Using sea salt spray is an easy and convenient way to give your curls definition and to get some quick volume in your hair before going out. However, some users report developing dry, brittle hair that is falling out after applying this styling product too frequently. Could the sea salt spray cause hair loss, or is there more to this story?
You will be happy to know that with moderate use, your sea salt spray is unlikely to cause alopecia. However, if overused and/or applied on already weathered hair, it can dry it out and damage it further. Thus, over time, the dryness can make your strands brittle and more prone to hair breakage [1].
This article will tell you everything you need to know about the relationship between sea salt spray use and hair loss, the benefits this hair product provides and the risks it can pose to your hair health. You will learn how to safely use sea salt spray to avoid hair dryness and breakage, and how to prepare your own, natural formulation. Moreover, you will receive helpful tips and tricks for treating hair dryness or damage caused by sea salt spray overuse.
Key Takeaways:
At this time, there are no studies conducted specifically on the relationship between sea salt sprays and hair health. Thus, there is no scientific evidence that sea salt spray can cause true hair loss. It has not been observed to trigger or worsen any known type of alopecia.
However, under certain circumstances (to be discussed), it can cause dry hair that breaks off easily when combed or styled. Excessive hair breakage may lead to a thinner ponytail over time. This becomes especially conspicuous when it occurs alongside other, unrelated hair loss conditions such as telogen effluvium or androgenetic alopecia.
One of the main problems with studying the effects of sea salt spray on hair health is that formulations differ significantly, which makes it quite challenging to determine their overall impact. Some contain harsh chemicals, such as parabens, sulphates or alcohol, which can dry and damage your hair with repeated use. Others contain natural ingredients with a positive impact on hair health, such as:
The origin and concentration of the salt in the sprays also vary, as some use higher proportions of actual sea salt, while others replace a significant part of it with Epsom salt (a magnesium and sulphate compound frequently used in cosmetics). This makes the overall effect of sea salt spray on human hair in general difficult to assess correctly.
You may be wondering if your hair is falling out or if it has simply become more brittle from excessive sea salt spray use. The difference between hair loss and hair breakage can be subtle and difficult to spot by the untrained eye. The former involves your hair becoming detached from the root, usually as a result of some form of alopecia. The latter involves your hair fibres snapping along their length, often due to hair dryness or weathering.
Knowing what to look for can help tell them apart. Here are some signs that can give you an idea of whether you are experiencing hair breakage due to sea salt spray-induced dryness or a type of alopecia:
However, hair breakage and hair loss can sometimes occur at the same time. And while, in most cases, brittle hair can often be fixed with a scalp and hair detox or a shorter haircut, the most common form of alopecia – male or female pattern baldness – will progress if left untreated. Thus, it is best to see a trichologist who can diagnose you and confirm that excessive sea salt spray use is indeed the reason your hair has been falling out.
Here are the main things you need to know about sea salt spray and its damaging impact on your hair when overused:
Sea salt sprays are cosmetic hair products that users apply to their hair to improve its texture, volume and overall appearance. As their name reveals, they are mainly a sea salt and water solution. However, the salt is often accompanied by a variety of additional components, such as magnesium sulphate (Epsom salt), moisturising and conditioning agents, preservatives, propellants, fragrances, etc.
Sea salt spray can tighten your curls by drawing some of the moisture out of your hair fibres. This will not only make your hair look more textured, but it will also improve its volume and make it appear fuller.
There is mixed evidence regarding whether saltwater is good for your hair.
While it can be benign when used sparingly, overuse can cause the salt to pull too much moisture from your hair shafts, drying them to a dull, brittle state and potentially damaging their cuticles. This is especially true for people with already dry or damaged hair (to be discussed)
Moreover, the salt in these sprays makes the hair cuticles rougher, increasing friction between them and making it easier for them to split and break. It can also make your hair tangle more easily, which means that unless the knots are worked out very gently, more of it may snap off during regular brushing.
However, not all sea salt sprays pose a risk to your hair health, especially when used in moderation. Depending on their ingredient list, some contain moisturising agents that reduce the product’s dehydrating effect and may even help keep it strong, shiny and elastic.
