As much as we are reluctant to admit it, summer is coming to an end. Most of us leave summer with our hair feeling less than ideal. It isn’t just the sun that attacks your hair in the summer. Our hair is put through the ringer with sweat, pool, lake or ocean water, and less time spent on care because lets be honest, we would rather be outside! We also get the added bonus of smoke, and it was bad this year, the particles in the smoke can absorb into your hair and cause yellowing and dryness.
So, what are some things we can do to counteract the affects that summer has on our hair?
- Get a Trim – I know, it’s the last thing you wanna do, lose some length… But if anytime is a good time to bite the bullet and get a good healthy trim, it’s at the end of summer. Ask your stylist how much you would need to take off to get rid of all the splits and make your ends happy again, then decide with them how much you actually want to cut. Because let’s be honest, we all know you postponed your cut appointment to go on sweet camping trips and festival weekends.
- Clarify – Time to get that build up of sunscreen, lake water and smoke particles, out of the hair! You can either invest in a good clarifying shampoo or ask your stylist to do a clarifying treatment on you in salon. They can recommend a good product for you as different hair colors will need different shampoos and blondes may want to follow up their treatment with a fresh toner.
- Condition, Condition, Condition – Now that your ends are happy and the build up of product is gone, lets make sure that they stay that way! A good conditioner tailored towards moisture or repair (for the really thirsty hair) will really help to refresh your hair and keep the ends feeling strong.
- Treat Yo Self! – Invest in a really great deep conditioner to put on every couple weeks and really give your hair a shine and moisture boost.
- Don’t forget the scalp! – Your scalp takes quite a beating from the sun, it’s time to give it some love. Dandruff and dry scalp are very common in the summer time. Invest in a scalp targeted shampoo designed to bring moisture back to your scalp. If you have flakes in your hair, invest in a quality dandruff shampoo that will not dry your scalp out.
- If that isn’t enough… – Ask your stylist to throw a clear or light colored gloss over your hair to brighten and revive dull and dried out ends!
When in doubt ask your stylist to look through your hair and let you know exactly what it needs! Every head of hair is different, but these 6 tricks will keep it looking and feeling amazing long after the summer heat has faded away.
Lauren M.