Don’t let the sun steal your hair’s shine. Here’s how to protect your tresses and how to treat sun-damaged hair.
Spending time in the summer sunshine is great fun. But the rays can take a toll on your hair. To keep your locks shiny and vibrant, protect them from sun exposure with the following tips.
1. Build your defenses. Be as vigilant about protecting your hair from the sun’s rays as you are with your skin and you’ll keep your tresses healthy. That wide-brimmed hat that’s always recommended for skin protection is great for avoiding sun-damaged hair too. If your hair will be exposed to the sun, then fortify it with a leave-in conditioner or styling product with UV protection. (The UV protectant can build up on your hair, so swap your regular shampoo for a clarifying version once a week or so to remove the coating.) And protect your scalp by applying sunscreen with an SPF 30 or higher to your part and any place else the rays can reach.
2. Watch for sneak attacks. It’s not just sun exposure that’s hard on your hair in the summer: Salt, chlorine, and wind can also dry hair and wreak havoc on your locks. But a few key steps can keep the shine in your strands.
- Wet your hair with plain water before swimming in a pool — that will prevent it from absorbing as much chlorine.
- Rinse your hair with lukewarm water after swimming in a pool or salt water.
- Wear a hat or put long hair up to avoid punishing wind damage.
- Steer clear of lemon juice, peroxide, or alcohol as highlighting tricks — they dry out your hair and can worsen the condition of already sun-damaged hair.
3. Get the glow back. What if it’s too late? If your hair is dry, brittle, and frizzy from sun exposure, you can’t heal it, but you can help it look and feel better. Here’s what to try:
- Once a week, use a hair-repair shampoo.
- Choose a daily conditioner designed to smooth your strands. Mint oil is a good ingredient to look for.
- Use a deep conditioner regularly — at least weekly and more often if your hair feels like it needs a punch of conditioning. Cover your hair with a shower cap for deep-conditioning treatments — your body’s heat will help warm the conditioner so it can penetrate more deeply. Conditioners with keratin, wheat-germ protein, and jojoba oil are good choices.
- Try a hot-oil treatment. You can pick up a packet at a drugstore or beauty-supply store, or mix up your own custom concoction with olive, canola, and other oils.
- Apply a leave-in conditioner daily that includes sunscreen. This step will help protect your sun-damaged hair from further UV damage. Make sure you condition the ends well.
- Let your hair dry naturally so you’re not further damaging it with blow-dryers and heated styling products.
- If you color your hair, the color will likely fade with sun exposure, so you might need a touch-up at the end of the season. In the interim, a hair gloss can add shine to your locks without changing the color.
Your best bet for healthy summertime hair is protection. But if the sun’s rays strike and you don’t have your guard up, make up for it by showing your sun-damaged hair some TLC.
source: http://www.dailyglow.com/hair-problems/sun-damaged-hair.html