Super Natural: MahoganyCurls On How To Protect Curls From Saltwater

I love the beach. It is one of my favorite places to go in the summer. Everything about the beach makes me happy the sun, the sand, and of course, the ocean. During my relaxed hair days I didn’t like to get my hair wet at the beach because I did not want to restyle my hair over. The process was too long. Now that I am natural, I love getting my hair wet in the ocean water; however, I have noticed that the saltwater is very drying to my hair.

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One summer I went to the beach with my family and I had a blast. I spent the entire day in the ocean and I enjoyed every bit of it. I noticed that my curls had more definition that usual from spending time in the ocean. To me, it was the best day ever. But, it quickly came to an end when I arrived home. My hair looked great but it was extremely dry! My curls were popping but my hair felt straw-like. I immediately knew the saltwater dried out my hair. That evening I deep conditioned my hair for several hours so that I could bring my moisture level up. The deep conditioning worked. I was relieved.

A few days later we visited the beach again and I made sure that I would protect my hair from the saltwater. This time I wet my hair (a rinse in the shower will work) prior to going to the beach and I applied a very thick deep conditioner to my hair and I allowed it to air dry. Doing this allows my hair to absorb all of the moisture from the deep conditioner and it protects my hair from the drying saltwater. I also like to bring a small spray bottle with plain water and my deep conditioner to beach so that I can reapply the product in case it dries. I now can enjoy my time at the beach and the saltwater without experiencing dry hair after having fun in the sun!

Jessica Lewis’s tutorials have received more than 22 million views on the MahoganyCurls YouTube channel, and nearly 500K follow the Macon, GA native via social media.