Wearing your wig on usual days can easily become a routine without too much problem especially if you are wearing it indoors or in what we can consider a “controlled” environment. But in cases where you might be exposed to extreme conditions like strong winds, hot or wet weather, there is some level of consideration and care necessary for your wig. For today, we will cover specifically on wig wearing when you go for beach or boating activities.
Sea water, sand, sunlight, and wind are to be expected on a regular beach day. Each of these elements can affect your wig so we shall go through each one and what preventive measures as well as solutions we can note so that these don’t get in the way of a nice day at the beach.
Stubborn Sand
Even with natural hair, sand can be such a bother. A simple wash and shampoo can remove the sand gradually. Now for wigs, we don’t want to wash it vigorously or we will be having strands falling out prematurely. Gentleness and patience is key to cleaning out the sand. First you will need to shake off the larger sand particles. You will want to have good lighting so you can see the clear contrast between the fine sand and the wig.
After gently shaking till you don’t see a lot of sand falling out, you can begin washing the wig carefully. Use a mild shampoo to clean out the sand then rinse with running water to wash out the remaining particles. Add your wig conditioner to help the strands loosen up better, this way the final particles left will easily rinse out as well. When you are done with washing, it is time to set it to dry without wringing it.
Saltwater Damages Wigs
Even if seawater is considered “natural” compared to chlorinated pool water, it does not mean it is already safe for your wigs. The high concentrations of salt in the water actually strips off the natural moisture that your wig has and this can cause it to become tangled and matted. Sometimes this problem can be so severe your wig becomes irreparable. If you have coloured wigs, the salty water will also cause it to fade. The prolonged exposure to the sun after getting with seawater will exacerbate the fading. Lastly, exposure to seawater also alters the texture of the wig strands. This is because the salt reacts with the fibers causing them to become rough.
If you do get seawater on your wig, it’s not the end of its life. As soon as you can, rinse the wig with fresh water, then treat with wig conditioner. You want to try saving it from becoming dry and rough. The shorter the saltwater exposure duration the better.
Too Much Sun is Bad
As mentioned above, prolonged sunbathing of your wig will make it fade and eventually it won’t have that natural look as the colors go away. The easiest solution for this is getting a sun hat or anything that effectively covers your whole head. Make sure it provides good shade so that it won’t just cover some parts of your wig and you will end up having an uneven shade of color through the length of your wig. There’s also a wig sunscreen you can apply to help with UV protection aside from just wearing a sun hat. Actually, if you constantly go outdoors, this would be a good product to regularly use for protection.
The Wind Blows All
Regular wind blowing your wig is not the problem until it becomes too strong and it ends up messing your hair. To add to that, in a beach setting you will have all these sand particles and mists of seawater getting on your wig on an extra windy day!
Head scarfs or any wide-coverage head cover can help with wind management. It does also help to have a proper wig cap to help secure the wig better so you won’t find yourself holding it down for dear life when the gusts are coming.
Additional Tips for Beach Day
Even with all the suggestions and preventive measures above, we can’t avoid the worst situations when it comes to it. So here are some tips from experienced beachgoers:
- Bring an extra – it’s not an impossibility that your existing wig can get damaged beyond repair. Having an extra one is great for emergencies.
- Do not swim with your wig! – this is one easy way to damage your wig quickly. Easily avoidable by replacing the wig with a swim cap instead.
- Choose your “exercise” wig – instead of using your daily wig, select the wig which you use for fitness activities.
- Wig Maintenance after beach day – even if you were careful the whole day, sea breeze contains salt water and possibly some fine grains of sand. It would be good to wash your wig and condition it to prevent damage in the long run.
Beach days are great for pictures and one can’t help but put on their best look while enjoying the outdoors. It is acceptable to be wearing your wig at the beach but just keep in mind that there is no guarantee that you won’t experience some increased wear and tear from regular exposure to the beach environment. So always remember to choose a wig that you would not mind so much if it was damaged, that means keeping the more expensive custom wigs at home.