The Ultimate Guide to Summer Hair Care

Summer hair, don’t care!  It’s the motto of the season, right?

Well, it is that time of year… the blazing sun, the beach, swimming pools…

All of these elements are super fun but can also take a toll on your hair if you aren’t careful. So in other words, you should care about your hair this summer.

Fight the odds with these 7 super easy summer hair care tips. Trust me, your hair will thank you!

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So here’s the thing…

Summer is hot. The sun is out… you’ll probably be outdoors. The wind causes tangles, and tangles lead to breakage. The ocean and pool cause buildup in the hair, which also leads to breakage.

Summer if the perfect recipe for disaster.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything fun. You just need to know that there are dangers lurking around every corner and that it’s crucial to develop an appropriate summer hair care routine.

So let’s get to it…

The BEST Summer Hair Care Tips EVER:

Tip #1: Protect Your Hair From Chlorine

Let’s just start with this: chlorine makes your hair icky.

I mean… they put it in the pool to kill everything. Does that sound like something you want in your hair?

When your hair gets wet with chlorinated water, it absorbs the chlorine, which dries out the sebum (the natural lubricant of hair). Over time, this will overly-dry your hair, cause the cuticles to crack and lead to breakage.

One super-easy way to protect your hair is to wet it with non-chlorinated water first, which will cause your hair to absorb that instead.

Likewise, if you want to learn how to keep hair hydrated in summer, you should look into using Moroccan oil. It’s the perfect oil to comb through your hair before hopping in the pool.

This hydrates your hair and locks in moisture, which protects it before you even start. Check out these other sweet benefits of Moroccan oil… it’s pretty incredible.

If you plan on doing a lot of swimming, I suggest you look into an anti-chlorine shampoo and conditioner to help neutralize and remove the chlorine from your hair.

▶︎▶︎▶︎Triswim is one of the top choices of serious swimmers.

• Strips your hair of chlorine, salt, and hard water buildup
• Removes the unsightly green tint of chlorine
• Banishes the nasty chemical smell
• Moisturizes, rebuilds and softens your hair

If you plan on doing a lot of swimming, this is a non-negotiable.

Tip #2: Clarify & Condition

Even if you aren’t a big pool swimmer, it’s a good practice to clarify occasionally your hair to remove buildup. This frees your hair of salt, sand, chlorine, minerals, excess hair product… or pretty much any other type of buildup.

The thing about clarifying shampoo is that it can really dry out your hair. It makes sense, right? You’re using a product that strips your hair of everything… which includes natural oils and moisture.

HOWEVER, there is one holy grail hair product that clarifies your hair without overly drying it. The Biolage Cleanreset Normalizing Shampoo mimics the natural cleansing properties of lemongrass (the main ingredient) to give you ultra-fresh hair without drying it out.

It can be used daily if needed, or you can even skip a day between washes if you want (since it keeps your hair cleaner for longer). Or if you have a different shampoo you already love, just add it in once a week to remove buildup.

After you clarify, you always want to thoroughly condition your hair and add moisture back in. I love using the Joico Intense Hydrator to do just that. Trust me, you don’t want dry hair in summer.

Tip #3: Use UV Protection

Okay… I’m gonna paint a visual for you. Think of what happens to a car dashboard when you don’t use a sunshade to block out the UV rays. It gets dry and starts to crack, right?

And how do you prevent that from happening? You use conditioner to moisturize it and block the UV rays from hitting it.

It’s the same thing for your hair. The sun dulls your hair (healthy hair appears shiny and vibrant) and fades your expensive hair color. Likewise, it damages the cuticle, which leads to dry, brittle hair, split ends, discoloration, and frizziness.

One of the absolute best summer hair care products is the Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil UV Primer (whew) and here’s why:

• It was specially formulated to protect your hair from UV rays
• It smooths and conditions your hair without weighing it down
• The ingredients are incredibly lightweight
• It’s perfect for all hair types

If there’s one product you need for healthy summer hair, this is it.

Tip #4: Alternate Updos

If you’re anything like me, you usually wear your hair up in the summer. But do try to alternate where you tie it up every day. This is one of my absolute favorite beach hair care tips.

If you wear a ponytail in the same place every day, the hair tie will cause repeated friction that will eventually start to cause breakage and damage your hair.

My best advice is to change up your style each day. Sometimes I pin my hair up with bobby pins, and other times put it in a ponytail. If you need some updo inspiration, check out these 6 summer hair tutorials that you should definitely try.

If you’re dead-set on wearing your hair in the same ponytail every day, at least take advantage of the scrunchie craze or use a hair tie that won’t cause breakage.

Tip #5: Cover Up

Remember the car dashboard analogy? Well, what better way to protect your hair from UV rays than to completely block them out?

There are about a million cute hat styles in the world right now. Take advantage of that.

Pssst… Amazon has a killer selection of affordable beach hats. I love the one that says, “Hello Sunshine.”

Tip #6: Condition, condition, condition

Remember that conditioner is always your friend, year-round.

This is a crazy easy hair care tip that so many people neglect, but I can’t stress it enough. Especially when talking about hair care for summer, never skip conditioner, and try to condition every day.

I don’t wash my hair every day because doing so can dry out your scalp.

However, sometimes when I take a shower, I just wet my hair, put conditioner in, and rinse it out. This leaves my hair feeling all refreshed and healthy-like.

You could even just use Amika Silken Up Dry Conditioner, which makes your super silky without having to wet it down again. It’s pretty much amazing.

Whatever route you choose, just make sure to get conditioner up in your hair.

Tip #7: Minimize Heat Damage

Give your hair a break; it’s already taking a beating from the natural elements. Let it air-dry and cut back on the hot tools.

Remember that the beachy tousled look is always in, and it’s effortless to achieve without heat!

First off, check out these must-have products for perfect beach waves. Second, watch this video by AndreasChoice… it shows you THREE easy ways to rock perfectly wavy hair without the heat.

Final Thoughts

Even though summer is a great time to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine, it can quickly lead to damaged hair.

That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the festivities of the season… it just means you need to take extra care to protect your hair. Follow these tips all summer long, and you can’t go wrong.

I hope you learned exactly how to keep hair healthy in summer!

Until next time,

YOUR TURN: Do you have any other summer hair care for summer tips to add to this list? How do you keep your hair healthy in the hot sun? Drop your answers below! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

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