Sun

• Changes hair color. Do you dye your hair? Excess sun exposure can fade hair color, leaving once-luscious locks dull, brassy and burnished.
• Causes damage and dryness. Did you know that just like skin, hair can suffer sun damage? UV rays harm the hair and scalp, potentially leading to split ends, breakage, dryness and dehydration. Hair, like skin, is made up of proteins that require moisture to thrive. However, unlike skin, hair is dead. When hair’s moisture is gone, it must be replaced via treatments and conditioners.

• May cause hair loss. A sunburned scalp may even trigger hair loss.

Chlorine

• Changes hair color. Chlorine is an elemental gas found naturally in the environment. It’s also added to thousands of household and consumer products, drinking water supplies and swimming pools. Chlorine disinfects, killing germs and bacteria present in the water. When exposed to water or air, elemental chlorine breaks down into other chemicals, like hypochlorus acid or sodium hypochlorite. These chemicals can have a drastic effect on dyed hair, especially blond or light brown hair, causing a greenish tint.

• Causes damage and dryness. Chlorine can damage the hair shaft, leaving hair rough, dry and straw-like. Why? Hair’s outer layer, or cuticle, is composed of dozens of inter-lapping layers. In healthy, undamaged hair, these layers stay flat and smooth. They reflect light and give hair a shiny, mirror-like surface. However, when hair is exposed to chlorinated water, chlorine penetrates the hair shaft and opens up the cuticle. This causes the layers to buckle or rupture, and no longer lie in a smooth pattern. Hair is unable to reflect light, and doesn’t appear shiny. Once the cuticle is disrupted, hair quickly loses moisture, and it can feel dehydrated and brittle.

Humidity

• Causes frizz. Humid air is saturated with moisture. Especially if your hair is dry, damaged or chemically treated, moisture from the air can “penetrate the hair shaft, causing it to swell,” writes Wendy Korn for Prevention. The result is frizzy, hard-to-control locks.

• Causes flatness. On the other hand, if you have fine, thin or straight tresses, moisture and humidity can have the opposite effect: They make your hair limp and greasy. Your scalp also produces more oil and sweat during hot, humid summer months, which can weigh hair down even further.

How to protect your tresses

Thankfully, you can still enjoy a day at the seashore or dip in the pool and maintain healthy hair. Here are some easy, effective options for protecting your hair from chlorine, sun and humidity:

• Make a salon appointment for a trim at the beginning of summer. Trimming your hair decreases damage by “removing unhealthy ends before you hit the sun,” writes Lisa Kovalovich in Ladies’ Home Journal.

• If you’ve had any chemical process, like coloring or straightening, avoid chlorinated water for at least a week. This will minimize interactions between chemicals in your hair and the chlorine.

• Use hair spray or leave-in treatment conditioner with SPF before going outside. Quintessence Q-Sunshade Leave In Hair Conditioner and Scalp Protectant SPF 30 features broad-spectrum sun protection for the hair and scalp. It maintains shine, color and moisture. Pay special attention where the hair parts, along the temple and behind your neck and ears. These areas often get overlooked when applying sunscreen and are prone to sunburn.

• Before you take a dip, wet hair using regular tap water. Your hair will absorb the tap water instead of the chlorinated pool water.

• Don a swimming cap or wide-brimmed hat. A swimming cap keeps hair safe from contact with chlorinated water, while a hat protects your hair and scalp from UV rays and sunburn.

• Set up an umbrella and rest under the shade instead of baking in the sun.

• Keep frizz at bay using a smoothing serum with silicone.

If you’ve already swam in the pool and your hair has turned a greenish hue, here are several options:

• To wash the chlorine out of your hair, try:

  • Alterna Life Solutions Clarifying Shampoo, which deep cleans without zapping your hair’s natural moisture or color.

  • Oscar Blandi Shampoo D’Alternanza Gentle Exfoliating Shampoo, which removes chlorine build-up and the green tint. Hair will return to its normal color after a few washes.

• Incorporate a weekly deep conditioning mask into your routine, such as Alterna Hemp Repair Weekly Treatment. Featuring nutrient-rich hemp seed oil, amino acids, fruit extracts and UV protection, this treatment nurses your hair back to health. Damage is repaired, leaving tresses silky-smooth.

See also:

Jurlique Product Review

How Sweat Helps Your Skin

Your Guide to a Natural-Looking Sunless Tan

Glycolic Acid

Create a Flawless Face with Concealer