Beach Babe: How to Keep Hair Healthy During the Summer

Sun, sea and sand is a great combination for your wellbeing, and a terrible one for your hair. While the beach is the perfect place to have fun in the sun, the sand and gorgeous summer weather – if we get any – will make your hair not-so gorgeous, leaving you with faded colour, split ends and a brittle, dry texture. According to Gregory Patterson, a stylist and instructor at a New York Blow Dry Bar, ‘A lot can go wrong. Hair colour is such an investment, and keratin treatments are super expensive. Hopping in the chlorine or salt water can just strip them right out of the hair and cause it to look dull and dehydrated.’ So what can you do to protect your hair wellness this summer?

Where’s Your Hair? – If you go on holiday close to the equator, your hair will react to the intensity of the sun, becoming drier and more faded. Chris Lospalluto, a stylist at Sally Hershberger in New York, explains, ‘I’m a guy, and my hair is pretty simple, but I was down in Barbados a couple weeks ago, and it’s close to the equator. The texture of my hair was almost completely different. It created a little bit of a wave.’ So, take extra precautions when you’re in those situations.

Cut Above the Rest – Getting a trim before summer is always a good idea, as the sun will make dry, dead ends look noticeably worse. However, hold off on your eight-weekly cuts after that. Lospalluto advises, ‘You’ll probably need one in August, but everyone’s at the beach. Just stretch it a few more weeks, let the ocean beat it up and then come in for a conditioning treatment.’

Shower Starter – Forgetting to protect your hair from the sun isn’t the end of the world. As long as you have a hydrating shampoo and conditioner. Avoid products that will weigh down your locks, such as ones that contain harsh sulfates, parabens or sodium chlorine.

S.H.I.E.L.D – You protect your skin with sun cream, so why shouldn’t you do the same for your hair? UV protection products can prevent highlighted hair from lightening too quickly and looking fried, and keep dark hair from turning brassy or red. Lospalluto says, ‘Some of them really do work. I mean, it’s not pushing the sun back into the solar system, but they can make a difference.’ Use your UV-based hairspray or leave-in conditioner on damp hair, or else it won’t sink in.

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