A woman has revealed the traumatic ordeal suffered after one simple mistake left her hair "brittle to the touch" – and is now warning others about the complications.

When Marissa Carlino achieved her dream of swimming in an Icelandic blue lagoon, she didn't expect for her hair to be at risk of being "ruined forever".

While the interior designer used hair care methods, such as a leave-in conditioner, prior to taking a dip, her locks were left "brittle" to the touch.

In a bid to share her ordeal and warn others, she uploaded a clip on TikTok and only now, almost three weeks later, is her hair starting to heal.

"It was so brittle and I was scared it was going to be ruined forever," Marissa, aged 25, from New England, US, told NeedToKnow.co.uk

"My hair became extremely stiff and I dreaded the thought of brushing [it] through after.

"The best way to describe it is the feeling of your hair after swimming the ocean times ten.

"After returning to the locker rooms and using the blow dryers, I realised how dry my hair really was.

"I kept it in a braid for the remainder of the trip, figuring I'd deal with the consequences once I was back home."

On 14 March 2023, she, along with her best friend Katie, 25 and her brother, participated in the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

While she was warned that her hair would be a "mess" afterwards if it goes in the water, she claims that she made the mistake of leaving it down for 90% of the time she was in the lagoon.

She said: "It is standard practice that all people use the showers to rinse off being going into the lagoon, so I lathered my hair in the conditioner provided there.

"I noticed after about half-an-hour that the condition[er] completely washed out in the water.

"The blue lagoon has very high levels of silicon, which lead to that super dry feeling that myself, and many others, have experienced."

In the clip, which racked up 9.3 million views and 508,000 likes, she writes the captions: "PSA do not put your hair in the blue lagoon."

As a compilation of videos show Marissa in the water, with her hair wet, she then reveals the final, damaged product.

Users flocked to the comments to share their reactions, with many offering advice on how to fix the heart-stopping issue.

Dowi said: “Put conditioner in and make it into a bun, that’s the rules of the blue lagoon.”

Morgan commented: “That’s why they tell you to put a ton of conditioner in ur hair before u go in, it’s even in the locker room.” [sic]

Sienna said: “MY HAIR WAS LIKE STRAW FOR WEEKS.”

Angie added: “I’m willing to do anything for my oily hair at this point.”

“Nah this is a once in a lifetime experience, I’m putting my hair in,” said one user.

“Worth it for the pictures,” said Sophie.

Marissa added: "I've used hair masks and around four treatments before my hair started to go back to normal.

"Possibly even more, as I was also deep conditioning with every wash.

“But I couldn't care less about having straw hair for a few weeks.

"The photos are something I can always look back on and smile remembering my adventures in Iceland.

“If anything, me and my best friend, Katie, laughed at how terrible my hair looked for the rest of the trip.

“Visiting the lagoon along with seeing the Northern Lights both nights of our holiday made for an unforgettable bucket list trip.”

"[My advice] is while you’re rinsing off in the showers before going in, put tons of conditioner in your hair, way more than you think you need, as that’s what I should’ve done.

"When you first go in, take all of the cute photos you want and after, put your hair in a clip for the rest of the time in the lagoon.

“I’d recommend even going back to the locker room to put your phone in storage and add more conditioner to your hair.

“From there you can really just enjoy the lagoon – go to the swim-up bar, use the famous silica mask and just swim around for hours.

“The memories will last a lifetime, so it was definitely worth ruining my hair for a few weeks.”

ENDS

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