When we are on holiday it is a time that we really do want to look our best but sometimes humidity can leave our hair looking frizzy and unkempt. Even more so if you are anything like me and prone to frizz.
Add to this the effects of chlorine from a swimming pool, along with harsh sun rays; and hair can looked damaged and unhealthy.
Even more care is needed in midlife due to declining oestrogen levels affecting keratin production, a protein needed to maintain healthy and smooth hair.
I have put together five tips to help keep hair not only healthy but looking good this Summer holiday
Protect it from excessive Chlorine in the Swimming Pool
This is a great little tip that I only recently discovered.
As our hair can only absorb so much water, if you first completely soak it in fresh water before getting into the swimming pool it will act as a kind of coating. It will then not be able to absorb as much chlorine.
Of course also still rinse it again as soon as you get out of the pool.
Lavish your hair in conditioner when you are not swimming
A favourite one of mine and one I always do when heading to the beach, is to coat my hair in a lot of conditioner. I then leave it in, tie it up in a pony tail and wash it when I get back later.
I only do this if I know I am not going to be going swimming and my hair will not actually be submerged in the water; so as to avoid causing harm to the marine environment.
This is also a good one to do if you are only going to be paddling or splashing about. Alternatively you could take a bottle of conditioner with you to put some on after you have finished swimming.
I don’t really mind as much if my hair looks a bit oily with the conditioner in while at the beach, as it makes such an improved difference to my hair when I do this.
However, if you are concerned about how your hair looks, you can always apply the conditioner and then cover it with a hat or bandana.
Although there are some leave in conditioners on the market today, I myself have not tried any of them. As I have extremely dry hair that is prone to a fair bit of frizz, I prefer to go with a normal use, thick conditioner.
Make a hat look chic to protect from sun damage
We often pay so much attention to protecting our skin with suncream that we forget our hair needs protecting too. Sun rays can cause the hair cuticle to become damaged resulting in a brittle texture and split ends.
Frizz more often associated with humidity can also be caused by sun damage alone.
I know it is obvious but the best thing to do is to wear a sun hat.
You can opt for a stylish, wide brimmed, straw one. You can even spruce up it up by finding a scarf the same colour as your swim wear and wrapping it around the brim of the hat.
Alternatively opt for matching your swimwear with a banana.
It can add more style to your whole beach attire.
Towel dry excess water with a microfibre towel
It works a treat to first towel dry excess water and then leave it to dry naturally or only give it a minimal blow dry.
However don’t rub it, gentle patting it dry is the key. Drying it roughly has the opposite effect and can cause frizz, even more so if the towel is a harsher material.
There are micro fibre towels that work better as the fibres themselves are smaller and gentler. They also absorb the water easily avoiding the need to rub away at the hair in an effort to get it dry.
Try your best not to over style it with heat as it cause dry hair, again leaving you prone to frizz and even more so if the place you are visiting has a humid environment.
Use Hair Serums and Oils
There seems to be a lot of products out there for combatting frizz, although I myself have only ever used John Frieda Anti Frizz Serum (this is not sponsored I have just used it for years and swear by it). For a long time when younger I struggled with frizz and then I found it and it became like gold dust, more so because at the time I was living overseas and you couldn’t always get hold of it locally.
Today, there does seem to be far more anti frizz oils and serums out there but I have not tried any of those, so couldn’t recommend any others in particular. I can only go on my experience of the one I have always used.
One last thing to add is that if you hair is already damaged before you go on holiday it will be far more susceptible to enhanced frizz and further damage so try to get it in tip top condition before your trip, including eating plenty of healthy foods.
If you have any more tips or know any good products you have tried and would recommend, please comment below.