Weeks of waves, water slides, and wind can wreak havoc on your locks and while summer for you means beaches, pools and soaking up the sun, summer for your hair means harsh UV rays and soaking up chlorine and salt water.

Start With a Clean Slate

Regularly clarifying your hair and scalp during the summer, especially if you’re a swimmer, is a biggie. Clarifying shampoos and treatments contain chelating agents that cleanse the hair and scalp, removing any residue or product build-up, along with harsh minerals (the ones you don't want!), pool chemicals and medications. Those with well water greatly benefit from these treatments since hard water deposits minerals such as copper, iron, manganese, and calcium, all of which can cause damage to the hair and interfere with color. 

When you apply sunscreen to your face, do you go all the way up to your hairline? Of course you do! And do you still put sunscreen on your neck, even when your hair is down? Most say yes. Think about what this means for your hair and scalp! Just because you're applying it to your skin, does not mean your hair isn't absorbing it. This is one of the many types of build-up removed with clarifying treatments.

Clarification is a biggie for pool-goers as chlorine strips your hair of its natural oils leading to dryness and breakage. Be sure to use a clarifying shampoo and treatment after each dip in the pool in order to remove chlorine from the hair shaft. It will also fix that pesky green hair problem. To avoid chlorine from seeping into your strands, try wetting your hair before you dive into the pool and it will not be able to absorb as much because it is already wet. 

Restore Moisture Loss

While you may skip heat styling on those humid summer days, your hair is still being fried in other ways (think environmental stress). Increased sun exposure, along with chlorine and salt water are major factors and  all cause hair to dry out and become brittle. Hair that is depleted of proteins becomes over-stressed and porous, so a reconstructive treatment is necessary in order to rebuild the hair’s polypeptide chains and infuse moisture back into the cortex. Hair can’t fix itself without a little help, so it is up to you to put back what was lost. Look for moisturizing treatments that contain ingredients like coconut and jojoba oil, or cupuaçu butter, which is rich in essential fatty acids.

Shield and Refresh Your Hair

Don’t just repair damage already done; prevent it in the first place! When spending your days soaking up the sunshine, use a serum or spray that offers humidity control and UV protection. For those with colored locks that can’t beat summer fadage, Colorsafe® products work to lock in haircolor and prevent it from fading. These products contain ingredients like Sunflower Seed Oil and Grape Seed Oil, both of which are loaded with Vitamin E and work to fight free radicals that cause color fadage. Try a leave-in conditioner, or serum that protects your strands all day.

To keep your color looking fresh in the summer, try color shampoos. The sun can cause blondes to becomes too warm and brassy, so keep your tone cool with a violet shampoo and moisturizer. With hair extra susceptible to fadage this season, color shampoos are a perfect way to keep your hair look vibrant.

Combat Frizz

Each summer we are faced with an all too familiar and all too frustrating obstacle: humidity. With moisture in the air, comes frizz to our hair. So what's the deal? Frizz happens when hydrogen bonds form between water molecules within the hair, causing the cuticle to raise. The best way to combat this is to seal the cuticle using an anti-frizz and humidity control serum. This will help to close the cuticle and create a smooth surface on the hair. While your instinct may be to avoid hydrating products because the problem itself is too much moisture, don't. The dryer your hair, the more humidity is able to seep in and cause frizz. A hydrating serum will not only solve the problem at hand, but help prevent it in the future. If you have wild hair to begin with, be sure to use a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner so your hair stays hydrated and healthy for the rest of your summer days.