The Two Most Important Things You Can Do For Your Hair This Summer

Hey gals! It's Deidre.

I always have the least amount of perfect hair days in the warmer months and I'm sure it's the same for you. Between lightening your color, going in the pool or ocean and extra sun exposure, your hair takes a beating.

I've got some insider secrets to share with you today!

I'm here to share the two most important things you can do to maintain the integrity of your hair now that warmer temps have arrived for good.

1. Use A Heat Protectant

I always tell my clients that if they had to choose only ONE product, make it a heat protectant. Consider it the oven mitt for your hair. It makes me literally cringe to think of someone touching a 400 degree curling iron to their hair with nothing there to protect it. Eventually over time, your hair won't be able to handle much more of the heat and it will start breaking. Using a heat protectant is the simplest way to avoid unnecessary damage.

Style Vault Insiders can find my favorite heat protectant (which also adds moisture and shine) inside the July Style Notes section!

If your hair is fine or slightly over processed, it obviously means it's more fragile. Keep the styling tools at 375 degrees or lower. If your hair is a little bit courser and in good condition, I'd say you can bump it up to 400 degrees. But no matter what type of hair you have, don't forget your heat protectant!

Be sure to purchase hot tools with a specific temperature setting, so you can adjust it according to your hair type. (Insiders, get the deets on my favorite curling iron brand in the Style Notes section of the July Vault!)

2. Get Your Hair Wet Before Swimming

When your hair is colored, the cuticle has been altered and is practically wide open. As a result, things like salt water in the ocean or chlorine in a pool will affect your hair color if you don't embrace a slightly irritating habit to get used to. If you insist upon swimming, the simplest thing you can do to protect your color during the summer is to get your hair wet before getting into the pool or ocean. After wetting it down, spray a leave-in conditioner onto your hair. This will provide a layer of protection on the cuticle, making it harder for the salt water or pool chemicals to penetrate into your hair shaft and cause your color to fade.

floppy hat heat protectant wide tooth comb summer hair

There are tons of great products to use before swimming, but I love the Kenra Daily Provision spray for summer because not only does it detangle, but it also contains sunscreen!

Your colorist will always say not to get your hair wet, but I personally love to embrace my natural curl in the summer by jumping in the pool or ocean (I'm a rule breaker, what can I say?!) because nothing brings out my curly texture like the summer heat.

If you're like me and you like to bask in the sun and get really hot before jumping in the water, a floppy hat always comes in handy for extra hair protection.

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Thanks for reading and have a great hair day!

Deidre