GBelle

My friend recently colored her hair for the first time at home (a semi-permanent wash out in 6 weeks)and is booked on a Caribbean cruise in October. She was wondering what kind of reactions hair coloring would get with the intense sun/sand/sea/pools she would experience on the cruise and in the pre-cruise hotel pool. She said if the reactions are too harsh, she could wash the color out before the cruise because she has enough time. Any comments?

mamajo

The best person to ask is her hairdresser. I quit coloring my hair (the same type as she is using) when I used to swim in a pool 5 days a week. My hairdresser said all those chemicals in my hair would/could damage it.

GBelle

That's the problem. She does her own hair, cuts it and everything and it comes out beautiful. So she doesn't have a hairdresser to ask.

GoTravel

Any time you alter the hair shaft (coloring, perming, etc) the sun, salt air, and chlorine will alter the color of your hair.

Blonde hair will turn blonder and red hair will either go orange or strawberry blonde.

Judy24

If you do a risk/benefit analysis here, I think it's a nobrainer. As long as there's even a small possibility of a bad reaction (like a green tinge), why take a chance? Since she's only colored her hair once, it shouldn't be that big of a deal for her to let it wash out in time for her trip, and then she can enjoy herself without having to worry.

starrsville

A couple of things that will help. There are color protective shampoos on the market that can help prolong the color. Keeping conditioner in the hair while out in the sun and sea keeps the hair saturated. Do rinse it out before going in the pool. Hats are great too.

Chlorine will be the worst culprit on changing the color. It can lighten the color and the resulting color is hard to predict.

But, for a cruise in October a 6 week coloring treatment will be pretty much gone anyway - so not to worry. She should just go and have a good time!

aileen679

Chorine and other chemicals in pools will probably bleach out the color. The worse part is that they may change the color completly. Greenish blonde is not a pretty color. Streaked brown can usually look pretty yucky. It's hard to say. The sun will also change the color. Dyes react differently to the sun. Tell her to look on the package. There is probably a web site or a help line that could answer her questions.

girlonthego

I am a blond with a little help from Nice and Easy!! My secret is out. I am helping nature out.
Anyway, I have a pool in my backyard and travel around with out any hair issues. I don't go underwater in the pool that often. (My ears get clogged anyway). I wear a hat on the beach. I do that to protect my face also. I wouldn't worry too much. It is 6 weeks till her cruise anyway. She will most likely have to redo it by then!!!

missypie

I color my own hair and swim in a chlorinated pool a lot. The color is "brioche" which is sort of a golden brown. All that happens is that is gets a bit yellower..not an artificial, attrocious color, but just yellower than the golden brown I started out with.

pdxgirl

I color my own hair and do nothing to protect it from sun or water. I don't swim in chlorinated pools much. When I'm out in the sun, the color may fade a bit faster than in the winter, but nothing weird or damaging. I have colored it right before trips to Hawaii with no bad results. My natural color is brown with lots of gray. I color it reddish brown. Blonds may have different issues, especially with chlorine.

GBelle

Thanks,she said her color was called golden brown so if Missipie's is similar, even if it reacts, it sounds like it may get blonder.

suze

Sun, sand, sea don't worry about, but tell her to keep her head/hair out of the water in clorinated pools (or wash the rinse out pre-trip and start over after the vacation) is my suggestion.

Patrick

Aren't you all missing the easy way out? Go, enjoy yourself, and IF you have a problem, treat yourself to a nice hair treatment -- maybe even a new color -- on board the ship from a hairdresser who KNOWS the problems of sun and chlorine?

Marianna

From my experience, sun, water (pool and regular water for shampoos and showering) will usually change the color of color treated hair. Once in St. Martin, my brown hair turned a bright bronze color from the sun and the local water used for showering and shampooing.

Since your friend colors her hair herself (I do also and I always take my color product with me and do a touch up while away) and doesn't have a colorist to consult, tell her to try contacting the help line of the company who made the hair color she is using. The phone number is usually listed on the box. She will speak to someone who may be able to answer her questions based on her original color and the temporary color she is using. She could also go to the website of the hair color company and find lots of info there. She could probably contact them online also.

crys

A lot of cruise ships use sea water in their pools, rather than chlorinated water. she should check with the cruise line. If hers is sea water, the salt will not threaten her hair the way chlorine will.

MuyLinda

In my experience if she has any blonde in her hair, it will lighten in the sun, salt and chlorinated water. My colored hair lightens about two to three shades during the summer and while on vacation just by virtue of being out in the sun, floating in the pool, swimming in the ocean and even from the tanning beds which I use before we go on vacation.

msaninhas

Hi

She should get a special shampoo, conditioner and spf protection for her hair. Im in Europe and not sure if you can find the same brands in the US, but the best is Rene Furterer (look it up on the internet). Both Kerastase and L'Oreal do a sun range. You should get a SPF 90 spray for your hair, which you should use a couple times a day (first time - before you leave your room!!)

MrsKiss

Consult a hair care product store like Sally Hansen, ask a hair dresser, or go to a hair care web site and possibly you could post or e-mail your question. Had a friend that worked at a pool during the summer when we were in high school. In the Fall she returned to school with green hair. Everyone called her "Seaweed".

kauai_aka

patrick’s right. go have fun and don’t worry about it. if you, i mean your friend, jumps in the pool or lays out in the sun too long. sure you, i mean she, may end up looking like greg brady. go to the ships hairdresser and get it fixed. you’ll probably never see those people on the ship again and you’ll come home looking like a rock star...i’m sorry, i mean she, of course…

all joking aside, those spf sprays during the day and leave-in conditioners for color-treated hair at night will do just fine.

have a great cruise...

(smiles)