Summer Hair Care

If you’re like me, love the beach and sea, lucky to live along the coast, have fine hair and visit the beach almost every day during the summer, your hair might not love the salt water as much as you. Over the course of summer, salt water, sweat, sunscreen, humidity can damage my hair. When it’s fine hair, damage is emphasised 3 fold.

This summer, I think I may have the damage under control. Previous years I left coconut oil in overnight after being in the sea. My hair didn’t respond well. I’ve found after rinsing salt water out in the shower, it needs some sort of moisture locked back in. I’m sure my hairdresser will have their say next time I go in, however I’m finding the following’s working out okay keeping my hair healthy this summer: 

The Right Shampoo and Conditioner

More so the right conditioner. For a few years I’ve been using hairdresser recommended conditioner. While it’s natural, cruelty free, this year I decided to look for another. One reason price, the other it contained silicones which aren’t kind with long time use for hair. Rather that smooth everything out, making glossy effect overtime it can revert that effect. Something guided me to Freshly Cosmetics Vibrant Refreshing Shampoo and Detox Anti-Frizz Repairing Conditioner and I’m finding these are working well, It took a few frogs to find this duo. Cruelty free, natural they’re working great on my fine hair. Bonus the bottles are aluminium for easy recycling. I wash my hair daily due to working out and it gets greasy in a day, seriously greasy without even trying. In the summer when I shower in the evenings to rinse off sunscreen, salt water, I just rinse my hair with just water to rinse out the salt water. Shampoo and conditioner is for the mornings.

Hair Serum

I’ve been using hair serums a bit backward this summer. Rather than use them as last morning hair care step, I apply a generous amount to wet hair after my evening shower. Yes, I know this will add to the greasiness! Trust me in the depth of winter I can wash my hair in the morning, the next day when I wake up it’s full on greasy. I haven’t got the will do to no ‘poo. Anyway, I’ve been using Cocunat Serum Capilar Reparador Intensivo/Capillary Argan Serum (I got mine from Druni) hair serum and this has been great helping keeping damage to a minimum and keeping my hair soft. I found it was too heavy even the slightest drop to use a last styling step. It made the bottom half of my hair lanky and greasy. Using at night from near root to the ends and rinsing it away in the morning works better. It helps seal in some moisture. 

Rice Water

I’m a few months new at rice water hair rinse. The basic principle is that rice protein can make your hair grow longer, stronger and maybe help slow down the greys. I’m all for natural ways of slowly down those white strands so I was game for this. More info here on how rice water works. You leave to ferment about 1/2 to 1 cup rice in water in a large mansion jar for a day. If it smells slightly rice sour it’s good. It can get really nasty if I leave it too long. That batch goes out! It’s good stored in the fridge for a few days. The Yao tribe in Huangluo China have used rice water on the their hair for hundreds of years and into their late 80’s it’s still long and grey free. I’ve read they leave it to ferment for about a month but with orange peel in! Like all things natural you’re looking at about 6 months until you see any effect. This I do about once or twice a week. After rinsing my hair in the evening, with a cup I pour in sections the rice water over my hair (upside down over the edge of the bath!), massage it into my scalp and dip the ends in the water. I leave it to air dry as I would normally. I swear this too has been helping keep damage to a minimum. One thing I noticed straight away was how soft my hair is the next day. So silky soft I can’t stop touching it! After usual shampoo and conditioner I can see feel it’s extra soft. Then I go for a dip and well. I’ve also noticed if I let it air dry and it’s humid, it’s good thing I wash my hair the next morning as it can look slightly lanky. 

Frank Body Go Longer Hair Mask

I apply this mask about once a week. Leave on for 10 minutes. No more than 15 as I found out the  hair way as it can dry out your hair. This too leaves my hair feeling silky soft and I’ll do this if I’ve been too lazy for a few days to apply serum or made rice water. It usually brings to back from the brink of dryness turning point.

Hair Bands/Elastics/Ties

I prefer thick tights/panty hose hair bands like these in non neon. I find these don’t snag or my hair as much as some evil painful snag ties like these. I’ve had my share cutting some out with nail scissors in the mirror praying I’ve got the back to front WFT mirror direction I’m cutting in right.

Keeping My Hair Tangle Free

I’ve done a few posts on fine hair hair care and cycling. I love my bike, I don’t like how cycling the wind can whip moisture out of my hair so I cycle with it in a plait/braid. Not the most glamourous. I wear a cap too cycling so it’s not so bad as I don’t like how I look in a simple braid. It ages me! I usually go to the beach before running errands, my hair’s up in a braid I keep this in going to a dip and I’ve started to wrap it around itself before going for a dip. This way my hair doesn’t get tangled up from the waves causing more damage. I rinse what I can at the beach shower. Once the beach and bike locked for 1st errand I undo the plait and hope I haven’t got weird waves going on and let it air dry. I also leave it in a top knot if coming from the gym or indoor climbing. Climbing I should wear it in a top knot as leaving it a pony tail it gets tangled or a few knots at the ends from climbing. The joys of fine hair. If I know I’ll be wearing my hair down later, I climb in a pony tail to avoid top knot elastic lines when down. I once thought my hair was low maintenance. I’m moving up the hair care scale to about 6. Is there such thing as low key hair maintenance? Even if you’re natural hair care, there’s still work involved with oils, styling, drying, right products, everything hidden with a hat or up in a top knot for those days nothing is helping your hair. 

How do you keep your hair healthy minus heat treatment, silicones, extensions and petroleum products? If you do heat treat, use extensions etc, how to you keep your hair healthy in the summer months?