Reef friendly sunscreen and hair products

[Cali_diver]

Has anyone tried putting on leave-in conditioner or oil the night before, so your hair is dry when you first splash in? How well does that work compared to having your hair wet with fresh water and product? I don't want to be cold before I even get in the water. Thanks!

I have used their products for 5 trips now and I love all of them. A couple people even got them for xmas this year! I love the leave in conditioner and have used it the night before a morning dive with good results. Quality products that do the job!!

My hairdresser also recommended a great brush for my hair and it has been amazing. It gets tangles out and makes brushing easy to tangle hair really easy... you just shouldn't use it to blow dry style your hair! Light and easy to travel with. The Wet Brush

 

[Fragola]

Has anyone tried putting on leave-in conditioner or oil the night before, so your hair is dry when you first splash in? How well does that work compared to having your hair wet with fresh water and product? I don't want to be cold before I even get in the water. Thanks!

Just found this thread and I did this on my last two dive trips, due to laziness or shower access issues. Showers meant either trekking up and down a steep rocky trail to the shower room, using a cramped shower on a boat or being on a day boat for 3 dives with no shower. The leave-in conditioner kept my hair soft instead of crunchy brittle. I have straight fine hair a few inches past my shoulders.

FWIW I did try wetting down my hair and running the conditioner through it first thing in the morning on my first trip but then got lazy and didn't notice a difference just doing it the night before. I kept my hair tied up during dives and pulled up with a clip the rest of the time until it was almost dried on its own.

 

[chillyinCanada]

As the saying goes, it's much better late than never! I also noticed my hands get the wetsuit tan so I have been trying to be diligent on using sunscreen on my hands, too. Many places do not allow gloves for diving so that is my way around it. I also try to get rash guards and UPF shirts that have thumbholes so that it at least extends over my fingers on a surface interval. Another option is to wear one while diving underneath your wetsuit or in lieu of a wetsuit if you run warm. (PS ExOfficio makes a great product called the Bugs Away Sol Cool Kaliani Hoody for women that has thumbholes. It has xylitol build into it with an amazing soft, cool to touch hand to the fabric and keeps me cool even in super hot weather. It has UPF built into it as well as impregnated permethrin so it keeps mosquitos and bugs away. I LOVE it. The impregnanted permethrin only lasts through 70 washings so I don't dive with it. I also only wash it when it really stinks. They come out with it every spring/summer in a few colors. There is also a coral color in addition to the teal one below...and also a blueish one. I wear it on surface intervals and also for hiking/general travel, especially where sun and mozzies will be an issue.)

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Does this still cool you in the heat of Bali, for example?

 

[outofofficebrb]

Does this still cool you in the heat of Bali, for example?

Yes. As you know, I love Indo...I’m there 2X a year for quite a while. It’s the only thing I can handle wearing when it’s that hot with mosquitos. It keeps the sun off me which keeps me cooler as well. I also bring a cooling towel for me neck and head Dr. Cool makes a great one.

Unfortunately, it isn’t as cool as feeling a breeze against your bare skin so it’s a trade off.

 

[Carly Bradley]

I have a lot of allergies to synthetic fragrance, and I am allergic to all chemical sunscreens. I have to be very careful what I put on my skin.

I use coconut oil in my life for many things, using it as hair conditioner for diving works pretty well.

Sometimes I can wear the mineral based ones like Stream2Sea.

Most days I use only sun protective clothing. I love the UV blocking clothing; dive skins, dew-rags, neck gators, etc.

There are many different brands out there, several specific to scuba diving, which actually does have a benefits. There is a particular brand of dive skins I like because they also cover a lot of the hands and on the top of the feet. There are also socks out there and gloves.