Fighting Summer-Related Dryness and Frizz

Summertime is amazing for lots of reasons: outdoor parties, barbeques and sunbathing in parks. But one thing that doesn’t rock in the summer months? The damage it can do to your hair. Even though your locks may look fantastic—with natural highlights and the effortless style of air-dried, beachy waves— there are factors working against your tresses. So what’s wreaking havoc with your hair?

Summer dryness: how to repair and protect against damage

During the summer months our hair’s exposed to a series of new stressors that can lead us down the road to dryness, damage and even hair breakage. Knowing the lookouts can help you keep hair in top shape and find the best remedies to prevent summer hair damaged. Here are a few of the key culprits;

• Increased exposure to UV rays
  Sun exposure draws the moisture out of your hair, causing dryness and frizz and changing its structure. What's worse, sun exposure breaks down the pigment in your hair that acts as a filter from light radiation—making it harder for your hair to ward off damaging UV rays.

• Humidity
  Your hair’s enemy for styling reasons and because too much moisture in the air can actually make hair feel dry, coarse and brittle.

• Swimming
  Frequent dips in chlorinated pools and salt water means your hair is exposed to damaging elements. The salt, copper and algaecides found in pool water are harsh on the gentle protein makeup of your hair and can even cause discolouration.

• DIY hair hacks
  Home-made remedies to lighten hair and bring out summer streaks, including squeezing lemon juice on your locks, can lead to bleaching and dryness.

The result of all of this? Decreasing your hair’s natural shine, strength and resilience. But fear not! We’re here to provide some tips to minimize the damaging effects of summer, and to repair the dryness our favorite season has caused to your hair.

Summer dryness and frizz protection

So how can you maintain your hair’s natural strength and shine during the summer months?

Wearing a hat or using an umbrella are the only surefire ways to block exposure to the sun’s UV rays, but there are some alternatives to being a slave to shade from May to September. Two words for you: leave-in conditioner (OK, so maybe that’s three). Either way, make it your new best friend during the summer months. It will help keep your hair hydrated—sealing in the moisturization it already has—while preventing the penetration of moisture into your strands, which can have an opposite, drying effect on your tresses.

Here are a few of our summer favourites that’ll repair, protect and restore that luscious shine for a frizz-free, free-flowing locks all summer;

• Pantene Pro-V Repair & Protect 3 Minute Miracle instantly melts into hair to leave it deeply conditioned down to the core. The perfect summer haircare remedy, just swap out your everyday conditioner for this little gem and notice the difference from the very first wash. It’ll help protect tresses against external stressors and heat damage.

• For an intensely hydrating restorative treatment, reach for Pantene Pro-V Repair & Protect Mask, with micro-nourishers that help to lock moisture deep down into strands. The intensely hydrating formula with active nutrients leaves hair looking and feeling healthy, shiny, smooth and protected. Strands feeling and looking dull and damaged? Work this wonder treatment into your weekly routine to strengthen and protect tresses against summer damage and dryness.

• Last, but not least, one of our favourites to travel with and the perfect summer holiday travel buddy; Pantene Pro-V Rescue Shots. Designed to pack a punch, these small, but mighty deep treatments help repair damage in an instant. Really, it only takes a minute! Fuelled by active Pro-V nutrients, the lipids in these rescue shots help maintain hair’s structural integrity for healthier-looking, shinier strands. The perfect travel buddy that’ll fit in your summer holiday luggage or gym bag. Wave goodbye to damaged strands and hello to luscious holiday hair.

With these in your summer haircare arsenal, you’ll be on your way to more great hair days and less hair worries.

Summer haircare tips

But, if you’re already feeling the August effects of three months of fun in the damaging summer sun, there are some additional things you can do to help repair your hair. Try these solutions:

• Rinse!
  Make sure you always wash your hair thoroughly after swimming to remove any unwanted damaging elements like chlorine or salt.

• Lay off the home remedies
  Avoid using “natural” bleaching hacks such as lemon juice. The results are unpredictable (orange hair much?) and can leave your hair looking duller.

• Adjust your regimen
  Choose hair products specifically designed to deal with summer’s dryness and give locks that are really frazzled a vital conditioning boost with an intensive treatment too. We suggest lathering your hair in these products and covering it with a swimming cap when bathing and swimming.

• Embrace your natural hair
  Instead of fighting your natural hair texture, use the summer as an excuse to try out wavy textures.

With summer hair protection down to a fine art, you’re ready to flaunt that gorgeous mane without dryness or sun damage. Hungry for more hair repair? Read more about how to prevent hair damage and keep those tresses in top shape all year round.