Hola todos!
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| Mexico, 2012 |
I’m back after a few weeks away. I just finished writing the SOA (for my CA designation).
So today’s blog entry is tips for caring for your hair on vacation! I went to Mexico a few weeks ago for my friends wedding and had an amazing time. I know summer is coming up and many curly girls will be going on vacation...without their bathroom closet.
So the following are tips to maintain your curls while on vacation:
1. Deep condition your hair before you leave.
Give you hair a good deep conditioning treatment before you leave. Go the whole 9 yards and apply a plastic cap and use a heat cap to open up the hair follicles...this way your hair isn’t in dire condition prior to you leaving.
2. Pack a hair kit.
I’m sure most girls that travel pack a makeup kit that includes all their facial beauty essentials. Why not do the same for your hair?
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| Some of the contents of my hair kit. |
There’s also no need to spend money on over-priced travel sizes. Before I left for Mexico, I went to the dollar store and for $1.25 + HST I bought a package of travel size beauty bottles, which I filled with my favourite: shampoo, deep conditioner, leave-in conditioner and coconut oil/shea butter mixture. I also packed a regular size bottle of conditioner.
Other things to include in your hair kit:
- Satin/silk night cap (to help keep your curls in-tact while you sleep)
- Product Samples - Do you have sample sizes of products lying around that you never use? Pack them! I subscribe to the Curl Kit (blog post to follow), so I took the opportunity to try out different samples of conditioners, shampoos, leave-in’s and styling gels. The sample sizes are small, so they will fit perfectly in your hair kit.
- Cute hair accessories: bows, clips, hair ties, flowers
- A mini spritzer bottle with water, aloe vera juice, and glycerin (Glycerin is a humectant ..which helps to draw moisture from the air. Aloe vera juice is very good for its moisturizing properties and it has lots of minerals and vitamins. I love this mixture because my hair gets really dry in hot climates, especially if I decide to swim a lot. I’ll spritz my hair with this mixture before applying my leave-in conditioner.)
3. Apply conditioner or your favourite hair oil to your hair BEFORE you go swimming.
This will help to seal the hair shaft, and act as a barrier between the chlorine and your hair.
Also if you wear your hair in an afro, it might be best to put it up (in a bun or in a protective style) to prevent it from getting knotted or matted.
4. Wet your hair with “non-chlorinated water” before you go swimming.
Your hair will absorb the regular water and be thoroughly saturated and help prevent the absorption of chlorinated water.
5. Wash your hair thoroughly after swimming.
Chlorine and salt-water can be very damaging to hair: stripping the hair of natural oils. So it’s very important after you swim to thoroughly wash all the chlorine out of your hair with a good shampoo. Always apply a conditioner to restore moisture and leave-in conditioners are especially important to maintaining moisture and protecting against the heat. Please don't forget the leave-in!!
6. Use conditioning treatments while your away
Before you go out for that special evening...treat yourself to a deep conditioning mask. You’re hair will love you for the 15 min treatment, and it will help to repair any damage to your hair. Not to mention leaving it smelling incredibly lovely and feeling very soft.
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| Twist Outs were my go-to style in Mexico. |
Note: Most hotel rooms give you shower caps and a hair drier. All you need to bring is the conditioner! If you didn’t bring a deep conditioner or you run out, you can also turn a regular conditioner into a mini-treatment. Just add some natural oil (i.e., coconut or whatever you have on hand in your hair kit) and apply to your hair. Use the shower cap, and blow dry for 10-15 minutes to open up the hair follicle and let all the magic in. Rinse and apply a leave-in.
7. Protective Styles
If you don’t want to worry about styling your hair the whole trip, shoot for a protective style. There are tons of options to chose from: braids, buns, corn rows!
You can also aim for low maintenance styles, such as bantu knots and twist outs.
Remember, it’s important to keep up your hair regime on vacation!
J
"El amor mira no con los ojos, sino con la mente"
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