The 5 Best Ways to Protect Your Hair from Damage this Summer

How to Protect Your Hair from Damage

Damaging my hair is something of an art. Ever since I was about 14 and dyed my hair black for the first time, I’ve been kind of hooked. Let’s not mention that I completely freaked out that first time because it was such a dramatic change. Fast forward to today and I’m practically a veteran when it comes to doing damage. What can I say? Coloring my hair is SO much fun! Also, I’m fickle, adventurous, and easily bored. It’s a recipe for disaster. That said, when summer hits, my hair takes a complete nose dive in terms of softness, texture, and manageability that I’m sure has to do with the time spent outdoors, in the pool and at the beach, and generally letting my hair take a beating while I dance carefree around bonfires. Since I’m totally unwilling to give up summer fun and I’m sure you are probably the same, I’ve come up with a complete battle plan on how we can all avoid screwing up our hair permanently and the best ways I’ve found to keep my hair looking shiny and feeling soft all summer long.

The 5 Best Ways to Protect Your Hair from Damage this Summer

Limit Heat Styling | The first thing you want to do to reduce the amount of damage your hair is accumulating is by limiting your heat styling. Heat styling does so much damage to your hair, even more than coloring your hair does. Did you know that hair coloring really isn’t that bad for your hair? It’s actually only when you bleach your hair or color it repeatedly that it incurs any damage from color. Of course, not coloring your hair will allow it to reach it’s full potential, but coloring won’t necessarily cause immediate damage unless you’re lifting your hair color (by bleaching it). Either way, heat styling is best avoided because heat does the most immediate damage to your hair, especially when you’re styling every single day and using multiple tools.
Protect | Whether you’re going to the pool, the beach, or maybe just on a long hike, you’ll want to protect your hair. You can do this in a number of ways. The first way is by using a UV hair spray which actually places a light spf filter on hair strands much like you would use a normal sunscreen on your face and body. The second way is by utilizing a hair serum which can protect your hair from UV damage as well as help prevent damage caused by chlorine and salt water. The way you use a hair serum is by applying it to your hair before getting into the water. This prevents the water (chlorine or salt water) from being absorbed by your hair and doing damage to it because the oil is already absorbed into your hair. My personal favorite is the Yarok Feed Your Sunshine Serum.
Treat | No matter what, you’ll likely suffer minimal damage, at the very least, from being in the sun and elements for a prolonged period of time and one of the best ways to help treat your hair is by doing a pre-shampoo hair treatment. You can do this by applying a hair oil treatment to your locks 30 minutes before showering or by using a hair mask. My personal favorite hair mask is a DIY hair recipe which I find works incredibly well at healing, hydrating, and putting the life back into your hair. It also naturally highlights hair without damaging it – nature is amazing, right?
Cleanse and Detox | Once you’ve done either doing a hair mask or pre-shampoo treatment, you’ll want to go in and actually cleanse. Ideally, you want a shampoo that cleanses and hydrates. I really love the Rare Elements Hair line and also Yarok Feed Your Moisture Shampoo is also incredible!
Rejuvenate and Repair | The last step you’ll want to take to protect your hair is to treat your hair with another mask or conditioner. This will help soften, improve manageability, and repair any damage leftover. It’s the last step and it’s good for combating frizz, dry and itchy scalp, and other irritations you might find yourself dealing with. My favorites are the Rare Elements Essential Lite Conditioner and the Yarok Feed Your Moisture Hair Mask. Most likely, I’d use both!