UV rays can be as damaging to hair, as they are to skin.
Although the hair cannot get ‘sunburn’, it can be left dry and brittle after being exposed to strong sunshine. Not only can frizzy hair be an issue for many of you after a week in a brighter climate, colour fade is also a huge factor with a lot of you, and one that I come across frequently with my own clients.
As holiday season is now kicking off, I thought I would give you some tips and tricks this week, on how to avoid the the above, as much as possible this Summer.
Fight The Fuzz
If you can wear a hat or bandana between the hours of 11am, and 3pm, brilliant! This is when the sun is at its hottest. It is also around the time, when we jump in and out of the pool or sea water, for a cooling down.
If you cant bring yourself to keep your head covered, there are a huge amount of UV protectant sprays on the market now.
Boots stock a huge amount, that will suit every budget. Although, you can very easily just make your own.
Pop some colour protect conditioner (any brand is fine), into an empty spray bottle, add a small amount of sun screen (SPF 30 is best), pop in some fresh water, give it a good shake and spritz away, making sure to cover your scalp as well as your hair.
Always make sure to use a conditioner that is for coloured hair, if you have coloured hair, as a regular conditioner, left in the hair for anything more than 10 minutes can cause colour fade.
Blondes
Most of the blondes that I know love going on holiday, as the sun bleaches the hair brighter. What you don’t realise is, while the sun is brightening the hair, it is also damaging the hair shaft, causing it to split and leaving the follicle wide open to salt damage in sea water, and chlorine damage when your in the pool.
Resort pool’s contain a very high amount of disinfectant and chlorine, given that hoards of people are in and out of them throughout the day.
Ever returned from holiday with a green hue throughout the ends of your hair?? This is chlorine damage. It clings to the most damaged area’s of the hair, which are usually the ends, due to the build up of chemical damage. Sometimes a blue shampoo can remove this when you come home, but more often the hair needs a ‘bleach bath’, which causes further damage to what the sun has already done. Leaving the hair really badly broken and very fragile to any level of heat.
Brunettes
If a client insists on having their colour done right before a holiday, I would always recommend going half a shade, to a full shade darker, depending on the tones in the hair.
This is one way of ensuring that you don’t come back from your break away, two shades lighter than you went.
For darker hair, I would recommend using the same system of a UV protectant that I mentioned above. You could also use a conditioner targeted to darker shades, instead of the basic coloured hair products.
If you are making a DIY sun spray, use a little bit more of the SPF 30, than conditioner when your mixing. This will give you an added barrier. Another thing I often recommend for darker hair is L’Oreal Colour Bombs. A quick colour boost which is applied like a shampoo, and only needs to be left in the hair for a few minutes. Bear in mind though, If you use a colour bomb, and have a few floodlights through the hair in a lighter shade, it will tone them down on you.
Lastly, is one factor that is worth a mention and covers all hair types and colours.
The water abroad is a lot harsher than at home, even in areas like mine, which would have water that contains a lot of lime. In my own experience, foreign water can leave a residue on the hair, giving it a tacky feeling when it has been dried or styled.
Rather than taking a shampoo for coloured/ frizzy/fine hair in your suitcase, take a deep moisturising duo. Although this type may be too heavy for your hair on a regular basis, you have been exposed to the sun and high temperatures all day, so like your skin needing an extra bit of hydration, the hair does too.
Pick up some mini’s in Boots before you head off, a little goes a long way with the richer products so you should have plenty to last you throughout your holiday.
Anymore questions that you may have regarding this, or any other hair issue, always feel free to leave a comment in the box below.
