As the warmer months arrive, so do the days spent in the sun and sea. Many people are now aware of the precautions they need to take with their skin in summer – and all year round – but lots of people aren’t aware of the toll of summer on your hair.
Sun, sea and UV can impact the feel and look of your hair – so knowing how to take care of it properly during the warmer summer months can make a huge difference.
Discover our top summer hair care tips for smooth, silky hair this summer and beyond.
Tips for hair care in summer
1. Protect your hair and scalp from UV damage
Many people will be aware of how much UV rays can damage the skin and the importance of staying safe in the sun. However, we find that a lot of people don’t realize that UV can actually impact their hair and scalp as well as the rest of their body.
With haircare, there is an element of skincare involved: your scalp needs nourishment and protection, just as the skin on your face does.
Top tip: Wear a hat to cover your scalp, stick to shady areas and avoid the sun when it’s at its highest around midday.
If you want to learn more about scalp care, read our Ultimate Guide to Scalp Care.
2. Avoid exposure to chlorine
Chlorine can negatively impact your hair’s health, feel and look. Swimming pools are the prime suspect for getting chlorine in your hair, and many people enjoy taking a dip when on their holidays.
This impacts your hair health due to its harsh chemical nature, which strips away the natural oils that protect and moisturize the hair shaft. This loss of natural oils leaves the hair dry, brittle, and prone to breakage.
Chlorine can also weaken the hair's structural integrity by degrading the proteins, which can lead to split ends and breakage. The buildup of chlorine residues in the hair can make your locks feel rough and look dull.
If someone has color-treated hair, chlorine can cause additional issues, making the color fade and to change hue – many people will be familiar with green-tinted locks in summer!
3. Be mindful of too much salt water
While you might crave the salt-water induced beachy waves, there are positives and negatives to think about for your hair’s health.
Salt water can gently exfoliate your scalp, which can be beneficial if you struggle with dandruff. It is also rich in magnesium, which can help to stimulate hair growth.
However, it can leave your hair feeling dry and tangled due to the high salt content in seawater that draws moisture out of the hair, leading to dehydration and dryness. Dry hair makes hair more susceptible to brittleness, frizz, and split ends.
Salt water can also lift the hair cuticle – which is the outer protective layer – causing hair to become rough and more prone to tangling and breakage.
4. Use all-natural haircare
Healthy hair starts with the products you use to cleanse and condition it. If those products are filled with chemicals, your hair will suffer from it.
That’s why at UpCircle, our haircare range is natural, vegan-friendly and filled with hair-loving ingredients. Kind to both your hair and our planet, our haircare upcycles ingredients that would otherwise go to waste, giving them a new lease of life.
The products are sulfate-free, meaning they are more gentle on sensitive scalps, and help to retain your scalp and hair’s natural oils.
Haircare Duo
Our Shampoo and Conditioner Duo supercharges and nourishes hair for a glossy shine, using natural ingredients. Helping to strengthen hair and reduce breakage while promoting a healthy scalp, our haircare is formulated with hair-loving ingredients.
Our Shampoo Crème is formulated with pink berry, which is clinically proven to reduce scalp irritation. A hybrid of liquid and solid, our shampoo crème has a concentrated formula that delivers three times the washes of a liquid shampoo.
Top tip: When washing their hair, many people do not spend sufficient time wetting the hair and scalp before applying the product. If you take at least one to two minutes to ensure the hair is really wet (scalp massage can also be incorporated at this stage) then the product that you use will be more effective.
How to use: Wet hair, then wash and massage the scalp. Rinse well and repeat. YouTube
Bamboo Wide Tooth Comb
Made with sustainable bamboo, enjoy gentle frizz-free detangling with our Bamboo Wide Tooth Comb. Promoting scalp health and hair growth, this comb is produced with environmental impact in mind.
5. Deeply condition your hair
Our Conditioner with Rosemary Oil and Bamboo Extract helps you achieve soft, shiny hair. But it also reduces breakage and intensely conditions your locks for stronger hair. Pampering the scalp and deeply conditioning your hair, our Conditioner Crème acts as a multi-use product.
Leave this conditioner on your hair for 10 minutes, letting it sit on your locks as a hair mask. Hard-working ingredients like coconut oil, bamboo extract and upcycled orange peel wax get to work, leaving you with soft, hydrated locks.
The orange peel wax we use in this conditioner is a by-product of the orange juice industry. Orange peel wax contains botanical lipids which act as emollients to protect, soften and moisturize both the skin and hair. Rich in vitamin C, orange peel wax can improve hair strength reducing the likelihood of breakage and split ends.
How to use: After shampooing, take a small amount of product and warm it between your palms. Apply to the ends of the hair and leave on for three to five minutes before rinsing off with warm water. YouTube
Discover our full collection of haircare, skincare and fragrance at UpCircle.