Hair: they too must be protected from the sun

Dry, brittle, with split ends and discolored: the hair, generally, returns from vacation more stressed than when they left.

The reason is simple: the factors that during the summer conspire to damage them are really many. In the dock above all the salt and chlorine, which dry and discolor the hair fiber, the wind, which dehydrates them and makes them electric and ungovernable, the sand, at the origin of rubbing and breaking of the cuticles.

But enemy number one is undoubtedly the sun. Within a few days of intense exposure, in fact, under the effect of ultraviolet (UV) rays the hair quickly loses its shine and softness and becomes frizzy, opaque, difficult to untangle.

The rays that stand out

As if that were not enough, UV rays modify the natural colored pigments (melanins) or artificial (dyes) of the hair.

The color of the hair, like that of the skin, is due to the presence of melanin in the cells of the cortex and depends on the proportions with which the two types of melanin of the follicle are mixed: eumelanins, which give shades from brown to black, and feumelanins, from yellow to red.

Light hair (blond and especially red) contains a greater amount of feumelanins and since these offer less effective protection against UV rays than eumelanins, they are more defenseless than dark ones.

Under the effect of the sun, therefore, light hair lightens further and the hair shaft undergoes a progressive weakening caused by free radicals induced by sun exposure.

A protective shield

To avoid these inconveniences, the hair must be protected, washed and repaired every day.

Before exposure to the sun, as well as spreading the sun on the skin, a filming product must be applied to the hair that forms a protective sheath, equipped with a sunscreen.

The application should be repeated several times a day and always after bathing or showering.

In the evening after a day at the beach or in the pool you need an extra delicate shampoo, those for frequent use, in order to eliminate all traces of sunscreen, sand, chlorine, salt and other impurities.

It is better if you choose one that also contains nourishing active ingredients that leave a very thin lubricating film on the hair fiber, to prevent too important dehydration.

It is also important that the shampoo contains conditioning substances, which help detangle the hair and make it soft and shiny.

An after-sun for them too

Once washed and dabbed with a towel to remove the bulk of the water, a nourishing and rehydrating treatment can be used, if necessary, to compensate for the drying effects of the sun.

Non-rinse products can be applied daily after shampooing to damp or dry hair.

Rinse-off products, on the other hand, such as nourishing and protective masks or compresses, can be used two or three times a week, as needed, after shampooing and on towel-dried hair: they are left on for the necessary time and then rinsed thoroughly.

One more tip: since we are already subjecting the hair to an important stress, it would be better to give up treatments for a few weeks that can aggravate the situation.

So let’s avoid using hot hair dryer, iron or straightening plate every day, curlers that are too tight, dyes and discoloration.