People who overuse sea salt spray, especially alongside other damaging styling practices, may end up with dry hair that feels like straw. Here are some of the typical dry hair signs to look out for [2]:
Most people’s hair will be fine as long as they don’t use sea salt spray excessively and make sure to apply hair moisturisers regularly. However, some users – especially those whose hair is already deteriorated – can experience damage that leads to breakage:
If your hair has been dehydrated and made brittle by excessive sea salt spray use, there are some great at-home dry hair treatment options you can try to help you deal with your brittle hair falling out. Here are some of them [5]:
If you want a natural sea salt spray whose ingredients you can be sure of, you can easily make some yourself. The process is easy and relatively inexpensive. Here is what you need to do:
Ingredients:
Preparation instructions:
Whether your sea salt spray is home-made or store-bought, here is how you should apply it to your hair to get the best and most hair-friendly results:
While overusing sea salt spray may dry out your hair, using the right amounts and good quality, moisturiser-enriched formulations can also provide some benefits for your hair:
Here are some of the most common myths about sea salt spray for hair and the truth that stands behind them:
Myth: Sea salt sprays for hair are made with seawater.
Truth: Sea salt spray does not contain seawater; it simply contains salt obtained through the evaporation of the seawater.
Myth: Sea salt sprays contain a very high concentration of salt.
Truth: While it depends on the formulation, most sea salt sprays contain 3-5% salt at the most. That is because you don’t need a higher concentration than this to achieve the desired effect, and using more could make your hair rough, dull and dehydrated and cause buildup. Moreover, a very salty, brine-like concentration could also alter your hair shade [11].
Myth: Sea salt spray can make straight hair curly
Truth: Sea salt spray can provide more volume and definition to naturally wavy hair. However, it cannot make your very straight, type 1A hair wavy or curly. If you are looking to create curls where there are none, braiding your damp hair before bed or using heat-free curlers may be a much safer bet.
Myth: A table salt solution is just as good for your hair as a sea salt spray.
Truth: Table salt can be harsher on your hair and cause more dryness, as well as make your hair more rigid and “crunchier”. It also contains none of the helpful minerals found in sea salt (e.g. magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, potassium, etc [12]). Moreover, table salt often contains added iodine, which can irritate the scalp if sprayed on your hair roots.
Myth: Surfers get damaged hair from the seawater, so sea salt spray is bad for your hair.
Truth: Most surfers who get damaged hair surf under the hot sun with nothing covering their heads. The heat and UV radiation from the sun are enough to cause visible hair weathering over time. So while the sea salt may contribute to the overall damage, it is difficult to say what this contribution might be.
If you have noticed significant and/or progressive hair shedding, it may not be the sea salt spray that causes it. Here are some other conditions that may be to blame:
Approximately 85% of men [13] and 55% of women [14] develop androgenetic alopecia at some point in their lives. If your hair loss follows a typical pattern (e.g. affecting the frontal area, temples and crown in men, or the top of the head in women) and seems to worsen if left untreated, you may be experiencing male pattern baldness (or female pattern baldness).
If your hair thinning is diffuse and started soon after an illness, surgery or particularly stressful time, you may have developed telogen effluvium. The good news is that this condition reverses itself 3-4 months after the stressful event [15].
If your scalp came in contact with a substance to which you are allergic, you may have experienced contact dermatitis (an allergic reaction). This could lead to a rash, redness and itching on the scalp, and if you scratch vigorously, you could cause hair breakage. Sometimes, your sea salt water spray may contain an allergen, such as a preservative or fragrance.
Other scalp problems, such as seborrheic dermatitis, contact dermatitis (an allergic reaction to a substance that came in contact with your scalp), atopic dermatitis or scalp psoriasis, can also cause constant itching on the scalp as well (alongside other specific symptoms), leading to scratching and resulting in broken hair fibres.
Exposing damp, salty hair to the hot sun or strong wind can lead to weathering. However, this is caused by the heat and radiation [16], not by the sea salt spray. It is easy to blame the hair product you use before going out in summer for your thinning or damaged hair, but exposure to the elements may be the real culprit [2].
Our hair needs a variety of nutrients to grow healthy, strong and elastic. If you have a mineral or vitamin deficiency, it can cause hair loss, alongside dry, brittle hair. For example, we know that biotin deficiency can cause hair loss, as can insufficient vitamin D for hair, iron or magnesium for hair. Moreover, sudden, significant weight loss can also trigger hair loss.
