Ahhh summer…There’s nothing better than baking in the sun by the pool or sitting on the beach—there is nothing better for your soul, that is. Your hair is a completely different story.
Your favorite summer activities constantly take a toll on your hair by drying it out and draining the color. Not to fear, to save your hair from the summer stressors, Valley talked to Nikki Lombardozzi, a stylist at David Chad beauty parlor in Caldwell, New Jersey.
Swimming pools
Any blonde-haired girl has known since they were little that pool water can turn your hair that dreadful green color. Oxidized copper in the pool water will bind to the protein in your hair and will, as a result, turn your hair green.
In order to avoid the green tint, Lombardozzi recommends wetting your hair before you swim and rubbing some conditioner into your wet hair. The conditioner will also protect against the major drying effects that the water has on your hair. Lombardozzi recommends rinsing your hair out as soon as you are finished swimming.
In the case that your hair does turn green, she provides advice that will keep you from looking like the Joker from Batman all summer long: “If it does happen, a big thing is to use tomatoes or ketchup, or anything tomato based, on your hair,” she says. The acidity of the tomatoes is able to fight the oxidized copper right out of your hair.
The sun
Everyone loves the nice glow that the sun gives to their skin, but the effects on your hair are definitely not as loveable. Lombardozzi recommends covering your hair with a hat whenever possible. When a hat just will not go with your outfit, she recommends protecting your hair with sunscreen.
“I have colored hair so I am constantly trying to protect it from the sun,” she says. “The color fades in a day when I’m in the sun so I always use aerosol sunscreen.” Lombardozzi admits that the sunscreen will make your hair a bit greasy, but it might be worth it! She recommends the Alfaparf Milano Sun Hair protection oil as another alternative.
Sea water
Lombardozzi tells Valley that sea water does not mess with hair color at all. (Score!) “The only thing you have to worry about with sea water is it drying your hair out,” she says. To fight the drying effects, she recommends always bringing a leave-in conditioner to the beach. Lombardozzi uses It’s a 10 Miracle Leave In Conditioner. “When I go to the beach I will spritz my ends and I’ll also brush it through my hair,” she says.
Lombardozzi also says to use a hair oil before going to the beach. (She recommends Alfaparf hair oil). “This will soften the cuticle of the hair, it will add shine to the hair, and it will stop it from getting tangled in the wind, which is great for on the beach.”
Protecting your hair doesn’t mean hiding inside all summer. With the right tricks you can have an action-packed summer and a head of beautiful hair to go along with it.
