WHAT IS THE SUN REALLY DOING TO YOUR HAIR?

18/12/2019

With Summer upon us here are some critical points to protecting your hair against sun damage, and avoiding the big chop in a few months time.

First of all let's consider just how fine a single strand of hair is, and how it varies from person to person. Now let's consider how quickly your skin burns, or the grass dries out in this heat, and how quickly water evaporates. With a strand of hair as fine as it is, it is incredibly easy to burn and destroy it.

So what is the sun really doing to your hair!?

It's dry.
It's frizzy.
It feels like straw.
It lacks shine.
The ends are splitting.
Your colour is fading or getting lighter.

Why is it dry?
Your hair is mostly made up of water and protein, and like any water, when it reaches a certain heat it evaporates into a gas.

Why is it frizzy?
The number one reason for frizz is lack of moisture.

Why does it feel like straw?
In addition to lacking moisture, sunlight damages certain bonds in the hair shaft which is the protein that creates elasticity and hold the hair shaft together.

Why does it lack shine?
The moisture content of hair is made up of oil and water
Melanin in hair is what gives it it's colour, and the UV in sunlight oxidises the melanin into a colourless compound.

How to Protect your Hair?

Minimise sun exposure - damage can be done in as little as 30 minutes - wear a hat, stay in the shade.
Use a leave in moisturiser.
Use a treatment both for moisture and protein.
Get regular trims to trim off the old hair before it starts to split.
Avoid further heat damage from heated appliances and hot showers.

By protecting your hair now, you'll avoid the big chop, the dreaded hair cut, when your hair is so damaged that you need a few inches cut off.

Again, prevention is key, not only will your hair thank you, but you'll be thanking your self too.

Leave your comments below, how much is the most you've ever had to have cut off?

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5 TIPS ON PREVENTING AND RESOLVING GREEN HAIR

4/12/2019

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Its something that everyone with blonde has has experienced at some point in their life particularly if living in Queensland...

Chlorine Green Hair!

We have 5 simple steps for you to prevent and resolve green hair so you never have to hide it again.

Lets start with a bit about hair in general.
Hair is porous just like a sponge or paper towel, and when your hair experiences extreme conditions like colour, heat, sun etc your hairs outer layer (cuticle) becomes damaged and therefore becomes more porous. Porous hair absorbs quickly.

Now lets talk about swimming.
Despite my references about chlorine green, its not necessarily the chlorine itself that causes your hair to go green, it is in fact a chemical reaction from the metals in the water, in particular copper, iron and manganese, which are then oxidized by the chlorine, and your hair being porous soaks up this water.

Prevention

Maintain healthy hair with regular trims, treatments and minimise damage from heat and chemicals.
Soak hair in clean water before swimming, this will therefore soak up less of the oxidized water.
Apply a conditioner or hair mask to your hair to act as a barrier, but you'll also get the benefit of hydrating your hair at the same time.
Weather you choose to wet hair or coat it in conditioner, its always beneficial to tie your hair up to minimise the amount of hair getting wet whilst swimming.
Rinse thoroughly with clean water immediately after swimming.

Something else to keep in mind too, if you have a lot of silicone build up in your hair from the products you use, you use bore water or have copper pipes in your house, these things can make your hair more susceptible to green.

Resolve

Wash with a deep cleanse shampoo, don't forget to moisturise afterwards.
Visit the salon for a Malibu Hard Water Cleanse.
Use a toner with a red/pink base to counteract the green - I do recommend having this done professionally cause you could end up in strife if you get the mix wrong.
DIY 1 - a mix of shampoo and bicarb soda mixed into a paste and applied to the hair, it acts as an abrasive, I wouldn't recommend it as it can be damaging, however, it has been known to work.
DIY 2 - again not recommended but has been known to work, is applying ketchup or tomato sauce to the green bits to counteract, but if you're not careful, you could end up with red stained hair.

Prevention is key here, and your hair will thank you. Slip, slop, slap for your hair next time you swim.

Leave your comments below, how have your resolved this in the past?

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WHAT IS THE SUN REALLY DOING TO YOUR HAIR?

5 TIPS ON PREVENTING AND RESOLVING GREEN HAIR

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