Sun damage, excessive heat, chlorine, and salt water can all wreak havoc on your hair and leave it a hot mess. If you spent a bunch of time in the sun this summer you probably have the signs of unhealthy hair. Symptoms of summer damage can range from sun-bleached streaks, tangles, split ends, excessive hair loss, or dry hair. Now that summer is officially over, now is the time to reverse summer hair abuse and prevent further damage to your hair.
Get a Trim
When your hair is exposed to the sun, wind, chlorine, ect, it takes away the nutrients in your hair. When your hair is lacking proper nutrients, you will notice that your hair is frizzy, it tangles and knots easily, feel straw-like strands, or find those dreaded split ends.
Ignoring the signs and symptoms of unhealthy hair can cause even further damage as split ends start creeping higher on your hair strands. Trimming off the dry ends and taming the split ends can make a huge difference in the way your hair feels. Your stylist can recommend how much hair you need to trim off but chances are it will be around an inch or two.
Skip Products that Contain Alcohol
Do skip using products that contain alcohol. Alcohol tends to dry out your hair and it makes it vulnerable to more damage. Instead, opt for alcohol-free gel, mouse, and hairspray.
Give Styling Aids a Break
Hair dryers, curling irons, and straighteners tend to dry out your hair and make it vulnerable to further damage. Skip using these tools for a few weeks until you are able to restore some of the moisture in your locks. If you must use your styling aids, spray your hair with a heat protectant. A heat protectant stands up to extreme temperatures (check the bottle for exact protection level) and helps reduce the amount of friction. Plus, it leaves your hair shiny and soft.
Opt to air dry your hair instead of using a hair dryer. If you must use a hair dryer, use a heat protectant, turn down the heat, and use a drying cap.
Moisturize Your Hair
Replace your shampoo and conditioner with products that contain natural moisturizers such as coconut, argan, or jojoba oil. Using natural oils helps add moisture and don’t strip your hair. Skip using products that contain sulfates and parabans as they tend to strip natural oils from your hair.
Use a Hair Mask
Your kitchen has a host of natural moisturizers that are beneficial to use on your hair. Natural products compared to commercial ones are effective and affordable. Some of the most common natural products for your hair include lemon juice, honey, aloe vera, avocado hair masks, coconut oil, and many more.
Don’t wait until your hair is severely damaged to start using a hair mask. You want to start using it before the damage begins to take place; however, it won’t harm your hair to use a mask on dry, damaged hair.
Think of a hair mask as a band-aid on dry, damaged hair, it helps provide moisture to the inside the cuticle of your hair. Moisture to the cuticle can help make your hair more manageable and adds shine. However, hair masks can’t physically repair split ends so it is important that you still get a regular trim when you notice too many split ends.
Tame the Frizz
Split ends are inevitable at some point and the more moisture that is zapped from your hair during the summer time. When moisture is zapped from the ends of your hair, you are more likely to notice split ends and frizzy hair. We suggest using Kenra Platinum Blow-Dry Spray or Color Wow Dream Coat before styling your hair. These styling products are designed to help tame your frizzy and fly away hair. Plus, it helps prevent additional damage.
Use Care When Detangling Your Hair
Your hair is pretty resilient and can handle quite a bit of abuse between trims. But when your hair is wet, running a brush through your locks is a bad idea. According to Dr. John Gray, a beauty scientist with P&G, wet hair is very weak and can easily be damaged. Next time you get out of the shower and are tempted to run a brush through your wet hair, we hope that you remember this article and follow our advice to avoid further damage to your hair.
If you must comb your hair when it is damp or wet, it is best to apply a leave-in conditioner on your fingers and carefully run your fingers through your hair. Do make sure that your fingers are smooth and don’t have any rough edges. Rough edges or even torn fingernails can accidentally damage your delicate hair.
Skip Using Elastic Hair Ties With Metal
Do you remember growing up and when you removed those awful ponytail holders with the balls and the metal clasp in the middle? I’m sitting here cringing as I remember what it is was like pulling them out of my hair with a bunch billion strands of hair attached. I was hoping that they disappeared unless they were stored as a vintage keepsake. However, I was quite appalled that you could still find these today on Etsy, Ebay, and Amazon and little girls could possibly wind up with these awful ponytail holders being used in their hair.
Also, forgo using the ponytail holders that are held together with a metal clasp. The metal clasp can cause unnecessary damage to your hair. Most of the elastic hair ties today are considered ouchless and don’t contain the metal clasp; however, you can still find them with metal clasps at Dollar Tree.
Summer fun has probably left your hair feeling blah and dull looking. Dry, dull, stringy hair can be extremely difficult to style and leave your hair vulnerable to further damage. With holiday parties just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start reversing the damage.
