17 Protective Hairstyles for Your Next Vacation

Nothing ruins a vacation more than a mad dash to sort out your strands—so a pre-vacay appointment for a low-maintenance protective style is a must. An effortless protective style allows you to spend your time snorkeling in the sea or swatting a pickleball instead of panicking about lifting lace or fried edges. Who wants to spend their hard-earned PTO tussling with a flat iron?

The key to choosing a protective style for vacation is understanding your natural hair and how it will work with the style in a new environment. We consulted the experts—celebrity hairstylists Marquita Lynch, Ursula Stephen, and Kim Kimble—to find out how to keep things cute and stress-free, so you can spend your time on mint juleps and mocktails instead of raking through matted messes. Keep scrolling for the best protective styles for your upcoming vacation.