Post beach & pool: the guide to healthy summer hair
Photos Matthew McConaughey / Getty
Words Clément Laré
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I don’t know who needs to hear this, but repeated bathing won’t spare your hair. In this guide, the Horace team is sharing our best tips for taking care of your hair this summer.
Without a shadow of a doubt, swimming and sun is an amazing combo that’s excellent for the morale. For your hair, though, it's another story. Between the water, whether chlorinated or salty, and UV rays, your hair shafts become weakened. To prevent this, there are a few simple habits that make all the difference.
Water and sun: a hair-damaging combo
The rays and heat of the sun, combined with daily contact with salty or chlorinated water can leave your hair rough and dry. At the beach, the sea salt amplifies the effects of UV rays. Afterwards, it’s as if your hair were burned. In the pool, it’s the chlorine that deteriorates the defensive hydrolipidic film of your hair fibre, completely affecting its function as a protective barrier. That’s why it’s necessary to bring even more of your attention to your hair on summer holidays than you normally would to avoid your strands feeling like rough straw.
One gesture: rinse
Admittedly, the best option remains the swimming cap, but we’d prefer a solution with more swag as a summer uniform. It’s also possible not to put your head under water and to tie your hair back (if you can) so it doesn’t soak. The problem is that the temptation to take a dip is often great. Rather than such radical solutions, we have some other easier alternatives that will do the trick. First, start by rinsing your hair well with clean shower water. Don’t just do this after swimming but also beforehand. That will leave your strands full of water like a sponge so it’ll absorb less chlorinated or salty water. This step is highly underrated and will make a big difference. Next, don’t forget to wash your hair with a gentle product like our shampoos, which will cleanse your hair of all the salt, sand, and anything that has accumulated.
Oil: the best way to protect
If your hair is sensitive, or you simply want to pamper it as much as possible, there’s only one ally in the battle: oil. Botanical oils will deeply moisturise your hair. Coconut, avocado, argan, and shea oil are some of our favorite ingredients for keeping our hair as silky as possible. After rinsing well, be sure to apply it to your hair to nourish and relieve it after all aggression it’s been though. You can also apply it before swimming. Since oil and water don’t mix, the product will act as a protective barrier that will actually prevent water from penetrating your hair fibres as much as possible. This is enough to guarantee luscious locks for the start of the school year and make the return to reality at least a little better.