yourself feeling and looking great. In a market flooded with products, we’ve created this guide to help get you one step closer to your next beach adventure!
Here are the key features to consider when choosing the best beach hair products:
Hair Product Type
Each hair product has a different purpose, designed specifically to provide you with the locks that you crave. Here are some of the beach hair product types available:
- Leave-In Treatment
- Pre-Swim Treatment
- Leave-In Conditioner
- Detangler
- Post-Sun Exposure Treatment
It’s unlikely that you’ll find one hair product that does it all, because many have features that are designed to work together in different ways. For example, a pre-swim leave-in treatment is designed to provide protection to your locks before and during your time spent at the shore. A post-sun exposure treatment, on the other hand, is specifically formulated to help nourish and replenish hair after time spent in the sunshine.
Additionally, detanglers, leave-in conditioners and other treatments often host a variety of features like moisturizing, hydrating and more. Some are designed to restore shine, while others are made to prevent chlorine damage. Whatever your personal hair care needs are, there’s a product out there to help you accomplish your hair goals.
UV Protection
Everyone knows how important it is to protect our skin from UV damage, but did you know that you also need to protect your hair? With prolonged exposure to the sun, UVA and UVA rays can damage your hair. Aside from wearing a beach hat, it’s possible to provide reliable UV protection for your hair using hair products.
Each hair product reviewed in this list provides some level of UV protection for your hair. If you’re choosing a product that’s not on this list, ensure that it also provides shielding to the harsh sun rays to keep your locks happy, healthy and looking fresh.
Hair Product Purpose
Each hair care product has a different intent or purpose to help you style or protect your hair. Here are some of the hair product purposes you’ll find on the market:
- Conditioning
- Restoring Shine
- Detangling
- Slow Color Fading
- Protect Color
- Nourish and Moisturize
- Smooths and Protects
Pay attention to the purpose of the hair product you choose to ensure the best results when using in your beautiful locks.
Product Application
There are several different hair care application types, including:
- Lotion Application
- Spray Application
- Aerosol Application
The products reviewed in this list feature either lotion or spray applications, ensuring easy and convenient use. Lotion application requires squirting the product in your hands and applying manually, while spray application products spritz the formula evenly over your locks. Deciding which is right for you depends entirely upon your preference. While a spray application will give you even coverage, lotion application gives you full control of where the product goes in your hair. Consider the pros and cons of each to determine which is right for you to keep you looking and feeling fabulous at the beach this year!
Final Thoughts
Everyone's hair is a little different and reacts differently to different products. These are all fantastic beauty products to protect your hair from the harsh environment of the beach, and preserve your style while on a tropical holiday. However, only the Stream2Sea Leave-In Conditioner is biodegradable and reef-safe, so it's a hair product you can use in and out of the water and not damage the delicate environment on land or sea. We love that it's a superior hydrating product that leaves your locks shiny, soft, detangled, and protected, without harming the gorgeous environments we want to appreciate when traveling. It works and works guilt-free. It's without a doubt one of our favorite finds and an editors pick.
However, for holidays where you plan on being in a pool with treated water, the AquaGuard Pre-Swim Hair Defense is specifically designed to protect hair from chlorine damage and prevent greening in a way that the Stream2Sea is not. So if your next holiday includes natural water, the Stream2Sea is our No. 1 pick, but if your beach holiday includes chlorinated water, the AquaGuard is your best bet.
To protect your hair even further at the beach, choose a quality beach hat, and keep your hair protected from UV rays under a beach umbrella or canopy. Furthermore, don’t forget to share your adventures with the Seaside Planet Community in the comment section below!
Related: Beach Vacation Beauty Tips
Megan Jones leads the editorial staff of Seaside Planet. They are a multidisciplinary team of outdoor adventurers, water sports lovers, and passionate beach goers. You can learn more about Meg and the rest of the editorial team here.
