Summer hair care: how to care for your mane in the sun.

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Summer is almost here, which is great news for joggers because they can get their exercise outdoors again. Summer is also wonderful for swimmers since they can hop out of the indoor pool and into the ocean. The hot season is a fun one for your topless rompers and your fabulous giant sun hat wearers as well. But the one thing summer isn’t so great for is your hair. There is a lot of information out there on how to take care of your skin in the sun, but people don’t talk enough about the beating your hair takes when ultraviolet rays are shining down on it all day. Your hair is fragile; if running a straightening iron over it for a few minutes a day can harm it then you better believe that exposing it to the sun for several hours a day, for several months on end, will do a number on it. Here are tips for taking care of your hair in the sun.

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Add a scarf to your hat

On the inside—not the outside. Wearing a hat is a great way to protect the sun from drying out your hair, but some hats can pull at your hair, causing it to break. Wrap a thin scarf around your head before putting a hat over it, to protect your hair from damage.

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Sunscreen serum

If you want to prevent the sun from drying up your hair, causing it to be brittle and break, try adding serum with SPF in it. Several great brands make their own lines today.

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Serums versus oils

If you have natural hair, then you can get away with adding things like coconut and argan oil to it. However, if your hair has been pressed or chemically relaxed, oils will make it look greasy and heavy, and serums are your best option for moisture.

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These are the best oils

Avocado, olive and coconut oil actually help your hair naturally retain moisture. Once they get into your tresses, they help your hair keep some of the water you expose it to during the shower.

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How to use oils with pressed hair

If you have pressed hair and don’t want to add oil when it’s dry, try this: put the oils on your hair after shampooing and before conditioning. The conditioner will help trap the oils into your hair, so they can really get to work before you rinse them out. This way, you’ll get the benefits of the oils, but they won’t stay on after your rinse, making your hair look greasy.

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Moisturize at night

Don’t just moisturize during the day, when you’ll be out in the sun. The dry, summer weather wreaks havoc on your hair when you’re sleeping too (that’s why you wake up to strands of hair all over your bed!). When you go to bed, spritz your hair with water and seal it with some sort of serum so it can suck up the moisture during the night.

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Know your water

If your tap water is hard water, then this will do more damage than good to your hair. If this is the case, you can still spray water on your hair at night, but put bottled water in that spray bottle.

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Showering with hard water

Hard shower water plus summer weather equals dry, weak hair. You obviously can’t shower with bottled water because you’re (probably) not a billionaire. You can, however, condition your hair several times a week—yes, even when you aren’t shampooing—to fortify it against the hard water. Conditioner with shea butter is best.

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Know how and when to wash

You likely already know that you shouldn’t shampoo your hair every day since this will dry it out. You should, however, rinse your hair with water every day during the summer. Since your scalp is sweating more, it’s sending salt into your hair, which can dry it out.

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Add protein treatments

You need these during any season if you have chemically relaxed hair. The relaxation process can weaken your tresses, but the protein treatment can strengthen them. Meanwhile, in the summer, protein treatments can protect swimmer’s hair from chlorine damage.

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Wear the right style

Your ends are the most fragile in the summer, but some styles guard them against the elements. Twists, cornrows, and braids are some semi-permanent styles that protect your ends, and buns and topknots are great temporary options.

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Try pressing before chemical treatments

During the summer, your tresses need all the strength they can get so see how your hair responds to temporary pressing via straightening irons. If it holds the look, then skip the chemical treatments.

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For severely damaged hair

Try adding aloe vera gel or juice to your hair daily if it’s already terribly brittle, but you cannot avoid the sun. Aloe is just as effective on cracked, breaking hair as it is on skin.

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Leave-in conditioners are your friend

Use a leave-in conditioner after every rinse. In the summer, you can’t afford not to. And remember, just because you shouldn’t shampoo every day doesn’t mean you shouldn’t rinse once a day. Water is hydrating for every part of your body, including your hair!