Summer Hair Care SOS: Beat the Heat and Keep Your Hair Healthy All Season Long
Summer brings sunshine, holidays, and endless fun. But for your hair, it can be quite a harsh season. Sun, wind, chlorine, and saltwater can leave your locks dry, frizzy, and damaged. However, with a little summer hair care know-how, you can keep your hair healthy, shiny, and manageable throughout the warmer months.
This guide will equip you with everything you need to know about hair care in summer. We’ll explore how the sun and other elements affect your hair, share protective strategies, and provide practical tips for keeping your hair healthy on holiday and beyond.
Understanding Hair Structure
Before diving into summer hair care, let’s take a quick look at hair structure. Each strand is made up of three layers:
- Medulla: The innermost layer, often absent in fine hair.
- Cortex: The middle layer contains pigment (melanin) and keratin, which gives hair its strength and elasticity.
- Cuticle: The outermost layer, responsible for protecting the inner parts of the hair and giving it shine.
Hair is mainly made up of protein (keratin), lipids, and melanin. Understanding these components is crucial, as sun exposure and other environmental factors can damage them.
Sun's Damaging Effects on Hair
Solar radiation is a major culprit behind summer hair care woes. It can negatively impact your hair’s colour, lustre, strength, and protein content, and even cause surface roughness. While the science behind different types of sun radiation (UV, visible light, infrared) and their effects on hair is still evolving, studies show that UV rays are particularly damaging.
Here’s a breakdown of how UV rays, specifically UVB radiation, can wreak havoc on your hair:
- Penetrates the cuticle: UVB rays can penetrate the hair’s outermost layer, the cuticle, causing structural changes.
- Protein absorption: Hair proteins absorb UVB radiation, potentially leading to damage and breakage.
Hair's Natural Defences and Boosting Protection
Thankfully, your hair has some built-in defences against sun damage:
- Melanin: This natural pigment acts as a shield, absorbing UV rays and protecting hair from the sun’s harmful effects.
- Hair Dyes: Hair dyes can also offer some level of protection, depending on the colour and type of dye used.
Hair care products can further boost your hair’s sun protection with ingredients like:
- UV filters: These ingredients absorb UV radiation, shielding your hair from sun damage.
- Antioxidants: These powerful ingredients help combat free radical damage caused by sun exposure. We recommend Edelweiss extract (Leontopodium alpinum flower/leaf extract), Coltsfoot leaf extract (Tussilago Butterfara), Yarrow extract (Achillea Millefolium) and Cinchona Berries.
Challenges in Hair Photoprotection Products
While there are sun protection options for hair, there are some points you need to keep in mind:
- Standardized testing methods: The lack of standardized testing methods makes it difficult to accurately measure the effectiveness of hair sun protection products.
- Misleading labels: Products labelled as “hair sunscreen” might not offer the same level of protection as sunscreens for skin.
- Protection limitations: Developing hair products that effectively shield the entire hair shaft from root to tip remains a challenge.
- Do your research: Some synthetic UV filters used in hair care products have been found to negatively impact coral reefs and other aquatic ecosystems.
Summer Hair Care Must-Have: Sun Protection for Your Hair
Just like with skin, sun protection goes beyond just sunscreen for your hair. One of the best ways to shield your hair from the sun’s harmful rays is by using a physical barrier, such as a hat, scarf, or umbrella. These provide much-needed shade, keeping your hair out of direct sunlight and lessening sun damage.
Summer Holiday Hair Care Essentials
Taking your hair on holiday? Here’s how to keep it looking its best:
- Wash more frequently: After swimming in pools or the ocean, washing your hair more often helps remove chlorine and salt buildup.
- Targeted cleansing and conditioning: Use a hydrating shampoo and conditioner specifically designed for frequent use. This ensures your hair gets the right balance of cleansing and nourishment.
- Heat styling break: Limit your use of heat styling tools like straighteners and curling irons. The extra heat can add extra stress to already damaged hair.
- Leave-in saviours: Leave-in conditioners and hair oils provide essential moisture and protection from the sun and saltwater. If you do not have one at hand, leave your regular conditioner in for a little longer.
- Accessorise for protection: Hats and scarves are stylish ways to shield your hair from the sun’s harmful rays. Alternatively, look for hair products formulated with UV filters and/or antioxidants to protect your hair.
How to Care for Your Hair After a Holiday:
After a fun-filled summer vacation, your hair might need some extra love:
- Damage control: A trim can help remove any split ends or breakage that occurred during your trip.