As shown above, sometimes, being seriously ill is enough to trigger temporary hair loss. But there are also specific diseases that affect your hair fullness and texture. A good example is thyroid conditions that cause hair loss and can make your hair dry and brittle [17]. Iron-deficiency anaemia can also damage your hair texture in a way that can be easily misattributed to sea salt spray use.
If you are experiencing hair shedding and are unsure what may be causing it, we are here to help. Book a consultation with one of our experienced hair doctors, who can provide the right answers to your problem. Using state-of-the-art trichological diagnostic tests, they will pinpoint the exact reason your hair is falling out and recommend the best treatment, carefully tailored to your needs and preferences.
If you still haven’t found the information you were looking for, try reading the answers to these frequently asked questions:
Most often, dandruff is caused by a yeast infection on the scalp (usually, the overgrowth of bacteria called Malassezia furfur). This happens most when your scalp is oily, as the bacteria will feed on the excess sebum.
However, a dry scalp can also cause the silver-white flakes characteristic of dandruff. Sea salt spray is generally used on the length of the hair rather than directly on the scalp. However, some people also spray their hair roots. Doing so repeatedly without frequent moisturisation can lead to a dry scalp, which may produce flaking.
In most cases, a combination of several factors (e.g. using sea salt spray alongside being out in the sun without a head cover in summer, and bleaching your hair frequently) will all work together to cause a dry scalp that is covered in dandruff.
While that largely depends on the sea salt spray formulation and the frequency of use, there are situations where overusing sea salt spray can make your dyed hair colour fade faster. That is because hair dye can cause cuticle damage, which is later intensified by the salt in the spray. Thus, the cuticles can become lifted, allowing pigment to escape.
Moreover, salt particles can act as an exfoliant, scratching the surface of the hair shafts and altering their shade and shine. Finally, dried hair becomes more porous and thus less likely to hold the artificial pigment.
While you can use sea salt spray on curly or coily hair, it is not recommended to do so, as the risks often outweigh the benefits. Curly hair types have naturally well-defined coils that don’t usually need tightening or volumising (take this test to discover your exact hair type). They also tend to need substantial hydration to keep the hair manageable, soft and avoid frizzing. Given that sea salt spray carries a risk of drying up your hair, it may be wiser to try other styling solutions, such as curl cream, light hair gel or hairspray (don’t worry, hairspray is not normally bad for your hair).
If you apply sea salt spray frequently (especially if you also spritz it on your roots) and don’t wash your hair too often, there is a risk of product buildup. This can dry out your scalp and cause itching, dandruff and sometimes even hair follicle infections. It can also weigh down your hair and create the opposite effect to the volume and definition you were hoping to achieve.
However, if you make sparing use of the sea salt spray, apply it only to the length of your hair and wash it out at least 2-3 times a week, product buildup should not be a problem.
Yes, if volume is what you are interested in achieving by using sea salt spray, there are safer ways to do so. Using volumising shampoos (or dry shampoo, which doesn’t cause hair loss, despite the rumours going around), braiding your damp hair overnight or blow-drying your hair upside-down (on a cool setting) should work just as well. If all fails, a high-quality hair-thickening spray should provide you with the fullness that you need.
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Dr Meena Zareie (GMC number 7722917) is the first female member of Wimpole Clinic’s Hair Transplant Surgeons team.
Dr Meena started her journey in the hair transplant industry 8 years ago, where she worked closely with leading surgeons to hone her skills, having conducted more than 1,000 FUE hair transplants.
Starting as a technician and nurse while working simultaneously for the NHS, she decided to take her passion for helping patients with hair loss further.
Her qualifications include an MD doctorate from the prestigious Medical University of Warsaw, and a Master’s degree in Drug Toxicology with the institute of cancer therapeutics. She has previously completed a bachelor’s in Biomedical Science, and is qualified in minor aesthetic and dermatological procedures for the face and body. She is a member of the British Medical Association and is a registered doctor on the General Medical Council.
Her passion for perfection and attention to detail is what drew Dr Meena to the aesthetic industry. She has completed additional FUE Hair transplant training with renowned hair transplant doctors in Georgia and Iran, and has developed a fine motor skills which serve to produce outstanding results, as each procedure is carried out with ultimate care and meticulous attention to the detail. Dr Meena’s care for her patients and work shows in her results is a real credit to the hair transplant industry.
