new thread
I just got back from an absolutely fantastic time in Gulf Shores, Al. My family, my best friend and his family, and a third mutual friend and his family all stayed in a beautiful beach house right on the water.
Of course, I burnt to a crisp, and had to be pried out of the water kicking and screaming pretty much every day.
This is our second vacation like this - last year was Galveston - and I've noticed that the salt water is hell on my hair. This time out I had the benefit of knowing it was coming, and conditioned heavily, as well as using copious amounts of leave-in conditioners - three different ones. It helped, but the effects of wind, sun and salt were (are) still pretty obvious.
The other problem was sunburn....on my scalp.
My questions: What do y'all recommend for keeping one's hair in good shape during and after a vacation like this? And, what do you recommend for a) sunblock/burn prevention and b) sunburn recovery that will not have adverse effects on hair?
-m
.
.
Hi
Mr Coffee
This is living prefer your a longhaired guy I got to say i had my doudts as you posted the buzzboard so glad your with us your a cool guy as ive read alot of your posts on there hehe, Nice picture thanks for sharing them !!!!
Axel
Well I have visited the buzzboard, my only real purpose there was to amuse myself by baiting Curt until I finally got him to have a sane and reasonable exchange with me.
Anyway....all good. 8^)
-m
Great result then !!
Are you serious??? I never thought "Curt" and "sane and reasonable" could ever be associated with one another. You must have done a good job with him... I'd be curious to read the exchange. I've visited the board a couple of times myself, but after a couple of not-too-pleasant exchanges with him, decided to leave well enough alone, and have never returned.
dino
It Surprised me to Dino !!!!
Looks great, beard and hair and all!
Glad you had a nice vacation.
They may sell shampoos and conditions with UV filters if you look around.
You might even try putting a little sunscreen right on your scalp...expecially the area where you part your hair.
Good luck!
Hi M
I think we all do kinda have to "live" our lives and have some well deserved fun despite the fact that this or that may not be the best for our hair. Glad you had such a great vacation.
Most likely any Sunburn on your scalp will merely fade away as it doesn't reach down to where the hair growth starts. I suppose one could wear a hat at the beach much of the time to cut down on the Sun getting to your scalp.
Continue on with lots of Conditioner as you have been doing.
A. Sunblock
B. I know to ease the pain of Sunburn, Vinegar mixed with water helps alot in cooling the skin down down. Doesn't cure it, but sure affords great relief. Probably wouldn't hurt the scalp or hair, but I am unsure of this. With luck someone else will post about this that knows for sure.
Justin
You can call me Mike if you wish... 8^)
Thanks!
Do you know of a sunblock for scalps, or will any ordinary sunblock work? Seems like normal lotion type sunblocks would be rather a mess to work with, and a trick to get to the scalp where they're needed.
I've heard the vinegar tip before, as I tend to burn pretty easily not being an outdoors type. I'm not suffering the heat so much as the itching and peeling at this point.
Hey, there's some interesting stuff in the link I've included....Don't know if it's been mentioned here before.
Just out of curiousity, are there any/many sea-side dwelling longhairs here?
-m
Hi again Mike -
Sorry I don't know of this, but perhaps your nearest Pharmacy has a product that would do the trick? Otherwise, another poster may have the answer you are looking for. Yeah, Sunblock in the hair would be a mess.
Glad you are past the Sunburn part but sorry you are into the itching phase. Can be enough to drive one nuts! Well, at least it will soon be over.
I myself have never seen it before or known of it.
For myself the coast is 62 miles from where I live and I make good advantage of it with a one day trip here and there. Not really a dweller............but it wouldn't be hard to take full time if I lived there. :-)
Justin
I scuba dive so I know what you're talking about. The thing that I have found that works best is jojoba oil. Put a lot in your hair before going in the water and it not only protects it but makes detangling easier as well.
In what sort of store would I look for jojoba oil?
-m
I get mine at The Vitamin Shoppe. I think stores that carry various lotions and creams would also have it.
Sounds like you had a great time! Having dreadlocks, I look forward to going to the beach, as the salt water helps even more knots to form.
I saw in Wal-mart that they've got a sunscreen hairspray now. . .I don't remember the brand name, but it seemed like a good idea.