- Deep conditioning revival: Well-formulated hair conditioning products are a must for reviving hair after your holiday or when summer is over. Look for formulas rich in ingredients like hydrolysed jojoba esters, such as Prebiotic Natural Shine Conditioner. These esters mimic the scalp’s natural oils, penetrating the hair shaft and scalp to deliver deep hydration. They also coat the hair, forming a protective barrier against environmental damage from UV rays, heat styling, and pollution.
- Sun protection remains key: Don’t ditch the sun protection products or accessories just yet. Continued use throughout the summer will help prevent further damage.
Summer Hair Care Tips for Blonde or Grey Locks
Summertime fun often involves taking a dip in the pool. However, for those with blonde hair, whether natural, dyed, or grey, pool chemicals can pose a challenge. The chlorine and other disinfectants used in pools (including saltwater swimming pools) can cause the hair to turn brassy or even green.
To combat this colour change, we recommend using a hydrating conditioning treatment regularly. This not only counteracts the dryness caused by pool chemicals but also provides an extra layer of protection, preventing the hair from turning yellow or green.
Another helpful tip is to wet your hair with fresh water before entering the pool. This creates a barrier that reduces chlorine absorption. Additionally, rinsing your hair after each swim is necessary to remove any lingering chemical residue.
Summer Hair Washing Do's and Don'ts
Washing your hair is a crucial part of summer hair care, but there’s a right and wrong way to do it:
- Freshwater rinse after swimming: After taking a dip in the pool or ocean, always rinse your hair with fresh water to remove chlorine and salt residue.
- Gentleness is key: Comb your hair gently to avoid breakage. Detangle starting from the ends and work your way up to prevent pulling and tearing.
- Wash as needed: Wash your hair as often as needed, especially after spending time at the beach or pool. However, avoid over-washing, which can strip your hair of its natural oils.
- Gentle and hydrating shampoo: Use a gentle and hydrating shampoo to cleanse your hair without stripping it of its natural moisture. (We love Prebiotic Natural Shine Shampoo.)
- Cool it down: Rinse your hair with cool water at the end of your shower. Cool water helps seal the hair cuticle, locking in moisture and adding shine.
- Air dry whenever possible: Let your hair air dry whenever possible. If you must use a blow dryer, use the lowest heat setting and hold the dryer at least six inches away from your head.
Is it Normal to Lose More Hair in Summer?
While it’s normal to lose some hair every day, summer can sometimes lead to increased shedding. Here’s what you need to know:
- Summer shedding is common: Many people experience more hair shedding during the summer months. Studies have shown a 6% increase in hair loss for women in summer compared to other seasons.
- Causes of summer shedding: This shedding is caused by a combination of factors, including:
- Warmer temperatures lead the body to conserve energy, potentially reducing hair growth.
- Sun exposure can reduce melatonin production, which can influence the hair growth cycle and prolong the shedding phase.
- Breakage vs. hair loss: Summer’s heat and humidity can dry out your hair, making it more prone to breakage. This breakage can sometimes be mistaken for hair loss.
When to Worry About Summer Hair Loss
While some hair shedding is a natural part of the hair growth cycle, it’s important to be able to distinguish between normal shedding and potential hair loss issues. Shedding around 50-100 hairs a day is perfectly normal, so finding some hair on your brush or shower floor shouldn’t cause alarm. Even when washing your hair, losing up to 200 hairs is nothing to worry about. However, if you start noticing excessive hair loss, your scalp becomes more visible than usual, or your hair volume seems to be significantly decreasing, it’s best to consult a trusted professional. They can help rule out any underlying medical conditions that might be contributing to the hair loss.
Preventing Summer Hair Loss
Here are some strategies to prevent summer hair loss:
- Minimise heat styling, sun exposure, and tight hairstyles: Reducing your reliance on heat styling tools, minimising sun exposure on your hair, and avoiding tight hairstyles will all help prevent breakage and hair loss.
- Nourishing scalp treatments: Consider incorporating a scalp treatment into your routine. Products like The Scalp Cure, formulated with plant-based ingredients, antioxidants and prebiotics, can nourish the scalp and hair follicles, promoting overall hair health and lessen seasonal hair loss.
- Hydration from within and out: Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water and using hydrating hair care products helps keep your hair healthy and strong, reducing the risk of breakage and hair loss.
- Natural protection: Incorporate protective natural ingredients into your hair care routine. It’s an easy way to protect your hair. (Discover more)
By following these summer hair care tips and adopting a healthy lifestyle, you can keep your hair looking and feeling its best all season long. Remember, a little extra TLC during the summer months goes a long way in protecting your hair from the environmental factors that can damage it. If you need a helping hand caring for your hair this summer, do not hesitate to get in touch.
