Summer holiday, ah, summer holiday! Beautiful time! The sunlight caresses our skin, sea water washes our bodies and sand warms up our feet. I love spending time on a beach and I’m sure you know what I mean because there is a reason for beaches being full of sunbathing people.
Sadly, our hair dislikes sunbathing because it dislikes the sun. UV rays – no matter if strong or mild – always have a deteriorating influence over our strands. Therefore, it’s time to learn what the sun does to our hair.
Mostly, however, I’d like to advise you on how to effectively protect hair from UV rays. This knowledge is essential, trust me.
There are a few ways that I adopt to shield my strands against the sun, which I’m going to tell you about later. To be completely honest with you, I must admit that I was long unaware how destructive the sunlight can be. I used to wonder why my hair is so straw-like and unmanageable. I somehow couldn’t figure it out that this poor state of hair is strictly connected with excess sun exposure.
It all changed once I bought (totally by accident) my first hair conditioner with SPF. It appeared pretty fast that it was the very sun protection that my hair lacked!
What does the sun do to your hair?
UV rays, that reach the Earth from the sun, are pretty hazardous for our entire body. It causes damage to skin and hair. Mostly, the rays destroy the keratin layer of hair, lead to breaking down amino acids that build hair and cause oxidation of lipids that make another essential constituent of hair. UVA rays negatively affects the superficial layers of skin, whereas UVB penetrates the shafts and is responsible for causing the most serious damage.
I know, it all sounds pretty disturbing. What does it mean in practice? Well, more or less it means that UV rays
– tangle hair and and make it brittle.
- leave hair matte and rough.
- lower hydration level in hair.
- damage strands and encourage splitting.
- make hair colour fade.
- deprive hair of its natural shine.
I was surprised myself when I learnt how damaging the sun appears to be…
Fun fact: Hair colour matters!
Do you know that UV rays don’t influence all hair types in the same way? It all depends on how much melanin the hair has.
To clarify, darker hair – that has more pigment – is better protected against the sun because the main task of the pigment is to absorb the damaging radiation. Therefore, brunettes experience less problems with hair that is caused by the sun. When it comes to fair hair, blonde girls get their strands damaged, brittle and dry definitely faster. For that reason, blonde-haired women must provide their strands with stronger protection.
And this is where the most important question arises.
How to protect hair against UV rays?
Naturally, I’ve got my proven methods to protect hair against the sun. I’m positive that they work because I’ve noticed a huge difference in the state of my strands since using them. So what are the ways of shielding your hair against this harmful UV rays?
1. HEADGEAR
Go ahead and laugh at the ‘snappy’ women who sit on a beach with a hat, but they do good to their hair. Headgear worn on a sunny day makes one of the best UV shields you can imagine. What you should take care of though, make sure that the fabric the hat is made of allows the air to go through easily. This will prevent your scalp from sweating which consequently limits greasy roots.
2. BUN
Another good idea is arranging the hair in a bun. And it’s not about the comfort only. Just see, when tied up in a bun, the surface of hair exposed to the direct sunlight is significantly reduced. Simple and effective!
3. SUN PROTECTION PRODUCTS
The most common way of limiting the adverse effects of the sun on hair is – obviously – application of SPF products. Personally I’d recommend you the sunscreens containing mineral filters (e.g. zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) that are able to bounce and reflect the sunlight. In the long run chemical filters might damage hair, yet they are equally effective.
4. SUN PROTECTION NATURAL OILS
If you want to provide your hair with sun protection, you can replace SPF hair mists with a natural beauty oil. The best shield against sunlight is offered by raspberry seed oil, argan oil and macadamia oil that aren’t only antioxidants but also fix the aftermath of excessive exposure to UV rays.
What are your ways of protecting the hair against the sun? Please share below.
