Hey loves! In this post I'll be laying out the different steps I take to change my routine when the summer starts to roll around as well as how to protect your hair from the sun and chlorine. I get lots of questions about this so I hope it is helpful. :)
Routine Changes
For reference I have spent most of my life living in the southern US, so I spent summers in hot and humid places. When the weather starts to get a bit warmer, we all know we need some extra help from our hair products to help prevent frizz and keep our hair moisturized. I use harder hold gels and frizz reducing products. One of my favorite frizz reducers is Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper, which is a serum that's awesome for cutting frizz when layered under gel. If I can't get my hands on that I will opt for relying on my gel alone; I enjoy Biosilk Rock Hard Gelee (for ultra high hold) or LA Looks Sport gel (with high hold) for hot weather. If you live in Europe or Asia the L'oreal Invisihold gel is a good dupe for LA looks sport in terms of amount of hold. Or if you want something high end the Original Moxie Hold Up Serum is the bomb and has lots of good ingredients for your hair. If the gel leaves your hair a little crunchy, just give your hair a good scrunch when dry. The gel cast really helps prevent frizz and poofing!
Hair *usually* frizzes because of dryness so you can't forget about moisturizing in the summer. Not to mention the sun and swimming can take a toll on your hair, which I'll get to in a minute. One of the best steps to prevent frizz is a good leave in. My hair loves both the As I Am and Kinky Curly Knot Today leave ins, which are water based and really leave my hair feeling like seaweed. I also like Beauty Without Cruelty's leave in conditioner from iHerb.com if I can't get my hands on those two. Beyond that good regular conditioner is really important like Sally's Beauty Generic Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm or the slightly lighter Andalou Naturals Citrus Conditioner (again from iHerb.com). And when my hair really needs an infusion of moisture I use my Hair Therapy heat wrap with Curl Junkie Curl Rehab deep treatment.
It's also worth mentioning that I apply A LOT more of my products in the summer---for all of them. The extra moisture and hold really helps keep my hair from frizzing out. I also check the dew point on AccuWeather on my phone, which is an excellent measure of how much moisture is in the air (aka humidity) and helps me know which products to reach for.
Surf and Turf Protection
So you wanna go swimming but you don't want the chemicals to affect your hair. And did you know you can get very real heat damage from the sun?? The good thing is that these are easy to prevent.
When I go swimming in chlorine, I follow up my swim with a shampoo with a sulfate free shampoo like any from Shea Moisture or the Boots DermaCare Gentle Shampoo. Then I use a deep conditioner or a really good regular conditioner (mentioned previously). This usually leaves my hair pretty happy. BUT if you want to prevent any chlorine seeping into your hair, you can apply leave in, water, and oil before swimming. This is probably more necessary for frequent swimmers; as an occasional swimmer and more of a pro-tanner I don't feel the need to do the preventative step but it is a good tip. If you spend time sunning, you'll also be letting the moisturizing products work their way into your hair even better.
Lastly if you go swimming in a lake or the sea, don't worry too much about clarifying your hair. The sea salt will actually give you a natural curl boost, so it's fine to avoid washing it out completely with shampoo. But do be sure to follow up your dip in the ocean with a good conditioner. And if you're spending a lot of time in the sun, invest in a cute sun hat or a bandana to cover your hair. There are some products with sunscreen in them (benozophenone in the ingredients) such as LA looks sport gel, but covering your hair is by far the best way to protect it from the sun.
Please leave any questions or comments below. What are your favorite summer products and what do YOU change?
Have a great summer!
Wishing you lots of good hair days,
Sarah @:-)
Routine Changes
For reference I have spent most of my life living in the southern US, so I spent summers in hot and humid places. When the weather starts to get a bit warmer, we all know we need some extra help from our hair products to help prevent frizz and keep our hair moisturized. I use harder hold gels and frizz reducing products. One of my favorite frizz reducers is Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper, which is a serum that's awesome for cutting frizz when layered under gel. If I can't get my hands on that I will opt for relying on my gel alone; I enjoy Biosilk Rock Hard Gelee (for ultra high hold) or LA Looks Sport gel (with high hold) for hot weather. If you live in Europe or Asia the L'oreal Invisihold gel is a good dupe for LA looks sport in terms of amount of hold. Or if you want something high end the Original Moxie Hold Up Serum is the bomb and has lots of good ingredients for your hair. If the gel leaves your hair a little crunchy, just give your hair a good scrunch when dry. The gel cast really helps prevent frizz and poofing!
Hair *usually* frizzes because of dryness so you can't forget about moisturizing in the summer. Not to mention the sun and swimming can take a toll on your hair, which I'll get to in a minute. One of the best steps to prevent frizz is a good leave in. My hair loves both the As I Am and Kinky Curly Knot Today leave ins, which are water based and really leave my hair feeling like seaweed. I also like Beauty Without Cruelty's leave in conditioner from iHerb.com if I can't get my hands on those two. Beyond that good regular conditioner is really important like Sally's Beauty Generic Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm or the slightly lighter Andalou Naturals Citrus Conditioner (again from iHerb.com). And when my hair really needs an infusion of moisture I use my Hair Therapy heat wrap with Curl Junkie Curl Rehab deep treatment.
It's also worth mentioning that I apply A LOT more of my products in the summer---for all of them. The extra moisture and hold really helps keep my hair from frizzing out. I also check the dew point on AccuWeather on my phone, which is an excellent measure of how much moisture is in the air (aka humidity) and helps me know which products to reach for.
Surf and Turf Protection
So you wanna go swimming but you don't want the chemicals to affect your hair. And did you know you can get very real heat damage from the sun?? The good thing is that these are easy to prevent.
When I go swimming in chlorine, I follow up my swim with a shampoo with a sulfate free shampoo like any from Shea Moisture or the Boots DermaCare Gentle Shampoo. Then I use a deep conditioner or a really good regular conditioner (mentioned previously). This usually leaves my hair pretty happy. BUT if you want to prevent any chlorine seeping into your hair, you can apply leave in, water, and oil before swimming. This is probably more necessary for frequent swimmers; as an occasional swimmer and more of a pro-tanner I don't feel the need to do the preventative step but it is a good tip. If you spend time sunning, you'll also be letting the moisturizing products work their way into your hair even better.
Lastly if you go swimming in a lake or the sea, don't worry too much about clarifying your hair. The sea salt will actually give you a natural curl boost, so it's fine to avoid washing it out completely with shampoo. But do be sure to follow up your dip in the ocean with a good conditioner. And if you're spending a lot of time in the sun, invest in a cute sun hat or a bandana to cover your hair. There are some products with sunscreen in them (benozophenone in the ingredients) such as LA looks sport gel, but covering your hair is by far the best way to protect it from the sun.
Please leave any questions or comments below. What are your favorite summer products and what do YOU change?
Have a great summer!
Wishing you lots of good hair days,
Sarah @:-)
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