Days with more sunshine and higher temps are just begging for afternoons by the water. But these combinations of admittedly wonderful factors can also spell bad news for your hair, especially if it’s lighter in tone or color-treated. Thankfully, that doesn’t mean blondes or frequent salon visitors have to sacrifice their summer fun. If you implement these tips and consider using daily hair care products like a hair detangler, you can be confident you’re doing what you can to care for your hair before, during, and after your time at the beach or pool.
Drench Before You Dip
Whether you plan to spend time in a chlorinated pool or the ocean, both water sources can have a negative impact on the look and feel of your hair. However, if you rinse your hair in fresh water before you dive in, you’re reducing the chances of them soaking up chemicals from the pool. The fresh water coats your strands, offering a bit of a barrier between you and the chlorine in the pool or coarse salt in the ocean.
Style Before You Swim
This doesn’t mean you have to cover your hair with products—although using some with UV protection isn’t a bad idea. Pulling your hair back in some kind of twist, braid, or even top knot on your head will help cut down on tangles, and the less you have to brush through wet hair, the better. Additionally, a few sprays of a hair detangler before you style can also help prevent breakage and damage. Some of the best even help protect hair from heat and UV. You can also don a trendy hat to protect your hair from the sun if you don’t plan on getting it wet. The sun is just as likely to contribute to brassy hues for blondes (and frizz for everyone) as pool or ocean water is.
Remember Your Post-Dip Rinse
Just like it’s a good idea to rinse your hair before you dip into a pool or the ocean, you should also make an effort to rinse it right after. Since you’re already there, you might as well go the whole way and shampoo. Cleansing your hair after being in the pool or ocean works even better to clear your hair of chemicals and salt that can alter the color of your hair, especially if you’re blonde.
Speaking of blondes, use a non-toning daily purple shampoo and conditioner to combat the effects of chlorine, salt, or sun exposure. Also include a weekly toning purple shampoo in your hair care regimen to keep bottled or natural blonde hair bright. The purple will neutralize the brassy tones these factors can tend to bring out, so you can keep your light locks safe even after spending all day in the water. If you have darker locks, use a clarifying shampoo to thoroughly work out anything from the water that could damage or build up in your hair.
Lock in Moisture
Don’t forget to condition! Chemicals in the pool, salt in the ocean, and UV rays from the sun don’t just affect the color of your hair. They’re also pretty big contributors to leaching your hair’s natural moisture and drying it out. This results in flyaways and frizz.
To protect against that, use a high-quality conditioner with powerful hydrating ingredients derived from natural sources like certain vitamins and plants such as coconut. If you have blonde hair, make sure you’re using a no-tone daily purple conditioner to supplement the benefits of your weekly toning violet shampoo. For everyone else, a high-performing daily conditioner or even a deep conditioning hair mask will make serious strides in countering the dry-causing downsides of fun in the sun and at the pool. Some brands even formulate special hair treatments just to help restore blonde locks.
Say Bye-Bye to Salt
Salt is a great natural texturizer, which is what helps you achieve those beachy waves after swimming in the ocean. But, as previously mentioned, letting this salt stay in your hair can be bad for both its color and its moisture. Instead, after washing and rinsing out the water from your beach day, use a hair texturizer on dry hair to recreate those waves.
If you start with a blowout lotion or cream, you can prime your hair to absorb the texturizing product even better. As an added bonus of texturizing spray hair is protected from heat and UV rays, and many of the best products contain ingredients to lock in moisture. It’s hard to pass on a product that multitasks like that—salt sure doesn’t!
Don’t Fall Flat Later in the Day
If you allow your hair to air dry after being at the pool or beach, you may run into one of two situations. Either your hair will fluff out from humidity and frizz, or it’ll fall flat and lifeless. Thankfully, a couple of types of products can help avoid both of these situations.
To hold back frizz and protect against humidity, use a product made with argan oil to help lock in moisture and condition hair to keep it soft and smooth. High-performance products with select vitamins and minerals also have anti-humectant properties, which means they work to keep humidity at bay and minimize frizz.
If it’s flat hair that’s troubling you, opt for a volumizing spray or thickening cream. Unlike anti-humectants, these products add moisture, which helps to give our hair a bit of a lift. You can use these on damp hair, letting it air dry or boosting the effects of the product by heat styling. A texturizing spray can also achieve similar results when you apply them to dry hair. Dry shampoo, too, is an option if you want to give your hair a boost after spending all day by the water.
Brush with Care
Whether you blow-dry your hair or let it air dry, you want to make sure it’s free of tangles and knots before carrying on with your day. A wide-tooth comb or paddle brush made with boar and nylon bristles can help untangle your hair without leading to a lot of breakages. But to make it even easier, you might consider applying a high-performance hair detangler to your damp strands before combing through it. A high-quality hair detangler can help strengthen, moisturize, and fortify your hair, which cuts down on breakage as you brush and protects your hair during the styling process and beyond. If you have color-treated hair (hello again, blondes!), this type of product is especially beneficial. The best ones contain ingredients that lock in color, further protecting your strands from showing any brassiness or fading that could result from swimming or spending time in the sun.
About UNITE Hair
UNITE Hair is a hairstylist-developed and approved hair care brand that helps you get the hair you want with the hair you have. Their award-winning collection of salon-quality products includes hair texturizer, shampoo and conditioner, and hair oil as part of UNITE’s high-performing systems that cater to every type of hair. Anyone can enjoy the 7SECONDS™ and RE:UNITE™ Systems, but if you have color-treated or naturally blonde hair, the BLONDA™ System helps to maintain a fresh and bright-looking blonde—and that’s barely scratching the surface of UNITE’s diverse offerings. With over 45 products used by celebrity stylists and their clients, UNITE Hair can help you care for your gorgeous locks and create stunning looks.
Experience healthy, great-looking hair by the pool or beach with UNITE Hair at Unitehair.com
