Your Indian Rocks Beach vacation on the sunny Florida Gulf Coast is coming. Are you ready? Is your hair ready? One vacation factor that you definitely want to consider is how your hair is going to handle the abundant exposure to the coastal elements of sunshine, salt water, and the coastal breezes. These are all part of beach life along the Gulf of Mexico—paired with the warmer temps and higher humidity of the Sunshine State. Don’t worry! We have some of the best tips for your beach hair and how you can come home with healthier, shinier, sun-kissed locks that look even more beautiful than before you left for your vacation. Here’s how.

Give your hair a vacation

Your hair needs some R&R, too! Give it a break from the heated styling tools, hair products, and your everyday routine. Let your hair enjoy some recovery and restoration time to bring it back to a healthier, natural state of being. Your beach vacation is the perfect time to do this. 

Keep it low maintenance

The best beach vacation hair starts with keeping things simple, low maintenance, and letting the natural beauty shine through. Leave your blow dryer, flat iron, and curling irons at home. Not only do they add extra weight to your luggage, but you don’t want to be tempted to use (and overuse) them while away. Leaving them at home avoids that temptation completely. 

Go with your flow

You know your hair better than anyone else—and that includes what your hair will and will not do naturally. Go with the flow of your own strands and what they gravitate toward when they aren’t styled. Whether you have short, medium, or long hair that is straight, wavy or curly—you will have the best beach hair success if you work with what you’ve got! Forcing it to go any other way is going to have you reaching for the styling products and tools. Your hair is on vacation, remember? Let it do its thing.

Protect your locks

You don’t need to bring a dozen different kinds of styling products with you on vacation. Instead, focus on one or two reliable products that will hydrate and moisturize your hair since it’s going to have more exposure to the sun, sand, salt and chlorine. You’re going to want to be proactive and protect it. That means being prepared before you head out the door of your Indian Rocks Beach vacation rental each and every day. 

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize

Whatever your favorite hair moisturizer is, be sure to use it. Your hair is going to need it! Run a little leave-in conditioner or your favorite moisturizing oil through damp hair at the beginning of your day, and let it stay in while you enjoy the sun and fun. It’s like a deep conditioning treatment that works its magic while you go about your beach day. 

The tropical hair trick

Speaking of moisturizing, did you know that there is a tropical hair trick that’s common knowledge among the inner circles of coastal life? Apparently so! From surfer girls to beach babes the world over, the simple and humble coconut oil is a treasured beach hair possession. It’s the natural remedy for parched hair offering shine, gloss and healthy scalp from applying just a little. Coconut oil contains Vitamin E (an essential nutrient for skin and hair), lauric acid and capric acid—which all help to promote T protein regrowth in the hair by penetrating deep into each strand, making it stronger. Slather it on at the beginning of the day and let it rinse out naturally when you wash your hair at the day’s end. It seems pretty simple and effective. It’s the go-to choice for many who spend most of their days in the sun, sand and surf. You can read more about it in this Vogue article. 

Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize

Since you won’t be over-styling your hair during your beach vacation, it’s a good idea to bring some accessories that will help protect your hair from the elements and give you a super cute beach look all at the same time. The obvious choice is a big floppy sun hat that protects both your hair and your face from too much sun. You could also opt for a more casual, sporty look with a baseball cap or trucker hat that covers your head and has a visor that shades your face. Hairbands and headbands are also a nice way to keep the hair off of your face and add an element of style, while still keeping it simple.

Always do a cool wash

After your day at the beach floating in the gorgeous Gulf of Mexico or after a refreshing swim in the pool at your Indian Rocks Beach condo rental, you’ll most certainly want to wash out your hair afterward. Not only do you want to rinse out the salt and/or chlorine from the day, but you’ll also want to give it a good cleansing wash. Just be sure you opt for a cool water rinse over a hot water one. Hot water overstimulates the sebaceous glands leaving a greasy instead of a glossy finish.

Use a wide-toothed comb or wet-hair-friendly brush

You don’t want to damage damp hair by putting too much stress on it by pulling it too hard or using too much force to get through the ends. Be sure to bring a wide-toothed comb or wet-hair-friendly brush to minimize any breakage while you detangle your locks. Don’t forget to tuck one in your beach bag, too, so you have it with you all throughout the day. 

Beach waves with no heat required

What if you want those coveted beach waves, but you don’t have your styling tools with you? No worries. You can gently and naturally add beach waves with no heat required on your hair. Depending on the length and style of your hair, you have options. If your hair tends to have natural wave or curl to it, you can boost that by leaving a little salt water in your hair or adding it via a saltwater hair product designed just for that purpose. If your hair tends to be straight, you can add soft braids to damp hair and take them out when your hair dries for mermaid-like waves. You can also use a few large, soft sponge hair rollers in your hair, spray them with a styling product and let them set, then remove them when you’re ready to go out. They’re perfect for that natural beach wave look.