How to care for “after summer” hair!
It’s the end of summer…and back to reality and regular schedules of work and or school. You went on little road trips or maybe even traveled across the country or world to see some new, or familiar and favorite places. When you realize that your daily hair routine just isn’t cutting it. Your hair is dry, tangly, or brittle and lacking shine. “What is happening ?” you ask yourself. You know you haven’t added any color or chemicals to your hair. You have hardly had the time anyway, but it gnaws at you, leaving you pondering why is your hair just not the same as it was before vacation.
Well, let me tell you it is really a number of things! Number one factor to affecting our hair in general is the sun. Those UVA/UVB rays definitely do more than you realize to the hair structure from the inside out. Not only is the sun lightening your hair color, it’s also drying it out and affecting your hair’s natural ability to hold onto moisture. Secondly, the wind. The wind just tangles and creates knots and the more that you expose your hair to be loosely flailing around….the more tangles you get. What does this do? It creates split ends every time you comb your hair to remove and rip through those tangled spots. The other HUGE factor to why your hair isn’t behaving “normal” is the affects of different types of water that you exposed your hair and skin to while traveling and enjoying those hotel stays abroad. Water has a higher pH than your hair and that already dries it out, leaving it susceptical to becoming dull and thirsty. There are even some deposits in water that molecularly get deep down inside of the hair shaft causing your hair color to look blah or to not have any shine.
So what do you do now? What does this mean for your hair health overall? As a professional hairstylist, it means you need to take action. This includes getting a fresh haircut or trim, first and foremost. While at your hair salon, be sure to have your stylist add a deep conditioning treatment after a great clarifying shampoo or Malibu C hard water treatment. For those of you with color treated hair, add a clear shine or gloss to your next haircut appointment. This will bring back the shine and luster to your color, while closing down the cuticle layer to prevent any further damage as you navigate the rest of actual summertime in August and September.
Most important thing to remember is to cover your hair and head while laying out in the sun, braid or bun your long hair while swimming, and minimize exposure to the water in showers while in an area that you are unfamiliar with. These tips and strategies will help you to have the best hair you love after coming back from all the summer shenanigans.
