Hair Conditioner - heads-up!

[Maresia]

I went to a new stylist today (always a real nail-biter but it turned out well). I told her I'm a diver and she asked what I do to protect my hair when diving in salt water. I told her I get my hair wet with fresh water (and she nodded 'yes') and then I put in conditioner (and she shook her head no). If I understood this correctly, conditioner is formulated to work to restore the hairs' proper pH. It will continue to work to do that for as long as it is on the hair. When we leave it on too long it actually weakens the hair, making it more brittle!!

LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER is not the same. It is formulated to leave in, so if you're using Stream2Sea's leave-in conditioner (like me - phew) you're ok. But if you're using something that says "rinse afterward", follow the directions and get that stuff out of your hair in short order. I didn't know there was a difference. Yes, I know the name of the product should have been a dead giveaway. I only got Stream2Sea because it's reef safe - totally lucked out that it's the leave-in stuff!

Good info. Been diving for years and use conditioner after my dives- leave it on and wash out hours later. Oopsy. Will definitely be changing that now and will pass on the message. Thanks for the tip!

 

[blueclearsky]

Stream2Sea Leave In Conditioner has been my go-to dive hair product since they introduced it. I live in Manatee County (Florida) and this company is "local" so I got on board with their products early on after following them through their testing phases. Every year my husband and I go to the Keys for the month of August and dive almost every day ... the leave in conditioner goes on my wet hair first thing in the morning without fail. My hairdresser is always amazed at the condition of my hair when I return for my first appointment in September. Also, Stream2Sea's Conditioner has never burned my eyes if my mask touches my hair when putting it on. Kimela, I just entered my 70's and started going gray in my late 40's and just let it go ... I bet you look great with your "natural" highlights. Stream2Sea's Leave In Conditioner is very kind to my thin, porous gray hair.

 

[Kimela]

Stream2Sea Leave In Conditioner has been my go-to dive hair product since they introduced it. I live in Manatee County (Florida) and this company is "local" so I got on board with their products early on after following them through their testing phases. Every year my husband and I go to the Keys for the month of August and dive almost every day ... the leave in conditioner goes on my wet hair first thing in the morning without fail. My hairdresser is always amazed at the condition of my hair when I return for my first appointment in September. Also, Stream2Sea's Conditioner has never burned my eyes if my mask touches my hair when putting it on. Kimela, I just entered my 70's and started going gray in my late 40's and just let it go ... I bet you look great with your "natural" highlights. Stream2Sea's Leave In Conditioner is very kind to my thin, porous gray hair.

I gave up on coloring some time during the past two years, so I'm all natural now. I'm thankful that gray hair is a bit thicker and more wiry - I need the extra volume. I continue to also really like the Stream2Sea - the smell automatically takes me to "diving" when I'm home too.

 

[kHz]

Hair consist mostly of protein called keratin, which has high content of amino acids capable of ion exchange. Thus, in theory, glutamic and aspartic acid residues in keratin can be present in their acidic (-COOH) or salt forms (-COONa or -COOK, for example), etc. So nothing wrong with this "pH balance" thingy, although I've no idea how important this is for hair quality. I'm skeptical for another reason: all these shampoos and conditioners contain ingredients that can be poisonous to marine life, so I am against using them on liveaboards and isolated tropical islands where they get straight into sea waters after use.

Agreed. And I lean towards using organic oil as the "conditioner" before a dive. They tend to add a bit glide. But if you are using latex neck seals, you might want to avoid oils.

 

[Brodydog]

Funny. A master hair stylist I saw recently said to just add a little water to regular hair conditioner and it can be used as a leave in conditioner. I think they are all just quoting whatever article they’ve read on the internet, and who knows where some of the sources are from. If someone says it with authority it’s true, right?

 

[Kimela]

Funny. A master hair stylist I saw recently said to just add a little water to regular hair conditioner and it can be used as a leave in conditioner. I think they are all just quoting whatever article they’ve read on the internet, and who knows where some of the sources are from. If someone says it with authority it’s true, right?

Research says ...

 

[Nemrod]

Or get the stuff made for swimming and diving hair protection (now that my Covid do is in fullest bloom):


James

 

[Hoyden]

Or get the stuff made for swimming and diving hair protection (now that my Covid do is in fullest bloom):


James

I used to use this when I was diving everyday (saltwater) and swimming two or three times a week in a chlorinated pool. It seemed to help. Now that I am in the water less, I don't bother as much.

 

[Nemrod]

I used to use this when I was diving everyday (saltwater) and swimming two or three times a week in a chlorinated pool. It seemed to help. Now that I am in the water less, I don't bother as much.

Until a cell phone texting woman ran through a double stop sign at 50 MPH hitting me going at the speed limit of 55 MPH in a brand new Miata ND2RF (2432 miles) tearing my left arm from the socket now 10 months ago putting a stop to my swimming (yes I have had surgery), I swam 3 to 5 miles per week as my core exercise along with cycling, weights and running. And now I am 10 pounds fatter. But she has paid for some dive trips and new equipment since I have no sympathy for texting while driving and damn near could have killed me. Okay, I am being grumpy. The stuff works pretty good. My arm, not so good.

N

 

[kelemvor]

Yes, I know the name of the product should have been a dead giveaway.

Don't beat yourself up about that for even a second. These days, you can't count on product names or descriptions to mean anything at all. Often the same manufacturer will sell an identical product with multiple different labels to appeal to consumers looking for one thing or another.