Summer Hair Maintenance

Summer is finally here! With summer comes longer days, lighter hair, beach days, pool days, and unfortunately dry crispy or stiff hair. We want to tell you the good and the bad, and offer you some wonderful tips to avoid your hair going crispy or stiff.

 

Let’s cover all of the bad things that happens to our hair, and what not to do. As amazing as it may feel to go to the beach and smell the salt coming off of the ocean, it can be detrimental to your hair. The ocean has a high percentage of salt content in the water making it osmotic. What does this mean for you hair you may ask? The salt content acts as a leach and pulls all of the moisture out of your hair making your hair dry, crispy or even stiff. Continued exposure without properly taking care of the situation can result in damaged ends to your hair, and longer blow out times when you try to take the time and style it. Now, we are not telling you to stay away from the water, we just want you know what it can do and how to properly manage your hair for optimal results.

 

Chlorine is just as bad, if not worse than salt water on both your hair and body. Chlorinated pools are great for making sure the water stays clean while constantly having people in and out of them. It is a disinfectant. While that is great in the aspect of not getting germs, it also strips out all of the oils and some hair color too….which is bad on our hair.

 

Just as we are told we need to not be baking in the sun to protect our skin, the same goes for our hair. Continued exposure to the sun on our hair can be similar to “bleaching” our hair unprofessionally. It starts to break down the outer protective layer of each hair strand called the cuticle, giving it the appearance of a frizzy mess. The longer we are overexposing our hair with no protection, the worse it can end up. Now, let’s touch on that little drug store product called “sun in”…..don’t ever use it!! Why? You are intensifying anything that the sun is already doing damage wise by putting this product on. “Sun In” is an unpredictable product. It contains harsh chemicals that react with the sun giving you unpredictable results. Furthermore, if you decide you want to change your color in any way, it gives your stylist an unpredictable canvas to work from. “Sun In” changes the structure of your hair and is very damaging. Not to worry though, if you want a sun kissed color ditch that “Sun In” bottle and come see your stylist. Here at GKS we can properly give you that color you want in a much safer way, saving your hair.

 

So now that you know everything you should avoid doing, let’s tell you what you should do so you can still enjoy your summer to the fullest. When getting into pools or chlorine make sure you properly prep your hair beforehand.

 

We recommend lightly misting your hair with water and coating it in both “One United” leave in conditioner and one of Redken’s conditioners. “One United” has properties in it to help with outside heat aggressors. It will help protect your hair from the sun while putting a conditioner on over top will help to keep your hair properly moisturized.

 

What will happen now when you get in the pool or ocean is that the conditioner will help to block some of the saltwater or chlorine from  absorbing into your hair. When you are done with the pool or ocean for the day it is absolutely vital to make sure you shampoo your hair and not allow those chemicals to sit in the hair. We recommend using Redken “Clean Manic”. It is a sulfate-free cleanser meaning there are no harsh salts being put into the hair, but it is a deep cleanser that will ensure you are getting everything out of your hair. Follow up with a Redken Mega Mask, this is going to put moisture back into your hair that was lost to the sun, saltwater, and chlorine. Spray in some “One United” before styling your hair to help protect it from further aggressors. In regards to regular upkeep getting proper trims through the summer will help.

 

Your stylist will be able to show you what should go to keep your hair at its very best through these hot months. Getting regular trims will help get rid of those split ends. Keeping split ends, especially being out and about in the sun will wreck even more havoc to everything that can happen to you hair. Split ends are lacking moisture, and can act as an easier “entryway” for chlorine, sun, and saltwater to get into your hair.

Even though we know the sun isn’t our hairs best friend, knowing how to properly protect it will make enjoying your summer vacations a breeze.