Tourist forced to cut off most of her hair after snorkelling mishap

Oct 23, 2023

‘I cried a lot. The vacation was over for me,’ Julia Fehst said of Croatia ordeal

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Julia Fehst was forced to cut off most of her hair after it was severely matted during a snorkelling trip

A German woman's dream holiday took a distressing turn as she was forced to hack off all of her hair due to a snorkelling mishap.

Julia Fehst, 23, was enjoying a vacation in Croatia with her boyfriend last fall when her snorkelling trip caused unfortunate consequences to her scalp, Jam Press reported.

Having gotten hair extensions put in before the trip, Ms Fehst said she was careful to braid her hair before heading out for the water excursion.

But when she went to take a shower after snorkelling, she found her hair severely matted to the point she couldn't comb her hair through it.

Ms Fehst said she spent eight hours trying to detangle the extensions from her natural hair, to no avail.

She was ultimately forced to cut off "two-thirds" of her hair, leaving some chunks just 2-3cm long.

Julia Fehst, 23, was enjoying a vacation in Croatia with her boyfriend last fall when her snorkelling trip caused unfortunate consequences to her scalp

She explained the mishap in a TikTok video that went viral, racking up more than two million views and 49,300 likes.

"I totally panicked and it just kept getting worse," Ms Fehst 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."

After removing the majority of her hair, Ms Fehst 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," she explained.

"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."

Julia Fehst's severely matted hair is seen following her snorkelling trip

Ms Fehst said she shared her experience online in hopes of getting advice from others who have been through a similar experience.

"I shared the video on TikTok as I was very desperate," she said. "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 Fehst is seen without hair extensions after the snorkelling mishap

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

"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," she said.

"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.

"I was in Mexico in January and went in the sea with my extensions, but not for a whole day like in Croatia," Ms Fehst said.

"With the right care, everything is fine now."

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Julia Fehst, 23, was enjoying a vacation in Croatia with her boyfriend last fall when her snorkelling trip caused unfortunate consequences to her scalp

Jam Press

Julia Fehst's severely matted hair is seen following her snorkelling trip

Jam Press

Julia Fehst is seen without hair extensions after the snorkelling mishap

Jam Press

Julia Fehst was forced to cut off most of her hair after it was severely matted during a snorkelling trip

Jam Press

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