Tips, tricks, and general rules for keeping hair healthy in summer
Posted on August 16, 2017
Written by: 100% PURE®
How Summer Affects Your Hair
There are 3 major culprits working together to bring down your best summer hair, and they also happens to be the things we love the most about summer: sun, water, and wind (maybe not this last one so much). Read on to see how summer can be harmful for hair -- but fear not, taking the proper precautions will keep your hair safe and sound
Summer Hair Enemy #1: Sun
While the sun might seem like a good thing (hello free, beautiful, natural-looking highlights), it’s actually taking a toll on your hair. The sun is working overtime beaming down on your head and dehydrating your mane. The result is drier, more brittle hair; basically leaving you with more fragile strands that can be susceptible to longer term damage. The UVA/UBA rays from the sun are harmful to our hair, and scalp! Each strand of hair is a complex, multi-layered protein that when aggravated by harmful sun rays can result in loss of natural pigment, dullness, or less elasticity.
Summer Hair Enemy #2: Water
You might ask: how can water be harmful to my hair? Well, the obvious offender we always point to is salt (sea) water, but did you know that freshwater (think ponds, lakes and rivers) can also lead to damaged hair? Salt water does have its beneficial elements like minerals and vitamins, but when working together with the previous hair enemy, the sun, it makes for a hair’s worst nightmare. Freshwater can also contain less than stellar hair results due to bacteria, dirt, or unwelcome microbes.
Summer Hair Enemy #3: Wind
Did you ever notice in old-timey movies, every starlet was wearing a beautiful headscarf while driving down the California coast highway in their coupe convertibles? It wasn’t just a chic fashion statement: it was to protect hair from 70 mph winds. While you might look like a care-free co-pilot with your hair whipping around, you’re actually creating tiny knots or snags which can lead to length damage later on, which in turn leads to more split ends. Ooph!
10 Ways To Protect Your Hair This Summer
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Swap in a Hair MaskIf you’re worried that your hair is looking dull or dry, give it the extra healing treatment it needs! Our deeply repairative Sea Algae Hair Mask was perfectly formulated to restore, moisturize, and strengthen dry summer hair. Instead of your regularly natural conditioner, swap this luxurious natural hair mask into your routine 1 to 3 times a week. Apply a generous amount to your hair after shampooing, and leave on for as long as needed. Relax poolside while catching up on the latest summer nail trends, all while super rich oils, butters, vitamins, and antioxidants work behind-the-scenes to hydrate your hair back to its strong, healthy self.
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Get a TrimSummer tends to be when all of hair’s split ends begin to rear their ugly head. Keeping up on trimming split ends will help with your overall hair health as well as maintaining your polished haircut. By frequently trimming your ends, you’ll help prevent split ends from traveling up the hair shaft.
PRO TIP:Set up a phone alert for every four to six weeks to keep you on top of your trim appointments, otherwise this preventative hair care falls to the back of the brain list.
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Fight Hair FrizzNo one wants have little baby duck head (let’s leave that adorable fuzzy head look with them). Moisture in the air is what leads to summer frizz. Help to tame flyaways (and frizz) with our lightweight, vitamin-packed Pro-Vitamin B5 Smoothing Hair Serum. This buildable natural hair product will leave your summer hair feeling extra soft, smoother, and most importantly not greasy or weighed-down. It’s formulated with Vitamin E to help seal in much-needed moisture while helping to reduce split-ends!
PRO TIP:This natural hair serum works with wet or dry hair!
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Give Hot Styling Tools a RestHot and dry summer air is already acting as your ambient hairdryer, so opt for a more au-natural look to save your hair from unnecessary heat. Forgo heat styling tools and hair dryers if possible (or at least cut your drying time down). The extra, dry heat from styling tools in addition to the hot air outside are only undoing any of the extra moisturizing you’ve been doing. Anyway, who doesn’t love those laid-back beach waves or low-key buns? Save the hot-styling for cooler temperatures!
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Curb Greasy HairEven though we love the summer weather, it can kick our scalp’s oil production into high-gear. Dry, hot weather sends a signal to the sebaceous glands in our scalp to produce more oil. If you’ve noticed that your hair is greasier in the summer months, we’d recommend switching over to our Burdock & Neem Healthy Scalp Shampoo 8 oz. You’ll be able to harness the power of neem and burdock to help treat your scalp to a purifying, natural cleanse. Pores can become clogged with oil, which can lead to hair loss and overall greasiness. Our natural shampoo is formulated to alleviate those summer hair woes, adding back in hydration and stimulating circulation for a healthy scalp.
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Cover Your HairThis is more than just a little extra flair to your summer beach boho look. That adorable wide brimmed hat you’ve had pinned to your Summer Wardrobe board also functions as an excellent sun shield. If you’re going to be out and about in direct sun all day, consider toting along a hat or scarf to throw over your head. This sunray barrier will help keep your hair out of direct damaging UVA/UVA rays.
PRO TIP:Some hat brands will even provide a UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) rating to tell you just how much sun protection you’ll get while you wear it!
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Switch up Your Hair Care Routine According to the SeasonWhat worked for winter might not be the best natural hair care routine for summer. Our scalps react to seasons differently, and you’ll need to adjust your natural shampoo and conditioner to adjust to what’s happening upstairs. If you tend have drier hair during the summer, switch in a heavier conditioner like our Moisture Drench Conditioner. If your hair turns up oil production in the summer and leans towards greasy, swap in a lighter conditioner and a clarifying shampoo formula like our Yuzu & Pomelo Glossing Shampoo 8 oz and Yuzu & Pomelo Glossing Conditioner 8 oz.
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Tackle Chlorine BuildupPools and summer go hand-in-hand. If we aren’t hitting up the beach, then you can find us poolside. Swimming in chlorinated water can take yet another toll on your hair. You don’t need to avoid the pool all together, just follow a few tips to keep your summer hair healthy. Avoid shampooing your hair the day-of pool day. You’ll be stripping it of essential, natural hair oils that will be protecting you while you’re crushing it on the diving board.
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Wet Hair Before Getting Into the WaterRemember those signs at the local YMCA mandating a pre-pool shower? Yes, pre-pool showers are helpful to quell fears of co-mingling germs, but will also help protect your hair against chlorine. Did you know that wet hair will soak up less pool water than dry hair? Take the extra 30 seconds to wet your hair before you swim, to lessen the amount of chlorinated water that soaks into strands.
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Rinse Hair After Getting out of the WaterThe laps are done (and multiple rounds of marco polo), so it’s time to rinse off. Definitely make sure to take your first post-pool rinse as soon as you can. A short shower with a little bit of natural shampoo, like our Kelp & Mint Volumizing Shampoo 8 oz, will help rinse out any damaging pool chemicals like chlorine.
- Tags: August-2017, Body, Hair
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The information in this article is for educational use, and not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should not be used as such.
