How to Restore Hair Vitality After Summer

To restore your hair's silkiness after summer vacation, it's necessary to pamper it with moisturizing and nourishing hair products.

Reviewed and approved by the nurse Leidy Mora Molina.

Written by Luz Marina Carpio Hernández

Last update: 15 October, 2022

To restore hair vitality after summer requires focus and commitment. Often, after summer vacations, the hair shows weakness, dullness, and roughness, consequences of constant exposure to the sun, bathing in the sea, and dips in swimming pools.

Although the key is to maintain certain care throughout the summer, once the season ends, it’s possible to implement complementary treatments to return nutrition and hydration to your hair. So, what should you keep in mind? In the following article, we’ll tell you all about it.

How the sun can damage the vitality of the hair?

The hair is a fiber that comprises several delicate layers, such as the cuticle, which is in turn composed of keratin and cells that fuse a fatty cement. Due to exposure to the sun, sweat, chlorine, and salt, these natural chemicals are often damaged.

In this regard, the Fundación Piel Sana argues that salt water affects the characteristic properties of hair, making it fragile and brittle. Likewise, ultraviolet rays induce a chemical discoloration that leads to dryness and bad hair appearance.

In dyed and light-colored hair, the damage is worse. This is because the hydrolipidic film tends to break down, and the hair ends up dull, with split ends and less capacity to retain moisture.

Recommendations for hair recovery after the summer

Hair damaged by the sun requires vitamins and moisturizers to strengthen and penetrate the scalp. You can always go to the salon to rescue your hair after summer, but you can also restore it at home.

The key is to keep your hair in good health by putting certain habits into practice after the summer as well as in any season. Take note of the following tips!

Cut the ends

A visit to the hairdresser is an obligatory stop to cure your hair after the summer. Schedule an appointment with your stylist to trim the ends and get rid of damaged hair. However, if the damage is very severe, it is advisable to cut much more.

Follow the advice of the expert, as it is sometimes necessary to complement the cut with a professional treatment.

Use a natural bristle brush

The styling technique has a lot to do with the type of brush. Damaged hair needs soft bristles; otherwise, the strands will break.

Try natural bristle brushes, as they’re flexible and untangle without pulling out hairs. This type of “teeth” helps by massaging the scalp and stimulating it to strengthen your hair.

Reduce heat exposure

Hair straighteners and hair dryers damage the hair, especially after summer excesses. Use these appliances as little as possible. When you do, don’t forget to spray your hair with a hair heat protector and set the temperature to low or medium so that the cuticle doesn’t fall.

Select good products with no chemicals

Chemicals, fixatives, or gels are out of place in the hair recovery process because they tend to dry it out. That’s why it’s essential to select the appropriate products for each type of hair.

Your shampoo must be gentle, without alcohol or irritating components. On the other hand, your conditioner must moisturize your hair deeply. Cosmetics with natural components tend to leave very good results.

Moisturize your hair

Summer conditions end up dehydrating the hair. You help to replenish it with intensive treatments such as hair botox.

At home, you can strengthen the procedure with the application of natural masks tailored to the particular characteristics of your hair. Generally, the ideal recipes for these preparations contain nourishing and moisturizing ingredients, some of which are as follows:

• Honey
• Egg
• Aloe vera
• Avocado
• Olive oil
• Almond oil

Reinforce treatment with nutricosmetics

The Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology suggests complementing protection against the sun by consuming photoprotectors or solar nutricosmetics. Although this form of protection against ultraviolet radiation shouldn’t replace the use of sunscreen, it minimizes damage to both the skin and hair.

Apply a hair scrub

Hair scrubs thoroughly cleanse the scalp. The function of these substances is to remove the residue and chlorine left over from visits to the beach and swimming pools, as well as the remains of products you applied during this period.

To exfoliate, you need to massage with the cosmetic and rinse with water. With this cleansing, the hair absorbs the shampoo, conditioner, and subsequent treatments better. Do it once a week or every 15 days.

Offer a color bath

One of the best remedies for color-treated hair after the summer is to offer it a color bath. It’s best if you use vegetable pigments to revive the tone of the hair because they recover the color, benefit the texture, and, since they don’t contain ammonia, they help to keep the hair free of toxins.

Food and its contribution to restoring hair vitality after the summer

The Observatory of the School of Food highlights the different types of balanced diets to promote hair health. They talk about sulfur amino acids, vitamin B6, zinc, and iron in particular, claiming that their deficiency in the body affects the function or structure of the hair.

The institution says that these nutrients are provided by foods such as those listed below:

• Dairy products
• Eggs
• Fish
• Legumes
• Nuts
• Raw fruits
• Lean meats
• Whole grains

Drinking plenty of water also boosts hair health. If you add oral supplements, coenzyme Q10, beta-carotene, vitamin E, and selenium are advisable.

Extra tips to restore hair vitality after the summer

Other indications for post-summer hair treatment to accelerate improvements are related to the way you apply the restorers.

Stylists invite you to gently massage your scalp because you activate blood circulation by doing this. Never use your fingernails to spread your shampoo or any product; always work with your fingertips, moving them in a circle. Otherwise, you could irritate your skin.

As for the time the substances take to work, allow them to work for at least 3 minutes, which is enough time for them to penetrate your hair. Finally, start washing with warm water to open the cuticles and finish with cold water to seal them.