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Is Salt Water Good for Your Hair?

Updated on September 5, 2025 | 4 min read

Jaclyn LaBadia, Davines Writer

A day at the beach can leave you with some seriously gorgeous hair. Effortlessly tousled mermaid strands are the vibe for summer, but is salt water good for your hair? We’re answering this and diving deep into the pros and cons of salt water for your locks. Plus tips to protect your hair and get ocean wave hair, sans the ocean. And it all starts now.

Key Takeaways

Is Salt Water Good or Bad for Hair?

Salt water gives effortless beach waves but also strips hair of moisture and colour.
Ocean minerals (calcium, magnesium, zinc) can benefit scalp health and reduce oiliness or dandruff.
Downsides include dryness, frizz, breakage, split ends, and faster fading of natural or colour-treated hair.
Protect curls and strands with leave-ins, SPF sprays, and fresh water rinses before and after swimming.
Sea salt sprays are a safer alternative for achieving textured, tousled waves without ocean damage.
Post-swim care like clarifying shampoo, deep conditioner, leave-in treatments, and hair oil helps restore hydration and strength.

Salt Water's Effect on Hair

So is salt water good for your hair? The answer to this isn’t so cut and dry. Salt water can have both positive and negative effects on your hair. While it’s responsible for creating some of the most amazingly textured strands (and a few other benefits we’ll get into in a minute), salt water strips the hair of moisture in the process. Left unmanaged, this leads to dryness, frizz, and breakage.

In addition to moisture, salt water pulls pigment from the hair shaft, causing natural and colour-treated hair to fade, leaving it dull, often with unwanted, brassy tones. And finally, the drying effects of salt water also irritate the scalp, especially for those with sensitive skin.

The Science Behind Salt Water and Your Hair

Exactly what does salt water do to your hair? Your hair is porous like a sponge, naturally absorbing water. So when it comes into contact with salt water, the high salt concentration creates an osmotic imbalance between the water inside your hair and the salt water. This causes moisture to be drawn out of the hair and into the water, leading to dehydration and leaving strands dry, brittle, faded and prone to breakage.

Hidden Benefits of Salt Water for Your Hair

So if these things are true, how exactly is ocean water good for your hair? For starters, salt water contains minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium and zinc- all nutrients that are beneficial for your hair’s health. Salt also helps to exfoliate the scalp, minimizing oiliness and reducing dandruff and other scalp conditions. And you already know about salt water’s unmatched ability to create the perfect, effortless beachy waves and texture.

Potential Downsides of Salt Water for Hair

Before we get into protecting and treating your locks from salt water, let’s talk a little more about the damage it can do. Salt water primarily causes dehydrating and weakening of the hair shaft. It pulls moisture out making the hair prone to dryness, brittleness, breakage, split ends, frizz and colour fade. The salt transference between strands and the water also causes damage to the cuticle, weakening hair for increased split ends and breakage. Finally, salt water can irritate the scalp and lead to flaking and dandruff, especially if you have sensitive skin.

Avoiding Salt Water Hair Damage

These tips to protect and care for your hair before and after ocean exposure will help you minimize damage.

Apply a leave-in hair milk with SPF protection before swimming to create a barrier against salt and maintain moisture.
Before and after swimming, rinse your hair with fresh water to reduce the absorption of salt water into your strands.
Make deep conditioning treatments a priority in your hair care routine if your hair is exposed to salt water often to maintain moisture levels.
Shield your hair and scalp from both salt water and UV damage by wearing a hat, scarf or protective hairstyle by the ocean.
Be extra mindful about salt water exposure if your hair is chemically treated or already damaged.

Achieving Beach Waves Without the Ocean

Looking for some easy alternatives to get beach waves without the actual beach? Start by checking out our previous post on different methods for achieving beach waves. Or consider using hair extensions, like water wave bundles or ocean wave crochet hair for easy, damage-free texture and volume. And just because you’re not at the beach, doesn’t mean you can’t get the benefits of the ocean in the form of a sea salt spray.

Davines' Solution

Our This is a Sea Salt Spray is your solution for effortless beach waves without the beach. It’s perfect for giving your strands a perfectly imperfect, tousled texture. A little goes a long way with this formula when it comes to natural looking beachy waves.

Caring For Your Hair After Salt Water Exposure

Is salt water good for your hair? It can be if you take steps to mitigate damage after exposure by mindfully cleansing and re-hydrating. Rinse with fresh water immediately after swimming and follow with a clarifying shampoo or sea salt scalp scrub to remove buildup. After shampoo comes a dry hair conditioner to replenish lost moisture. Your final steps are a leave-in conditioner throughout, and hair oil on your ends to seal and lock in hydration.

Davines' Products for Post-Salt-Water Care

These products can help protect and restore your hair’s health post-saltwater exposure.

Solu Sea Salt Scrub Cleanser

The perfect scrub to exfoliate and remove salt water buildup from your scalp and strands after swimming. It also gives incredible texture.

Nounou Conditioner

A nourishing conditioner for very dry hair that moisturises salt-stripped locks without weighing them down.

OI All-In-One Milk

A lightweight leave-in conditioner for controlling frizz, hydrating and softening, leaving hair shiny and silky after a day on the water. And bonus: this hair milk offers heat protection.

OI Oil

The perfect hair oil for oiling your ends after salt water exposure. It adds shine and softness, while detangling and fighting frizz, especially on coarse or very dry hair. And the long lasting scent will leave you smelling delicious.

Is Salt Water Good or Bad for Your Hair?

Let’s close out the debate by answering the question- Is salt water good for your hair or bad? The final verdict is a little bit of both. Salt water contains minerals and nutrients that are beneficial for your hair’s health. Salt also helps to minimize oiliness and reduce dandruff and other scalp conditions. And we can’t forget salt water’s unmatched ability to create the perfect, beach waves. It also dehydrates and weakens the hair shaft, making hair prone to dryness, brittleness, breakage, split ends, frizz and colour fade. It can also irritate the scalp, especially if you have sensitive skin. But making informed hair care decisions, with the right products, tips and routines can help minimize damage.

Sun Exposure Causes Permanent Hair Loss

While sunburn on the scalp can cause temporary thinning or hair loss in an affected area, it’s usually not permanent.

FAQs

What does salt water do to your hair?

Salt water strips the moisture from your hair, initially leaving you with textured strands, but over time this leads to dryness, frizz, and breakage. It also pulls pigment from the hair shaft, causing natural and colour-treated hair to fade, leaving you with unwanted tones.

How long should you leave salt water in your hair?

You shouldn’t leave salt water in your hair for longer than a couple of hours, and definitely not overnight. It’s best to rinse your hair with fresh water as soon as possible after salt water exposure.

What happens if you don't rinse salt water out of your hair?

Leaving salt water in your hair for extended periods of time leads to dry, brittle, frizzy and faded strands that are prone to split ends and breakage.

Should I wash my hair after saltwater?

Yes, washing your hair with a clarifying shampoo after salt water exposure helps to mitigate damage and keep it healthy.

Post-Summer Care

Hydrate, strengthen, and treat your post-summer hair at your local Davines salon.

Find a Davines Salon Near You

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Is Salt Water Good for Your Hair?