That "Ball" Guy
www.thatballguy.com
I think I've seen sunscreen leave-in conditioner spray as well.
I'll have to look for that. Thanks!
-m
I was at Orange Beach all last week! I went into Gulf Shores a few times (its only five minutes away), and it was a pretty fun trip. Glad you had a good time!
Yeah, it's a nice area, we've already reserved the same house for next year. We didn't venture much east of 59, other than to eat at Sea 'N Suds, and about the only times we went into town were to get groceries (beer).
-m
Man you look so good... I wish i can have coffee with you. I dont really like Galveston beach all that much, last time I went there the sea smells like crap. I was at North Jetty on Boliver Pennisula (where you take the ferry from Galveston) catching crabs. I swore the water smelled like someone took a dump in there.
Thanks. Yeah, I ejoyed Galveston but the water wasn't as nice as at other beaches. Before Katrina, we went to Pass Christian and soe of the other beaches in MS on weekends, the water would be so clear you could really observe the jellys, crabs, stingrays, and various fish.
Part of the problem in Galveston is the currents coming in from the Atlantic, which bring along massive amounts of Sargasso seawead. The stench is decaying plant matter.
-m
I guess I forgot that I should type in at least some text before posting a message.
I visited Galveston once, a few years ago, and you couldn't go in the water because the red tide was so bad. Of course, you didn't even want to be close to the water. It was scary, especially to someone like me who loves seafood. I think I pretty much stuck to chicken throughout that trip.
Your hair looks great, by the way, coffee man.
peace,
dino
One of the best things I have found for sunburn (or other burns, for that matter) is aloe vera. There are many products that contain aloe, but we keep a couple of plants around; actually break the leaves off and squeeze the aloe out of the plant right onto the burned area.
Funny you should mention aloe... when I was in FCI Lompoc (you dont want to go there.... thats where the Feds take you when you cheated them on taxes) they have tons of aloe vera plants growing all over the compound, and we just pick them off and use them for various purpose like skin care or even hair care. No one seems to know or care. While there I also for the first time in my life saw cactus with flowers on them (I hear they bloom like once every 12 years or something). Yea they got some VERY interesting plants there...
I have a pot full of Aloe Vera, it's apparently very hardy. I never thought about using in on hair or scalp though...I guess now that I think about it, they put it in some shampoos and conditioners.
-m
Yes, it is in several of the more effective lotions. I have found it to be excellent. I have used it on sunburns many times, both in Gulf Shores and my trips to Grand Isle.
Hey Mr. Coffee,
Great pics there at the beach!!!
Looks like you've gotten some great answers already. I live only about a 15 minute drive from Ocean Beach in San Francisco; but here the water is too cold to go swimming (ocean current comes directly down from Alaska), --- so I have little experience worrying about salt water and its effects on hair. Also, our famous summer fog that bugs the hell out of us locals (but delights tourists from hotter inland areas of Calif. and elsewhere) acts like year-round "air conditioning", --- so again, limited experience with sunburns, because are such a rarity here (unless I am fool enough to drive to Sacramento, Fresno, or Bakersfield, where I can fry at 100+ degrees)!!
The Gulf Coast looks BEAUTIFUL!!! I lived on the East Coast for a few brief years during the 70s & 80s (in NY & NJ), and enjoyed the swimming especially along the southern Jersey shore, --- as well as also grew up along the shores of Lake Michigan, in No. Illinois... I miss summers like that. Anyway, glad you had such a great vacation, --- and confess to being envious of all that swimming!
Take care, --- and keep that great curly hair!!!
- Ken in San Francisco
Ah yes, I grew up in Detroit, and from time to time paid visits to several of the Great Lakes. I don't remember if I ever went in the water, though. I never was much on swimming until I discovered the Gulf.
8^) My wife has always pried and tried to get me to straighten my hair, I've always told her HELL NO. Heheheh... Being wavy it can get out of control, but when it behaves itself I love it.
I'll create a TLP with a link to my Web-A-Photo album now that I've got it online.
-m
Any spf sun block will help prevent scalp sunburn Then shampoo the saltwater out and conditon, condition, condition
