Summer Haircare: Essential Tips

Between the salt water, pool chlorine water and the sun, you need to take good care of your hair during your summer holidays. Here’s how!

If you repeatedly go to the beach or to the pool, but also if you sunbathe in the city, you need to moisturise your hair to the maximum. It often happens that we take care of our skin (as we always should!) but then completely forget about our hair. In order to look and feel your best during the summer, always exfoliate and moisturize your skin using suitable tools and products to get professional and long-lasting results, so that you won’t have to worry about it every day before leaving the house, and after that think about your hair. Here are some tips to help you out.

1. Rinse your hair with fresh water (either shower water or bottled water) before you get to the beach or the pool, because hair is porous and it will soak up the fresh water, therefore it will be less likely to absorb salt or chlorine water which have harmful chemicals and minerals. Then, use a leave-in conditioner or a hair mask before swimming: applying a small amount of conditioner can help create a barrier and prevent damage. What could happen is a protein breakdown in your strands, which causes split ends, dryness and even hair loss.
2. Prefer creams to oils: oil is a product that does not protect against dehydration caused by the sun. All cream products, such as hair masks or conditioners, have a watery base and therefore rehydrate the hair. To be super protected or if you’ve already bought a hair oil, you could first apply the oily product to your hair and then put a creamy one over the top.
3. Put your hair in a protective hairstyle like a loose braid, then take your hair conditioner or mask again and put it all over your braid. The best hair ties if you want to prevent further damage are silk scrunchies: they’re smooth and soft and they reduce friction within your hair strands, so they will minimize frizz and breakage and also prevent creases in your hair.
4. What about the sun? Yes, your hair and scalp need sun protection as well. Hair SPF is exactly what you need: it’s a sunscreen which protects your hair from sun damage, so if you don’t use it you’re going to be more susceptible to breakage, dry hair or even overall hair loss. Try the Aveda Protective Hair Veil or the Caudalie Vinosun, which can be used on both your hair and face. If you haven’t already, just know that you could get a sunburn on your scalp too, so make sure to apply sunscreen evenly in that area.
5. Do not leave sea/pool water in your hair: wash out as soon as possible. Rinse out all the salt/chlorine water, use your favorite shampoo and focus on getting it into the roots, then rinse and double shampoo; wring all the water out and go in with a deep conditioner, making sure to focus on your ends. After rinsing, brush your hair using a suitable brush: when your hair is wet, some of the bonds that are keeping it together actually break, so it’s not as strong as it usually is. Use a brush with flexible bristles, don’t force it through any knots and be gentle (hold your hair and work from the ends upwards).
6. Stick to a post-beach hair care routine. Use any hydrating oil or serum which helps with dry ends, then a heat protectant spray before blow drying.