Come summers and torture treatment for your hair begins almost immediately. The UV-rays that hit your hair directly can cause permanent damage to the cuticles of the hair and can penetrate into the center of the hair robbing it of all gloss and moisture. Tying your hair up in a bun isn’t the solution always and many of us do not even have that length of hair that can be tied up in a bun. So, what do you do? Take extra care of course, pamper your hair a little more and get slightly innovative about styling your hair. Here are a few easy tips and tricks to help you get going…

1. Air dry your hair completely before stepping out
Wet hair exposed to direct sunlight gets damaged more seriously and more easily, contributing to more hair discoloration and damage than hair loss. So, to ensure that the quality of your hair does not deteriorate, let your hair completely dry before stepping out.

2. Forget hot styling tools, try braiding!
Hair dryer and hot curling tools make your hair feel the summer in greater intensity. Instead, try this cool trick of braiding your hair when semi-wet to get that curly look. Open them a little while later, on air drying completely, they will settle into beautiful waves naturally. Alternatively, after your hair dries completely, you can braid them using colourful beads; and sport this braidy look for a few days. It’s absolutely healthy for your hair to stay in braids or to be washed. Just don’t keep them for over 4-5 days.

3. Get liberal with conditioners
You must use a spray-on or a leave-in conditioner at least twice a week for that truly nourished look as your regular conditioner alone cannot cater to the needs of your hair during summer months. A leave-in conditioner penetrates deep into your hair cuticles and heals them completely. A spray on conditioner not just conditions your hair but also sets them really well, keeping them looking manageable and beautiful all along. Choose according to the texture and thickness of your hair.

4. Chlorine proof your hair
Wet your hair with tap water before you jump into the pool. The wetter your hair is before it touches chlorine, the less salt water and chlorine it will absorb. Also of course, you must wear a swimming cap, even if the pool authorities are not strict about it. To tie back your hair before you pull on a swimming cap, do not use bands with metal clasps. The metal tends to break fragile hair and can even react with pool chemicals. Post your swim, apply a dollop of deep-conditioning treatment through your hair after rinsing out the salt and chlorinated water. If you swim daily, choose a mild shampoo for daily use and follow that up with deep-conditioning treatment. 

5. Don’t splurge on hair serums
Hair serums do control your hair and the frizz but they also make your hair very brittle owing to the dose of silicone they contain. So, it’s best to limit their usage. Instead, if frizzy hair really bother you, use funky head bands to cover up and depend on oil treatments to control the frizz.

Now go soak in the sun without a worry in the world!