hoods and long hair

[retlaw]

I did all My checkout dives with hair down to my mid back level ,
thankfully I had a good buddy from the start so he was ok with having to shove the hair down the back of my wetsuit before each dive ,seperate hood with zippered back made it all pretty easy and painless though .
Im still amazed how a simple pony tail could turn itself into a big knot underneath my hood although it did give me a excuse to use my dive knife to liberate my hair elastic

I think the Idea of useing conditioner right after , even if you dont wash your hair right away is a good Idea , just wish I had thought of that .
I took the hack and slash route and now dont have to worry about it , although 3/4 of my lovely red hair is gone it's ALOT easier then with long hair and the women dig it so

 

[Sail 'n Dive]

I like to put a wee bit of eco-friendly conditioner into my hair when I brush it into a pony tail the morning of a dive day, esp. when its going to be a saltwater dive. I put 3 pony tail elastic bands around my hair on a dive day, just in case one poops out on me. On the boat/shore, I like to flip my pony tail up on top of my head, and then contain it up there somehow. (I have been using nylon wig caps, which are cheap and work ok, although they do get runs in them. Whats nice about them is that unlike heavier swim caps, they will not interfere with equalizing your ears. So if you go the swim cap under the hood route, pay some attention to that issue.) Then on with the hood -- mine has a back zip. I trimmed the face edges out a bit to make it easier to work with. Inevitably a few wisps of hair somehow get right where you do not want them -- ie where your mask skirt is destined. I find it is easier to tuck in those pesky wisps under the edge of the cap; the hood itself would not hold them in place. After the dive: the conditioner makes it really easy to brush out odd tangle in my hair. I never thought of bringing conditioner and adding it after the dive -- will try that out !
p.s. I usually dive in ridiculously cold water -- ie. 38 to 55 degrees -- in drysuit or 7mm wetsuit.

sail 'n dive

 

[divebunnie]

Now turn those degrees into Centigrade and make that the air temp, and you will have my ideal dive tempearature!!! You brave lady!

Yep you got it, I'm a warm water wuss, and my favourite place to dive is Egypt in the hot hot summer! However in winter there, we do end up wearing hoods and getting to grips with the tangled mass of dreadlocks that ensue, and as I said, the post dive (while hair is still damp) slapping on of conditioner really does help.

Good luck…

 

[tracydr]

I've got a ton of thick medium length/long hair... Any suggestions on whether an attached hood to the suit or a separate hood is better? Pros and cons to both please? Recommendations on brand? I'm looking to do a lot of cold water dives this spring and dont want to freeze my hair follical's off

I like my separate hood because if it's really warm than I only use a lycra hood. If it was attached I wouldn't have that flexibility. I put my lycra hood on with my hair up in a braid or twist, than put the neoprene hood over it if I'm wearing the heavier hood. I always wear the lycra hood, even in the warmest water as it keeps my hair out of the way and is very comfortable, adds a little warmth which I always need.

 

[chaotic-neutral]

My hair is just below sholder length right now, and what i end up doing is just keeping it in a pony tail and using a seaprate hood. had a few problem's on my second dive seeing as how my hair was wet already and diden't want to go through the hood, but i managed. liked the idea about the conditioner, may have to try that and see if it treat's my hair better after the dive.

 

[MissyP]

I use a seperate hood/vest combo underneath my wetsuit.. It adds a 2nd layer of neoprene (I get cold easily), and it keeps the velcro from the collar of the wetsuit out of my hair. The best thing I've found for hair is to leave some conditioner in your hair when you shower before the dive... Then I use Thermasilk's leave-in detangler/conditioner before I dive, and braid my hair. It keeps the hair protected from the salt.

 

[Firediver]

I dive in -1.2 to 9 deegree Celcius water. I use a separat hood, and put my hair in a pony tail.... but I got sick of my long hair and have chopped it off.... it's really short.. 12inches shorter to be exact... I found that those rubber ouchless elastics by Goody worked really well... After a day of Diving i use Naturals shampoo and it gets all the salt water out....little leave in conditioner by infusium and my hair is good as new.

 

[SubMariner]

I dive in -1.2 to 9 deegree Celcius water. I use a separat hood, and put my hair in a pony tail.... but I got sick of my long hair and have chopped it off.... it's really short.. 12inches shorter to be exact... I found that those rubber ouchless elastics by Goody worked really well... After a day of Diving i use Naturals shampoo and it gets all the salt water out....little leave in conditioner by infusium and my hair is good as new.

to even SHORTER. I used to have hair that was shoulder length. But as an Instructor, repeated pool sessions (cloriine) and diving in cold water (drysuit neck seals!) not only took it's toll on the hair, but on my patience. So off it came! Like REALLY short. (Maybe 2"?)

Now it's a breeze.

 

[c-monkey]

I have very long fine hair and have tried numerous configurations to keep it under control. My best solution so far is a french braid, with those no-tangle holders spaced from the base of my neck about 2 inches apart all the way to the end of the braid. Then I ALWAYS use a separate hood-- in warm water just a microprene beanie cap, in colder water a 3mm hood that used to have a bib but I cut it off just under the neck seam. Keeps my head warm and hair in place. I agree with the others onconditioner too--- for those multiple diving days I keep a tiny bottle in my mask box for a little dab on surface intervals...

 

[Maresreg]

I have long hair as well and have the same problem and about a year ago on here there was a post someone made about the hair glove. So I went to the website and purchased a few and the really do help with that issue. Their neoprene and the have them in 2 sizes and they suggest you gut them in half if you have a little bit shorter hair. they have snaps on them and a hook on the inside to contect them to your rubber band to minimize movement and then you close it around the pony tail and snap it closed. they come in a bunch of different colors. Check them out at this link.

www.hairglove.com

I did all My checkout dives with hair down to my mid back level ,
thankfully I had a good buddy from the start so he was ok with having to shove the hair down the back of my wetsuit before each dive ,seperate hood with zippered back made it all pretty easy and painless though .
Im still amazed how a simple pony tail could turn itself into a big knot underneath my hood although it did give me a excuse to use my dive knife to liberate my hair elastic

I think the Idea of useing conditioner right after , even if you dont wash your hair right away is a good Idea , just wish I had thought of that .
I took the hack and slash route and now dont have to worry about it , although 3/4 of my lovely red hair is gone it's ALOT easier then with long hair and the women dig it so