A woman has revealed how she had to hack off almost all of her hair after a snorkelling trip on holiday went badly wrong.

Julia Fehst, 23, was enjoying a dream vacation in Croatia with her boyfriend that turned into a nightmare after an innocent excursion.

Having gotten hair extensions put in, Julia was careful to braid her hair before going snorkelling – but found it had severely matted after a dip in the sea.

When she went back to their accommodation to shower, she was horrified to find she couldn’t get her fingers through the hair at all – with her natural hair matting with the extensions.

After trying for eight hours to salvage it, Julia, from Germany, had to admit defeat – and ended up being forced to hack off “two-thirds” of her hair, leaving some chunks just 2-3 cm long.

She shared a TikTok of the mishap, which took place back in August, where it went viral with over two million views and 49,300 likes.

“I totally panicked and it just kept getting worse,” Julia told NeedToKnow.online, of the moment she realised her hair wasn’t detangling.

“For over eight hours, three people put coconut oil in my hair, and the tape extensions had to be cut out.”

In the end, only a third of her natural hair remained and some parts were only reaching 2-3 cm. long.

She said: “I cried a lot. The vacation was over for me.

“I have naturally very thin and fine hair, which would never grow long on its own.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I've dreamed of having long, full hair.

“This dream came true with the extensions. The extensions also significantly increased my self-confidence, which was destroyed after the extension accident.

“I shared the video on TikTok as I was very desperate.

“During the disaster with my extensions, I scoured the Internet for exactly the same thing that happened to me.

“That's why TikTok came to my mind, to maybe get in touch with people who had the same thing happen and to get advice that I couldn't find on the Internet.”

TikTok users were equally horrified by the tale and offered helpful tips.

User Mel commented: “I’ve been doing hair extensions for 15 years, my clients go on holiday with their hair extensions in and never come back like this.”

“Guys the first rule of extensions is don't swim in the sea with your hair,” said someone else.

User Madalina commented: “Same story when I had bad quality extensions, now I have natural ones with keratin.”

“The extensions never make it through the vacation, rip,” said user Sky.

“I usually put a hair mask on and damp my hair with clean water, stops hair absorbing so much salt water,” user Nicole said.

Julia struggled to enjoy the rest of her holiday but got straight into taking care of her hair as soon as she got home.

She added: “When we got back to Germany, I had my hair cut down to my shoulders and clipped my hair up every day because I couldn't wear it down anymore.

“But my hair was very patchy, so in December I had a real hairdresser put in extensions and I bought more hair care products.”

Luckily, it hasn’t put her off of snorkelling altogether.

Julia said: “I was in Mexico in January and went in the sea with my extensions, but not for a whole day like in Croatia.

“With the right care, everything is fine now.”

A woman has revealed how she had to hack off almost all of her hair after a snorkelling trip on holiday went badly wrong.

Julia Fehst, 23, was enjoying a dream vacation in Croatia with her boyfriend that turned into a nightmare after an innocent excursion.

Having gotten hair extensions put in, Julia was careful to braid her hair before going snorkelling – but found it had severely matted after a dip in the sea.

When she went back to their accommodation to shower, she was horrified to find she couldn’t get her fingers through the hair at all – with her natural hair matting with the extensions.

After trying for eight hours to salvage it, Julia, from Germany, had to admit defeat – and ended up being forced to hack off “two-thirds” of her hair, leaving some chunks just 2-3 cm. long.

She shared a TikTok of the mishap, which took place back in August, where it went viral with over two million views and 49,300 likes.

“I totally panicked and it just kept getting worse,” Julia told NeedToKnow.online, of the moment she realised her hair wasn’t detangling.

“For over eight hours, three people put coconut oil in my hair, and the tape extensions had to be cut out.”

In the end, only a third of her natural hair remained and some parts were only reaching 2-3 cm. long.

She said: “I cried a lot. The vacation was over for me.

“I have naturally very thin and fine hair, which would never grow long on its own.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I've dreamed of having long, full hair.

“This dream came true with the extensions. The extensions also significantly increased my self-confidence, which was destroyed after the extension accident.

“I shared the video on TikTok as I was very desperate.

“During the disaster with my extensions, I scoured the Internet for exactly the same thing that happened to me.

“That's why TikTok came to my mind, to maybe get in touch with people who had the same thing happen and to get advice that I couldn't find on the Internet.”

TikTok users were equally horrified by the tale and offered helpful tips.

User Mel commented: “I’ve been doing hair extensions for 15 years, my clients go on holiday with their hair extensions in and never come back like this.”

“Guys the first rule of extensions is don't swim in the sea with your hair,” said someone else.

User Madalina commented: “Same story when I had bad quality extensions, now I have natural ones with keratin.”

“The extensions never make it through the vacation, rip,” said user Sky.

“I usually put a hair mask on and damp my hair with clean water, stops hair absorbing so much salt water,” user Nicole said.

Julia struggled to enjoy the rest of her holiday but got straight into taking care of her hair as soon as she got home.

She added: “When we got back to Germany, I had my hair cut down to my shoulders and clipped my hair up every day because I couldn't wear it down anymore.

“But my hair was very patchy, so in December I had a real hairdresser put in extensions and I bought more hair care products.”

Luckily, it hasn’t put her off of snorkelling altogether.

Julia said: “I was in Mexico in January and went in the sea with my extensions, but not for a whole day like in Croatia.

“With the right care, everything is fine now.”

ENDS

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